Should the AA approve contractors who run 3.5 ton trucks?

[gensetsteve]

I can understand your grief problem is what to do about it. The general idea seems to be hang in there and tread water. Things do have a habit of turning full circle. The h&s thing is so out of control I can see it collapsing in the next year or so. The rest of europe is laughing at our army of chubby old fellas walking round with clip boards.

[Paul Jenks]

This thread seems to have drifted somewhat into a rant about larger companies and health and safety.

The original question related to the running of 3.5t vehicles for tree work. The primary concern for VOSA is that a vehicle that is overloaded will not brake and handle in the same way as on that is loaded correctly. This boils down to stopping distances and cornering. Most of us who have 'loaded' a vehicle and who have some experience and a modicum of common sense take it steady when returning from site with a good load on. We all know that many of the trucks we use seem to be quite capable of carrying a bit over their MAM.(Our old LDV, long since departed, has weighed out over 5t). The main reason for health and safety is just that. Health and Safety. The health and safety of employees and the public.

I know some of it is overly bureacratic and some is absolute tosh.

The running of any vehicle that has the capacity to be relatively easily overloaded shouldn't be prohibited. There should be systems and checks in place to ensure that it isn't overloaded. This can be done by using onboard weighing systems,(very expensive), a smaller chip box, (pain in the ass), or a system of documented regular checks going to weigh bridges with different types of chip at different levels and an awareness of all staff of the fill levels.

Running a 3.5t for tree work within the law can put a company at a competetive disadvantage if their direct competition flout the law. The same can be said when a company complies with all other aspects of H&S regulation, LOLER, PUWER, COSHH, WAH etc, etc. Educate your clients, educate your staff. If your in this industry for the long run we all need to raise our operating standards to show the wider public that this is a profession worthy of respect.

[gensetsteve]

Our mwb single cab transit has a 5 1/4 m3 chip body on it.

 

The tool box and chip body are ally.

 

With a set of triple extending ladders' date=' two men, two climbing kits, saws, blower, fuel, brush, shovel, rake and the usual odds ands and sods, etc, it weighs 2420 kg empty of chip.

 

If we removed the top barn doors and the chip flap it would weigh less still.

 

I have never weighed it absolutely empty without anything in it/on it at all.

 

We fill it full when running about and tipping on site.

 

Most of the time it carries road signs, cones etc and runs about empty.

 

We take little chip off jobs, but if we have a large quantity to shift we fill a trailer instead.

 

Most small jobs don't generate much chip.

 

Depending upon the type of material being chipped, up to 4m3 is within acceptable limits.

 

Like I said earlier, its about the type of work you do and how you go about doing it.

 

I fully agree that for day in and day out, all chip off site jobs, 3.5 tonne vehicles are not really suitable.

 

But, that does not mean that everyone engaged in treework who runs a 3.5 tonne vehicle is running illegally every day, as your first post suggests.[/quote']

 

Do you have a tacho fitted ?

[treequip]

Educate your clients, educate your staff. If your in this industry for the long run we all need to raise our operating standards to show the wider public that this is a profession worthy of respect.

 

 

I entirely agree with this however the vast majority of clients care only about price

[treequip]

One weapon large companies have locked onto is the whole health and safety rubbish complimented with accredition.

 

This is largely true but the jobbing tree surgeon now has access to all the H&S paperwork they need, the AA provide free downloads and this site has a raft of paperwork available. Anything else just needs a quick ask on here.

 

Save it to your computer, burn it to a disc and stick a nice company label on it, by the time the safety officer has read his way through it all you will have the job done and be on your way home.

 

If you can’t do the computer stuff get a kid to help you.

[likeitorlumpit]

I entirely agree with this however the vast majority of clients care only about price

 

lets say that again..........

the majority of clients only care about the price

Then when something goes wrong they wash their hands of your problem.

However you look at it someone else will cut corners

But try and be professional.. keep 80% within the rules and you can hold your hand up and say 'I did my best'

On the subject of overloading though- Cabstars actually run better when chock full:thumbup:

[Jesse]

I can understand your grief problem is what to do about it. The general idea seems to be hang in there and tread water. Things do have a habit of turning full circle. The h&s thing is so out of control I can see it collapsing in the next year or so. The rest of europe is laughing at our army of chubby old fellas walking round with clip boards.

 

Bring it on and when all the H&S chubbys lose there jobs what will they do? set up there own companys ?, lets see them try to jump through all the hoops and hurdles they have created.

[Big 'Ammer]

Do you have a tacho fitted ?

 

No. We are exempt from requiring one.

 

We work within 50km radius of base.

 

The tools, equipment and plant carried or towed are essential for the use of the drivers of the vehicles in the course of their work.

 

We do not haul anyone else's goods or produce.

[gensetsteve]

No. We are exempt from requiring one.

 

We work within 50km radius of base.

 

The tools' date=' equipment and plant carried or towed are essential for the use of the drivers of the vehicles in the course of their work.

 

We do not haul anyone else's goods or produce.[/quote']

 

Same here just the 50km is a bit of a struggle sometimes

[Johny Walker]

Same here just the 50km is a bit of a struggle sometimes

 

we use the same set up ,but if going outside the 50k limit always put a tacho in ,then were coverd