Take delivery of and store plants and planting materials
Overview
This standard covers all the activities required to take delivery of and store plants and planting materials. This will involve checking that they meet the specification and handling and storing them correctly.
When working with equipment and machinery you must be appropriately trained, and hold current certification where required, in line with the relevant legislation.
Your work must conform to all relevant legislation, codes of practice, industry standards and guidance.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
- obtain the relevant information to carry out the work activities in accordance with organisational procedures
- maintain the health and safety of yourself and others at all times, in accordance with the relevant legislation and codes of practice
- assess the risks associated with the site and the work to be carried out, before starting work and throughout the activity, checking and confirming the findings of any existing risk assessments
- select the safest working methods, considering the use of mechanical methods where this is safer, in accordance with the assessed risks and organisational procedures, and plan work accordingly
- confirm that relevant training and certification is in place to undertake the work to be carried out
- confirm that appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) for the work to be carried out is worn at all times
- select, prepare, use, maintain and store the equipment and machinery required for the work safely, in accordance with the relevant legal requirements and manufacturers’ instructions
- take delivery of plants and planting materials and confirm that the description and quantity matches the delivery note and original order
- check that the quality of plants and planting materials meets the required specifications
- check that plants meet legal and biosecurity requirements including plant passports, where required
- deal with any discrepancies, damaged or poor-quality items following organisational procedures
- book deliveries into stock, in accordance with organisational procedures
- handle and transport plants and planting materials in a manner that minimises damage and ensures their safety and security
- store plants and planting materials safely and securely in a suitable environment, in accordance with supplier’s/manufacturer’s recommendations and organisational procedures
- monitor the condition of plants in storage and ensure they do not dry out
- remove all waste and packaging and deal with these in accordance with the relevant legal requirements and organisational procedures
- carry out the required work in accordance with the information provided and organisational procedures
- complete and store all relevant documentation in accordance with the relevant legal requirements and organisational procedures
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
- how to identify and access information relevant to the required work
- how to identify hazards and assess the risks associated with the site and the work to be carried out, and the importance of risk assessment and control measures that are appropriate for your area of work
- relevant health and safety procedures and Safe Systems of Work (SSoW)
- current legislation and codes of practice, industry standards and guidance, organisational policies, procedures and protocols, business and professional ethics relevant to your area of work, and to which you must adhere
- your and the organisation’s responsibility for protecting the environment and working sustainably
- the legal, industry and organisational requirements for training and certification to undertake the work activities required, and the importance of checking that any licences to operate equipment and machinery are in place
- the tools, equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE) required for the work and how to select, prepare, use, carry out operator maintenance, and store these safely, in accordance with the relevant legal requirements, manufacturer’s instructions, and organisational procedures
- technology used in your area of work and how to use it
- why deliveries should be checked against the delivery note and original order and any discrepancies followed up
- the documentation that should accompany deliveries such as certificates of conformity or plant passports
- the importance of checking the condition of plants and planting materials and the action to take if there are any damaged or poor-quality items
- the importance of biosecurity when taking delivery of plants
- the organisational procedures for booking deliveries into stock
- how to handle, transport and store different types of plants and planting materials to maintain them in good condition
- the precautions to take and PPE required when handling treated plants
- the storage requirements for different types of plants and planting materials and the purpose of supplier’s/manufacturer’s recommendations regarding storage
- when deliveries should be placed in quarantine and the procedures for this
- the importance of using stock rotation procedures related to shelf life
- the ways in which security and safety of storage facilities are maintained
- the importance of monitoring plants in storage and how to maintain their condition
- the action to take when stocks reach the required level for re-ordering
- the correct methods of dealing with waste and packaging, in accordance with the relevant legal requirements and organisational procedures
- the scope and limitations of your competence, responsibilities and accountability
- the legal and organisational requirements for the completion and storage of documentation
Scope/range
Scope Performance
Scope Knowledge
Specifications:
• plant species
• plant type
• plant sizes
• plant condition
How to store plants:
• cold storage
• heeling in
• straw bale
• co-extruded bags
• canopy store
How to deal with the following types of stock:
• bare root
• root-balled
• containerised
• container-grown
• cell grown
Values
Behaviours
Skills
Glossary
Documentation:
• plant passports
• delivery notes
• legislative records
Information required to carry out work activities could include:
• drawings
• plans
• schedules
• specifications
• method statements
• Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
• manufacturer’s instructions
• customer requirements
• quality assurance requirements
• industry standards (e.g. British Standards)
• verbal or written instructions
• industry guidance (e.g. FISA)
Organisational procedures refer to procedures set by the organisation you are employed by or the organisation that you are doing the work on behalf of (the client or customer)
Planting materials: e.g. tubs, stakes, bags, root plug plastic
Safe System of Work (SSoW) – is a method of work that puts in place control measures arising from a risk assessment, in order to manage identified hazards, which are broken down into four elements: safe person; safe equipment; safe place; and safe practice.