TreeBossPro Blog — Crew Dispatch & Routes

Estimating Job Time on a Tree Crew Route: Height, DBH, and Tree Count

The most common reason a tree crew's route falls apart is not traffic. It is a job that took twice as long as someone guessed. A removal that was supposed to be done by 11 runs until 2, and the two afternoon prunes get pushed to another day with apologetic texts to both customers. Better job time estimates fix that, and they start with the numbers on the property record.

Building on Storm and Emergency Tree Dispatch Without Wrecking the Week, this article covers how to use tree details to plan how long each stop will really take.

The Three Numbers That Drive Job Time

TreeBossPro property records carry three tree-specific numbers: the number of trees, the trunk diameter (DBH in inches), and the tree height in feet. Those three numbers do not tell you everything, but they tell you a lot.

A single 14-inch, 35-foot tree in an open front yard is a short job. Three 30-inch, 70-foot oaks in a back yard behind a fence are a long day or longer. The dispatcher looking at the board should be able to see that difference without opening the estimate.

Access Changes Everything

Two trees with identical DBH and height can take very different amounts of time. One can be dropped into an open yard. The other has to be rigged piece by piece over a roof with every piece carried to the chipper through a narrow gate. Access and drop zone notes on the property tell you which one you are dealing with.

When estimating job time, start with the size, then adjust for access. A rigging job over a structure, a long drag to the chipper, a back yard with no truck access, or a steep slope all add time. The crew notes should say which of those apply.

Cleanup is the part everyone underestimates. A customer who wants the wood cut to firewood length and stacked, every leaf raked out of the beds, and the stump ground and backfilled is buying a lot more crew time than one who wants the wood left in rounds. Whatever was promised in the approved estimate should show up in the crew notes, so the dispatcher plans for it and the crew lead does not discover it when the customer walks out at 3pm asking about the stack.

Use Your Own History

The best job time estimates come from your own past jobs. When crews tap start and complete in the crew app, you get a record of when the job began and ended. Over time, you learn how long your crews actually take on a 24-inch removal with easy access versus one with rigging.

Use that history when planning. If your climbing crew has consistently needed most of a day for big removals with rigging, do not plan two of them on the same day, no matter how close they are on the map.

Crews differ, too. A seasoned climber and a strong ground crew move faster than a newer team, and that is fine. The point is to plan each crew's day around what that crew actually does, not around what the fastest crew in the company could do on a good day.

Build Routes Around the Long Job

Once you know which job is the long one, build the day around it. Put it first when possible. The crew is fresh, the morning is cooler in summer, and if it runs long, the rest of the day can adjust. Fill the remaining time with shorter jobs nearby, and keep a short job in reserve that can slide to another day if needed.

For stump grinders, DBH is the main input. A route of six 12-inch stumps is a very different day from three 36-inch stumps. For PHC techs, tree count and size can matter for treatments that are sized to the tree.

Keep the Numbers Accurate

Estimates are only as good as the data. When the estimator visits, record the number of trees, DBH, and height as accurately as possible. When the crew does the work, have them correct anything that was off. Custom fields can track additional details your company finds useful, such as a note on rigging required.

Accurate numbers help more than just routing. They make the next estimate on that property faster and more accurate, and they help the stump grinder plan the follow-up.

Leave Room for the Unexpected

Even with good numbers, tree work has surprises. Hidden decay changes the plan, a customer adds work on site, or the chipper jams. Leave some slack in the day. A route that is planned to the minute will fall behind by noon.

Realistic job time is the quiet foundation of tree crew routing software. When the route reflects how long the work really takes, the crew finishes the day, customers get the time they were promised, and the office spends less time rescheduling.