This page provides a step by step guide to arboricultural consultants using OTISS to help them provide their services.

  1. Sign up for an Arboricultural Consultant account with OTISS.
  2. Create a client estates for each of your clients.
  3. Create sites and zones that describe the layout of the client’s estate.
  4. Carry out BS5837 surveys for a client.
  5. Carry out tree safety surveys on the estate.
  6. Make use of the OTISS reports and data to help create and augment your own reports.

When logged into the OTISS website and when using the mobile apps, every page will have a Help button or a ? icon to provide guidence about how to get the best out of OTISS features.

We also have some videos on the How To… page.

1. Register for an OTISS account

Free 30 day period to evaluate the OTISS features and services.

2. Creating a Client’s Estate

You create a new client estate to store the information, maps, surveys for each of your clients.

  • When working with other consultants, you can let them have access to the client estate or you can assign then to work on specific surveys. How to create a new Client…
  • As an extra service to your clients, your can create an OTISS ‘Client Access‘ account for them and grant them access the maps, data and reports that you have stored in OTISS. How to provide my Client with access to OTISS…
  • If you have existing spreadsheets, databases, KMLs or shapefiles with relevant tree or inspection data, we may be able to load these into OTISS. Please contact us for more information on what can be done.

3. Sites and Risk Assessment Zones

OTISS lets you divide an estate into several ‘sites‘. A ‘site’ could be a park, a field, a groups of fields, a property, a car park – whatever you want it to be. For many of your clients, there may be only one site.

  • Sites are used as convenient ways to manage the trees. Reports and data queries can be based on sites. Surveys are carried out on a per-site basis.
  • The OTISS site record includes; description, location/address (e.g. for access) and contact information (e.g. key holders).
  • Sites can also be used as ‘risk zones‘ as part of a Tree Safety Policy. A site/zone is allocated a Risk Category of high, medium or low.
  • You can draw Site Boundaries to specify the exact ownership or legal boundaries of a site, or use the boundaries as a convenient way of splitting up a large estate or survey area.
  • In addition to the online, world wide maps, each site can be linked to a user supplied estate/site map, architect/topo plan, etc. OTISS can deal with a range of map and plan formats.
  • See How to create a new Site and Survey…

4. BS5837 Surveys

Once you have created a site, you then create an OTISS ‘BS5837 Survey‘ and appoint yourself (or another consultant) to carry it out. Note, when you create a new site, OTISS will automatically create a new survey for you – this should then be updated as required.

  • You can use the OTISS website and/or the BS5837 Survey Android application to plot the positions of the trees, groups and hedges on the maps.
  • OTISS provides a complete BS5837:2012 survey form, with automatic calculation of RPAs. The Premium subscription users have additional Measurement and Modify RPA Tools.
  • In addition, there are many fields that can be customised to the specific requirments of each client.
  • You can enter recommendations for each stage of the construction process.
  • As an optional extra, you could also carry out a CAVAT or TEMPO valuation on the trees – see here for more details.

5. Tree Safety Surveys

Once you have created your initial sites, you create an OTISS ‘Tree Safety Survey‘ for each one and appoint yourself (or other users) to carry them out. Note, when you create a new site, OTISS will automatically create a new survey for you – this should then be updated as required.

  • You can use the OTISS website and/or the Tree Survey Android application to plot the positions of the trees, groups, hedges on the maps.
  • OTISS has many fields that may not be relevant to your requirements, these can be customised to the specific requirments of each client.
  • Although not all the trees will need to have detailed records, using OTISS and GPS enabled mobile phones and devices, it very easy to view previous inspection records, to update the records, or simply mark the tree as ‘inspected’.
  • You can enter recommendations concerning safety and long term management of the trees.
  • These recommendations can be followed up with records of when the remedial work was actually carried out. See the Work Done section.
  • As an optional extra, you could also carry out a CAVAT or TEMPO valuation on the trees – see here for more details.

OTISS maintains an audit trail of all surveys, tree inspections and maintenance work. Dates, names, locations, descriptions, results etc. are all recorded. By setting a survey to the ‘closed’ state, your effectively lock the inspections from further changes and create an ‘audit trail‘.

If you have existing spreadsheets, databases, KMLs or shapefiles with relevant tree or inspection data, we may be able to load these into OTISS. Please contact us for more information on what can be done.

6. Maps, Spreadsheets and Reports of tree inspection data

  • The inventory and inspection data can be viewed and updated from any Web browser. The spreadsheet page allows you to search and sort your data using multiple criteria. For example:
    • “show me all trees on a particular site that need work doing on them”,
    • “show me all trees that are overdue for their next inspection”,
    • “list all the oak trees and order them by age class”.
  • Reports can be created containing coloured charts, graphs and tables. Summary and Details reports and Work Schedules can be generated at any time.
  • All the survey data can be downloaded as an Excel spreadsheet. This can be useful for further detailed analyse or customised reporting.
  • Create PDFs of the trees and groups – colour-coded icons based on condition, workDue or other surveyed attributes. High quality maps and printouts can also be prepared using your own CAD application to combine your site/topo CAD drawing with the CAD/DXF files (provided by OTISS) of the tree locations.