Something for employers to think about HAVS

[markieg31]

Trigger time though I presume?

 

 

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That is not made clear. But the type of work we do with hedge trimmers for the LA is flat out trimming for up to 1km at a time so i think that figure could be reached easily in a day

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Council fined £250,000 for not protecting workers’ health | Media centre - HSE

 

At first it was firms employing people with breakers, descalers and mining equipment but now it looks like our industry is coming under scrutiny.

 

It is relatively easy to monitor and prove levels are acceptable for saws, strimmers and hedge cutters with a simple hour meter and published figures for the machines, I do wonder about pedestrian controlled stump grinders.

 

Just read the link... This bit caught my eye:

 

At the time of the investigation the council were issued with an improvement notice, as soon as they started to rectify the problem and implement the appropriate health surveillance a further 15 cases of ill-health relating to vibration exposure were identified and reported to HSE.

 

Thanet District Council pleaded guilty of breaching Regulations 6(2) and 7(1) of the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 and was fined a total of £250,000 and was ordered to pay £18,325.84 in costs.

 

There's a funny old thing, a sudden rush on Dr's appointments after the implications had been highlighted....

 

On the one hand I'm thinking - a public sector employer should of course be setting the highest of standards in worker protection and if they've failed they should be held to account, but, which council can afford to fritter away >£¼ million that wouldn't be better spent on public services?

 

So what does "holding to account" actually mean? Was someone fired? If not the financial penalty to the council actually only equates to a penalty being passed on to the general public as budgets are squeezed even tighter and public money is extracted from one government department to be passed to another and the only loser is Joe Public who ends up with less services or higher council tax. What "penalty" is that for inadequate management?

 

Or, on the other hand, was it a sudden rush to the Dr's in search of a compo payout?

[markieg31]

Just read the link... This bit caught my eye:

 

At the time of the investigation the council were issued with an improvement notice, as soon as they started to rectify the problem and implement the appropriate health surveillance a further 15 cases of ill-health relating to vibration exposure were identified and reported to HSE.

 

Thanet District Council pleaded guilty of breaching Regulations 6(2) and 7(1) of the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 and was fined a total of £250,000 and was ordered to pay £18,325.84 in costs.

 

There's a funny old thing, a sudden rush on Dr's appointments after the implications had been highlighted....

 

On the one hand I'm thinking - a public sector employer should of course be setting the highest of standards in worker protection and if they've failed they should be held to account, but, which council can afford to fritter away >£¼ million that wouldn't be better spent on public services?

 

So what does "holding to account" actually mean? Was someone fired? If not the financial penalty to the council actually only equates to a penalty being passed on to the general public as budgets are squeezed even tighter and public money is extracted from one government department to be passed to another and the only loser is Joe Public who ends up with less services or higher council tax. What "penalty" is that for inadequate management?

 

Or, on the other hand, was it a sudden rush to the Dr's in search of a compo payout?

 

If you have worked closely with any LA you will notice this complete lack of accountability. I can list of many but recently have heard of the EA undertaking £750k of flood defence works only to find out that they did not own the land! amazing amount of money spent their but no body got reprimanded- bit of a joke in the office apparently!!

 

Similar stuff happens at the local LA but none known with that amount of money.

 

As said rather than a fine which ultimately the tax payer is picking up they would be better off finding someone to hold accountable and giving them the boot. But in reality i suspect they would get a hefty pay off as they go..

[silky fox]

Had my second visit to the Doctors a few months ago regarding HAVS... although he deduced that i still have problems with my fingers/hands,the tests showed an improvement since using an E-Saw

[stihlmadasever]

Working for my local authority im well aware of havs and we monitor our daily exposure time.Our limits are 325 per day,which deems our pole saw unusable as it registers 130 per 15 minutes of use.

It has made our council look to using battery pole pruners and perhaps even some battery top handled saws.

Progress

[markieg31]

Working for my local authority im well aware of havs and we monitor our daily exposure time.Our limits are 325 per day,which deems our pole saw unusable as it registers 130 per 15 minutes of use.

It has made our council look to using battery pole pruners and perhaps even some battery top handled saws.

Progress

That is good. I always think that LA should be at the forefront of health and safety as well as latest techniques. Sadly it is not always the case. I had a bit of a run in with my LA regarding havs, something they had not considered before.

 

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[Haironyourchest]

I wrapped my long reach hedger shaft with high quality pipe lagging and gorilla tape. Lets me hand position wherever I want and majorly cuts down the vibes.

[AA Teccie (Paul)]

Had my second visit to the Doctors a few months ago regarding HAVS... although he deduced that i still have problems with my fingers/hands,the tests showed an improvement since using an E-Saw

 

DO you actually mean "an improvement" or not worsened? I ask as someone affected by HAVS and whilst initially I did get improvement, i.e. I could start to grip / hold a cup of tea, longer term the condition didn't worsen but has never improved (since 1990.)

 

Also I presume you mean battery operated saw by E-saw n not electric.

 

Cheers.

Paul

[silky fox]

Good morning Paul and a Happy new year! My pruning saw is indeed an Electric Stihl 160T and has been for many months now.The improvement i have noticed is that i don't suffer severe pins and needles in my forearms and hands throughout the night.The doctor found other slight inprovements diring the varied dexterity and sensitivity tests.Interestingly my grip strength has gone from 60 to 64 kilograms in 12 months. But picking up tiny pins was near on inpossible.

[AA Teccie (Paul)]

[ATTACH]215519[/ATTACH]Good morning Paul and a Happy new year! My pruning saw is indeed an Electric Stihl 160T and has been for many months now.The improvement i have noticed is that i don't suffer severe pins and needles in my forearms and hands throughout the night.The doctor found other slight inprovements diring the varied dexterity and sensitivity tests.Interestingly my grip strength has gone from 60 to 64 kilograms in 12 months. But picking up tiny pins was near on inpossible.

 

Hi there, and Happy New Year too.

 

That's great news and sounds like you got help early on before permanent nerve damage occurred...and good news about the grip strength improvements too.

 

Long may it all continue n good choice with the saw too.

 

Cheers for info,

Paul