Lolering your own gear

[treequip]

for climbing gear it's 6 months from first use or 12 months from purchase, which ever comes sooner, that is providing it is supplied with the relevant certifacete's of conformity but that's a joke lol, if it's not supplied with a copy of the relevant conformities then it technically needs examining before first use, that's another minefield though, are the bsen's relevant to arb climbing techniques?

 

uh-oh an of worms!! leg it!

 

(oh and 12 months from purchase for rigging gear)

 

PS examining your own gear (own personal or if you are the owner of the firm) IS illegal, that is law, no question about it, having one of your staff examine everyone else's gear is a grey area and your quite right it would be for a judge to decide whether they were in fear or favor, as Dave said judges aren't as stupid as some people think, and as many cases have shown in the past judges will often come down on the side of the employees and not the employer, I wouldn't dream of risking it, you'd be made to look pretty small VERY quickly in court.Lets not forget that if a member of staff has been injured his/her loyalties may have gone strait out the window, they may be entitled to reasonable sums of money, i darn't say they may be tempted to bend the truth! were the judge to rule against their employer, they may have got someone to represent them on a no-win no fee basis, on commission even. "well your honor he didn't seem very happy when i failed such & such and with immediate effect it appeared to me i was always being sent on the nasty jobs, made to work later, etc etc, then 6 months later he said be sure you don't fail anything un-necessarily, i took this to mean that if i did my future employment may be at risk: sob sob sob" Boom!

 

In almost ANY other industry this discussion would not have continued, such an argument would be considered grossly un-professional, arbs always complain they can't charge enough money, people view us as un-professional / glorified gardeners with ladders, this is why our industry is stuck in the doldrums, marketing guru after marketing guru that looks at our industry says it, when will we listen? it doesn't really bother me, things are as they are but it does seem contradictory when the same people that hold the above gripes say ahhh but it's never been tested in court

 

And the law that prohibits it is................

 

the "law" that requires it is LOLER where pre use inspections are MANDATORY no matter who you are and who owns the kit