Who's cut themselves climbing!

[slack ma girdle]

Oh man that sounds real sore. I got hawthorned yesterday a few times but just the usual annoying punctures, yours wins for hawthorn stories so far that i have heard.

 

I need a local and have it surgeically removed. the finger needed holding down and pliers to pull the thorne out of the bone.

I manfully passed out out at this point.

[Dak]

Ouch!!!!

[Taupotreeman]

I almost never posted either but i have a big gob and cant help myself

I think we all do what we have to do but its getting to the point of being so expensive to keep up that its also killing us off because we still get paid the same and get shat on from greater heights at every turn. Catch 22 is a term that is fast becoming very common in our job.

 

What gets my goat about some of the H&S stuff is this; in NZ we have something called accident compensation. Each employee and employer pays so much each week, month, year etc into a fund that then covers accidents. No possibility of people being able to sue one another here. Anyway, a company can get reductions in its ACC (accident compensation) premiums if its H&S policies are up to scratch. I worked for an outfit that had an all singing all dancing H&S policy which got them some serious reductions with ACC. Problem was, that H&S policy was never really followed by management. It was more of a front to get reduced premiums rather than to actually cut lost time injuries etc. Same dodgy practices continued unabaited within the company driven by those at the top. I raised this issue with ACC for them to say that there wasn't much they could do about people cheating the system. Yet again, the small man gets nailed and the big guys get away with murder.

[Mark James]

Health and safety is slowly but will Surely ruin everything in our life's, regarding manual work to make a wage. The uni students that get these jobs know nothing about work full stop.

 

 

Sent from my aye phone using Tapatalk

[hazzygawa]

Me sowing myself up on a job;)

[RobRainford]

Small silky scratches leaving two red lines on my forearm. They are becoming less often now I've tamed my sugoi

 

First time out with the sugoi it got my on my index and middle finger on left hand. Got a lump on my knuckle and a nice little scar on my middle finger. Had to come down as it would not stop bleeding! Gave the conservatory under the tree some nice red polka dots

[DrewB]

What gets my goat about some of the H&S stuff is this; in NZ we have something called accident compensation. Each employee and employer pays so much each week, month, year etc into a fund that then covers accidents. No possibility of people being able to sue one another here. Anyway, a company can get reductions in its ACC (accident compensation) premiums if its H&S policies are up to scratch. I worked for an outfit that had an all singing all dancing H&S policy which got them some serious reductions with ACC. Problem was, that H&S policy was never really followed by management. It was more of a front to get reduced premiums rather than to actually cut lost time injuries etc. Same dodgy practices continued unabaited within the company driven by those at the top. I raised this issue with ACC for them to say that there wasn't much they could do about people cheating the system. Yet again, the small man gets nailed and the big guys get away with murder.

[Paul Jenks]

Mercifully, I've only ever had small nicks from silky and chainsaw alike. Some from when I was learning, some from when my mind was elsewhere, some owing to tiredness and some from stupidity.

Some of you will know of my Ops Manager, (he also has the title of H&S manager), who cut himself quite badly across the forearm, nerves, muscle and tendons, just over 3 years ago.

I think all the pionts raised here are valid. Even those by Paul,AA.

We, climbers that is, do the job because we like it. The exposure to hazards is part of the job and I suspect it is also a key factor in the enjoyment, it is for me, even at a subconcious level. Exposure to hazard/risk and dealing with it is living. People have to be exposed to hazards, albeit in a, (mostly), controlled arena, to learn. Kids fall over all the time learning to walk. The occasional one falls over, cracks their head and is disabled or perishes. My kids are 6,4 and 3 and the falling over issue is a small and constant worry. They don't get a great deal of mollycoddling, in fact they get none. They do get a great deal of guidance and the opportunity to climb and run and play in different environments with varying levels of hazards.

My staff don't get a great deal of mollycoddling, in fact they get none. They do get a great deal of guidance and the opportunity to climb and run and play in different environments with varying levels of hazards.

The challenge for the employer is that, by law, we have to make the working environment as safe as is reasonably practical. Making sure that all operatives are suitably qualified and certificated, all the equipment they use is safe and compliant and has a document trail to prove it. That safe work practices are being specified and used and there is a culture of awareness to H&S.

The balance is where the paperwork, culture and qualifications etc are enough to satisfy the courts but not enough to castrate the workers ability to perform his or her tasks and to enjoy them.

[MattyF]

We don't need to be any more wrapped up in H&S in this industry ,it's already got behond a joke filling out forms before going on some sites and from what I can see does

absolutely nothing to prevent accidents it just covers the employers arse....

If you go on site without a first aid kit filled with the right stuff it's down to you... You can refuse and would totally be within your rights to do so... Spot on about the fabric plasters !!! Shame stein don't grasp that for there first aid climbers kit but then the kits pretty much useless any way.

[scottythepinetree]

My real problem with H&S is that it has lost sight of it's goal, which is to promote awareness of danger in a hazardous environment. Somewhere along the way it got confused and is there now entirely to protect employers and companies from litigation. The people who come up with these crazy rules couldn't give a toss about workers well-being.

 

This thread has got me scratching, my head though. I often say criticising a system without having a an idea for how it would work better, is pointless. So to that end, what are peoples ideas for how it would work better in the real world?

 

Yes, it is obvious that H&S red tape has lost all meaning, near-miss/accident reports (or at least the way they are used) in particular. I think an employee who inacapacitates themselves through injury at work deserves to be looked after, but the employer doesn't deserve to lose their business because of it. However, when I follow that train of thought to it's conclusion it seems to lead back to a system very like the one that's in place. ie:

 

1) Was the employer doing everything he could to ensure the employee had a safe system of work?

 

2)How do we know this?

 

3)Where are the RA, LOLER certs? etc.