In remote/rural locations, utilities:
- Often utilize mechanical equipment to increase efficiency and worker safety
- Large saws mounted on high-reaching booms can be used to prune the sides of right-of-way corridors
- In some cases, saws are suspended from helicopters
- Chemical application is another method of side pruning
- Herbicides are applied to the foliage of selected branches growing into the right-of-way corridor
- The treated branches eventually die and are shed by the tree
When using this equipment it is understood that the quality of the cuts can be less than those made by hand. Nevertheless, efforts are made to avoid unnecessary damage to the tree.