Structured Tree Risk Assessment
STRATA™ provides a structured digital approach to tree risk assessment and tree management, giving arboricultural consultants, estates teams and duty holders clear digitally mapped interactive records, colour-coded by work priority.
The process supports consistent capture of tree condition, site evidence and surrounding target-zone information, helping tree surveyors assess context, exposure and recommend the recommended works to reduce or remove any identified risk.
Risk is evaluated through a transparent scoring framework, enabling proportionate work priorities, clear timelines for action and more defensible tree risk management decisions to streamline workflow.
You can then compare this with your current process: Your Current Tree Survey, Mapping and Reporting time – STRATA™ Workflow Time = potential time saving.
The Business Case for STRATA™
For tree surveyors, estates teams, housing associations and duty-holders, return on investment (ROI) depends on how efficiently the tree surveyor can capture tree risk data, produce professional outputs and reduce avoidable administration.
STRATA™ turns tree risk assessment into a faster, structured digital workflow, allowing you to compare your current method against a simple time-based calculation: Number of trees × time per tree = field data capture time. For example:
50 trees × 3–10 minutes per tree = approximately 2.5–8.3 hours of field data capture. Once the tree survey is complete:
- Create Editable Professional Excel Spreadsheet Report = around 1 minute
- Produce PDF site plan = around 2 minutes
- Spreadsheet Report + Site Plan output = approximately total 3 minutes
By reducing time spent on formatting, photo handling, mapping and data transfer, STRATA™ helps improve productivity, protect profit margins and support clearer, evidence-led tree management decisions. To estimate the potential value for your own surveys, use our ROI Value Calculator.
3D for Tree Risk, Clearer and more Defensible
In Mapscape, there is an optional 3D Visualisation viewer that automatically converts your saved tree survey data into interactive 3D
Mapscape’s 3D visualisation adds an extra dimension to tree risk management when used alongside the STRATA™ method that helps make site assessment quicker to interpret and easier to communicate.
By viewing trees within a 3D scene, users can better understand how each tree relates to surrounding human use and infrastructure. The target zone can also be considered visually helping duty-holders and managers see potential risk.
The result is a clearer, more defensible tree risk workflow that helps communicate priorities, justify management decisions and support quality-managed processes aligned with the principles of ISO 9001.
To Find out more about 3D Visualisation Click Here
Solving Tree Risk Management Challenges
Tree risk management is no longer just about completing a survey. Arboricultural consultants, estates teams, housing associations and duty-holders need faster data capture, clearer evidence, professional reports, prioritised works and records that are easy to justify.
STRATA™ supports this by combining simple field observations, photographs, target zone context, mapped locations, What3Words referencing, offline working and a built-in User Guide within one structured workflow.
For consultants, this reduces manual data transfer through editable automated reports and digital maps, helping improve profit margins while producing clearer outputs for clients, sub-contractors, tree work applications and structured decision-making.
For duty-holders and asset managers, STRATA™ makes it easier to understand risk, plan budgets, manage re-inspections and demonstrate that tree safety decisions are evidence-led, traceable and practical to act upon.
Practical, Defensible Tree Risk Management
STRATA™ provides a consistent, transparent and defensible approach to tree risk assessment, informed by NTSG guidance, BS 3998 recommendations and HSE INDG 317 expectations, with optional alignment to ISO 31000 risk-management principles.
The STRATA™ Method & Framework explains how field observations, target zone context, likelihood and consequence scoring, geospatial records and works prioritisation combine to support a repeatable and auditable assessment process.
A built-in User Guide supports surveyors during use, with workflow steps, checklist prompts and scoring references to improve consistency and confidence.
For consultants, duty-holders and tree management professionals, STRATA™ provides a clear methodology, professional outputs and traceable records, helping justify decisions, prioritise works and support Mapscape’s wider quality objectives, including its aim to achieve ISO 9001:2015 certification.
Added Value: Carbon & ESG
Tree Risk, Carbon Value, and Sustainability – All in One System
STRATA™ uses the measurements and information recorded on site that provides an automated and measured Carbon sequestration calculation system.
Mapscape’s digital mapping solution supports carbon reduction planning and sustainability reporting. Our software enables estimated quantification of the carbon sequestration potential of trees, tree groups (Tree trunks) and hedgerows, allowing confident reporting on natural capital.
This makes STRATA™ ideal for organisations balancing safety, cost, biodiversity and green reporting through carbon reduction commitments.
Sign off Works – Fully Tracked
Once STRATA™ has identified tree risks and assigned a works priority, Sign Off Works gives you the option to track completion of the recommended tree works.
It gives arboriculturalists, sub-contractors, duty-holders and managers a clear and practical way to record completed works, strengthen accountability, and keep progress visible through digitally mapped, evidenced reductions in identified tree risks.
The result is a stronger tree risk audit trail, better oversight of priority works, and greater confidence that recommendations have been followed through to reduce or remove identified risks. For organisations managing tree safety at scale, it helps bridge the gap between risk identified and work completed.
Sign Off Works includes a clear colour-coded red and green traffic-light system to show completed and outstanding tree works, with the option to add photos and comments for each tree. This information can then be exported as an Excel spreadsheet and cross-referenced with a site plan.
This gives duty-holders a clear line of sight from the initial tree risk assessment through to completed works, making it easier to demonstrate reasonable care.
Start Using STRATA™ Today
See how Mapscape can transform your tree-risk process with consistent, defensible assessment linked to carbon and sustainability planning.
Book a quick Demo to see how the framework will work for your business and organisation, or contact us directly if you have any questions.
Reference Document:
*National Tree Safety Group. Common sense risk management of trees. 2nd Edition. PDF