Defence Infrastructure Organisation Tree Management with Arbortrack

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Amey works in partnership with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), to maintain approximately 18,000 Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties across the Central and North regions, including Scotland & Northern Ireland.

At a glance

  • Amey has implemented Arbortrack to manage over 70,000 trees across Service Family Accommodation (SFA) Estates, ensuring efficient on-site surveying by arboriculture specialists.
  • The team has consistently met the target of surveying every tree every 12 months, enhancing safety, tree health, and biodiversity while adhering to British Standard BS3998.
  • Arbortrack has significantly increased efficiency by eliminating desk-based report writing, allowing surveyors to make the best use of their time on site.
  • The platform provides a comprehensive record of all interactions with each tree, supporting accurate and efficient decisions and ensuring transparency.
  • Arbortrack allows the team to easily identify areas for biodiversity improvements, such as placing bat boxes, replanting trees, and creating green corridors that link existing habitats.

Key metrics

  • 70,000

    trees surveyed every 12 months

  • 163

    individual ‘estates’ covered

  • 1,500

    family homes have had a visit from a tree team this year

Our teams provide a range of services across the contract including grounds maintenance. We ensure the 680 hectares (approximately) of outside space are kept safe, tidy and compliant.

Monitoring the diverse tree stock for safety, biodiversity, and usage poses a significant and complex challenge.

Arbortrack has transformed estate management.

Digitalised tree surveying and risk management


Arbortrack was introduced to provide a customisable, mobile, and weather-resistant tree management platform. It simplifies contractor tasks, gathers important tree data, and provides dashboard visibility for clients. This system has transformed estate management, ensuring swift responses to remedial work while maintaining safety and sustainability.

The two housing contracts have a vast number of amenity, garden and woodland areas spread across South Wales, East Anglia, Northern Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

The size of the estate, along with the requirement to annually survey the tree stock for baseline data in accordance with British Standard BS3998, proves a significant challenge. The team are also required to make recommendations to manage risks, ensure compliance with the specification, and identify opportunities to enhance the lived experience for families.

Tree-related queries are frequently received by the Regional Service Centres, so it is essential that all relevant tree data is readily available for rapid responses, especially in incidents such as fallen branches or those related to storm damage.

Our teams were looking to maximise the efficiency of arboriculture specialists while they were on-site while and reducing desk based report writing - ensuring that all tree data could be accessed instantly and is easily shareable with both clients and the families living on the estates.

Image of a family at home on the sofa
All tree data can be accessed instantly and is easily shareable with both clients and the families living on the estates.

Introduction of the system meant we were able to meet or exceed the target of surveying every tree, every 12 months.

Putting data at our fingertips

We began by cataloguing everything we already knew about the defence tree stock across the regions. This information was transferred to digital reports within Arbortrack and became the foundation of our annual tree survey programme.

Introduction of the system meant we were able to meet or exceed the target of surveying every tree, every 12 months. This was identified as a significant improvement, as the target had not been met previously despite having an extensive arboriculture workforce in place.

We analysed tree densities and compared them to where our surveyors were based to ensure each surveyor had a fair distribution of sites. This process leveraged excellent local knowledge of the estates alongside data insight.

Image of a person using their mobile phone
Digitalised reporting now at our fingertips, we can manage day-to-day maintenance.

With digitalised reporting now at our fingertips, we can manage day-to-day maintenance while also adopting a more strategic approach to how we managed the treescape.

For example, we can assess where monocultures of the same species are vulnerable to disease, where same-age trees are prone to over-maturation, and we can also diversify tree species through selective thinning and replanting to protect future tree cover. From a commercial standpoint, we can also assess species-specific risks, like the potential costs associated with diseases such as Ash Dieback.

Ensuring we are doing everything possible to keep families and estate users safe.

Ensuring safety, biodiversity and satisfaction

Since the team introduced Arbortrack we have consistently met the target survey plan and effectively managed the risks associated with tree maintenance, ensuring we are doing everything possible to keep families and estate users safe.
Additionally, we can identify further works aimed at improving the lived experience of residents by removing trees that pose trip or slip hazards, block streetlights and sightlines, or cause damage to built assets.

As Amey continues to work with our client to enhance biodiversity, the tree data we maintain through Arbortrack provides a streamlined method for identifying the ideal locations for bat boxes, new planting areas, and the creation of green corridors that link existing habitats both within and adjacent to the estates.

Testimonials

Colin Ketley, Housing Estate Manager, Defence Infrastructure Organisation

Arbortrack allows me to provide feedback to units quickly without having to disrupt Amey staff from their daily work or wait for a response. Arbrotrack has also proven valuable when discussing issues with our Industry Partners as I am able to provide the tag ID of tree which reduces time trying to describe tree locations and hoping the right tree receives the attention required. The app is easy to navigate and use.

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