A Thought for Today.

[Andy Collins]

With deep concern last night, I read yet another RIP thread. Another loss to a family,and a member of a team somewhere in the UK. I'm hoping that the regularity of such reports is simply due to the fact that this forum is "live", ie that we hear of incidences instantly, rather than waiting for a HSE report to come out.

With the tightening of H&S in our industry, surely we should be safer, reams of paperwork risk assessments, method statements and better training and certainly better PPE. I havent checked any H&S stats, so I couldnt start to say if the modern way is working, but I have noticed that several incidents have involved the more mature worker, rather than fresh-faced youths straight out of college.

Only the other day, I was travelling home from a job, and passed another team working roadside with very little in the way of TM, no hi-viz, and certainly paying no attention to the busy traffic around. Were these from the travelling community? NO!! They were a professional company who had bid the cheapest price to get the work, and in doing so was putting their staff in danger.

Its not too much to ask that we should expect to return home each evening, with all body parts as they were first thing in the morning. If your boss/team leader is pressurising you to cut corners, dont be afraid to question it, we are all responsible for each others safety at work.

Please be careful out there, I, for one, dont wish to ever read another RIP/Serious accident thread.

[Simon Rotheram]

Here, here Andy!

 

We have just put a policy in place that gives any person on a team the power to stop works on site if they feel anything is unsafe or they are unhappy about a task they are asked to perform, without prejudice.

 

I can remember situations working for companies in the past where I have been on a job and the climber has been inexperienced and asked to perform a task they are not competant in by the boss. Lukily I have not witnessed any major accidents but there is too much of a "get up there and knock it off lad!" attitude in this industry.

[plippy]

Here, here Andy!

"get up there and knock it off lad!" attitude in this industry.

 

i used to work for a firm in london with that attitude, constantly banging on ya case to get it done faster, got sent to a job where a limb had cracked of and you couldnt get ya arms round it and was easily 20ft long, it was balanced of a 8ft wall and on a shed with asbestos roofing, the guy he sent me out with was greek and bearly spoke english and no tickets let alone a first aid ticket, he was short staffed cos the other lads had had enuff of his attitude to safety, he gave me an 088 to get the limb down and ring it up, that for me was enough to say ' sorry not happy with this situation ' and i ended up walking before id end up knocking him out, gave my notice a week later.

 

oh and i was fresh out of college, so i had no experience

[John Hancock]

Good post Andy, esp. ‘we are all responsible for our and others health and safety’. I take that aspect of the job so so seriously and often get infuriated when I see others cut corners. Sadly the nature of the job dictates that there will always be accidents, especially with such a varied human input but we can all minimise the chances surely?

[Czlowiek Drzewo]

yeah too much pressure on beginners like you say.

 

I remember being fresh out of college ( 19 at the time ) started working for a large firm in aberdeenshire. Went out to remove a large 80ft ash in pissing rain with another 2 experienced guys. Because of the weather the sent me up to remove it and they sat in the truck...no idea what i was really doing but got on with it.

 

way to many greedy employers that want green climbers to do all the tree work because they can get away with paying pennies

[Lee Winger]

Good post Andy

[j r hartly]

i always asked the team members if they're happy with the tasks they've been allocated and try and persuade open debates about every job. because noone likes a broken hero

[Stephen Blair]

just always tie in guys and use that chain break, it is your best friend when using a chainsaw. Your only insurance in this life is saying NO, if you dont want to do it, dont. You will have to deal with the repicutions of your decision but thats all part of life and any job, if you are not happy make some noise, if it doesnt get changed then move on or do it yourself to your own standards

[LancsMike]

Its a shame to hear about that Andy.

 

From my perspective its a Bit of a Catch 22 with the saying no policy because in the back of my mind since I'm new to the job, I can't help but think will this knacker up my references for other companies and will I get a bad reputation with other firms if I say no to one employer and they all talk to each other. I don't mind pushing my boundaries a bit at a time and getting more comfortable in the job but if I get asked to do something way out of my depth its a tricky situation to be put in - although having said that all the firms I have spoken to seem very friendly and genuine not wanting to push a newstarter too far. Just hope I can land myself more permanent work with a decent gang of blokes and avoid some of the cowboy outfits out there.

 

What would you more experienced guys say to that ? Wouldn't mind hearing your input on it as any info would be greatly appreciated in terms of what to look out for and when to walk.

[Stephen Blair]

doesnt matter what others think, its your life, thats the bottom line. You do have to get out your comfort zone and push yourself to the limits when you first start out, but if you want it bad enough you will, if you are in control of what seems to be a dangerous situation to others then thats the secret. I am headstrong and dont mind others in a team not liking me si i have always either made a noise or walked simples, i dont blame others or make a song and dance about it i just do my own thing, and i have never had more than a silky cut, i am not interested who fills in the RA the best or who talks the best job, i want to work with guys that know the job or at least ask.