Chainsaw update training to become mandatory for all operatives from Oct 2013

[eggsarascal]

I've not read all of this thread so i might be missing the point completely! But a lot of the trades I work with, including the industry I work in have to do refresher courses. I have to do confined space refreshers every three years. Full BA rescue and the likes. mate of mine is a plumber/heating engineer, another mate is an electrician, we all have to do refreshers, updates! What's the problem?

[TGB]

Is it you or the company you work for paying the bill?

[fatharrywhite]

Think I've heard about plumbers having to retrain even though they've maybe got 30+ years experience. The point is that the people who devise all this & push the theory don't do the job everyday.

[eggsarascal]

Is it you or the company you work for paying the bill?

 

I work for my self = I pay.

[County 764]

Think I've heard about plumbers having to retrain even though they've maybe got 30+ years experience. The point is that the people who devise all this & push the theory don't do the job everyday.

 

Spot on Plus FISA say that "all accidents are avoidable" If you took that approach you wouldn't start the saw in the first place.

[combined tree services]

To be totally blunt its a bit like this - Accept that you will have to sit a refresher regardless of your personal opinion on it , your number of years in the trade , your acclaimed level of expertise , or your claim that you could do a better job than the man /woman running the refresher course . If you chose not to sit the refresher then be prepared that large organisations such as the FC , LA's and large private sector bodies will notbe prepared to enlist the services of your company or your self .

 

The utility sector has been faced with compulsory refresher training since the UA units were revamped roughly five years ago and i don't hear anyone complaining about that. The FC expect all FMOC operators are to refresh every 3 years which believe me is vastly more expensive than Chainsaw units ! bot utility and fmoc units are more expensive than the usual chainsaw units but it is accepted that if you wish to work within these industries then you need to keep refreshing as and when required . legal requirements do change regularly as do the industry expectations . Surely it is better to keep up to speed with this rather than get left behind ?

 

If you were trained many years ago then it is likely that you will not have had anywhere near the level of training that is now delivered on courses and i say this having seen it first hand and make no excuses when i say that the biggest problem within the industry are poorly trained , out dated, under skilled and ignorant workers who all of which seem to think that they are the best think since sliced bread and can do the job and probably teach it / deliver training to a higher standard than guys who have been through the system to gain the training and qualifications and then gained the experience before going on to teach it !!

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

I read the article in Forestry journal several months ago. It's obvious that the big outfits will want a seat at the table to influence future policy but there's no "voice of the many" who will have to carry the fall-out. Who in a smaller outfit (from the 1 man band to 1-10 staff brigade) has the time, money and interest to fight their way to the boardroom? I did consider joining the Federation of Small Business (FSB) who "claim" to lobby on behalf of the small business owner, and perhaps this would be a policy issue they'd take on. I didn't like the guy that did the membership sales pitch for FSB (I know that's a bit childish) but he was unable to answer what I thought were reasonable questions eg: how many small-medium Arb companies are already members.

 

Are any of you guys out there in cyberland signed up with FSB or any other union/lobbying group?

 

The point about upskilling is a reasonable and sound expectation. So any progression through the old CS units should count as refresher for the previous ones within a sensible timescale eg 30/31 completed year X, 2 years later 32 - bosh, refresher done, 2 years later, 34 - bosh, refresher done, etc etc! Sounds reasonable enough???

 

With the apparent chaos at LANTRA/NPTC it's no wonder people lose faith in the desk pilots!

[Shane]

If I was a director of an insurance company I would be concerned about the attitude of many people towards keeping safe.

 

I've not read through this entire thread so maybe this has already been said...

 

I would have no objection to being examined every few years on my chainsaw use.

I know (and have been told by my son) that I can sometimes seem a bit complacent.

 

Yes - at the age of 56 I've been doing it for years and my head is still attached, I often believe I am perfectly safe BUT I wouldn't mind an independent observer watching me in action for half an hour and making sure I am being safe. If I'm not being safe then I'll either have to attend a training day (with another test) to get up to speed.

 

While bits of paper do not ensure you can do the job, I would rather pay for top-ups occasionally than end up maiming or killing myself.

 

Yes it costs money, but if you just have to be tested (based on years of experience) what's the problem. If I can work safer because a spotty 22 year old spots a bad habit - Bring it on.

 

As for the stupid comments about caravan dwellers not adhering to such a scheme,

well..... F++k them - if thats how they want to go on so what!

 

As for the cost - if you run your company so close to the edge that paying for some refersher courses will make you un-competitive... pack up now!

 

Sorry folks but there are lots of whingers who think because they've been doing it for years they are god's gift and better than any trainer.

 

You might be perfectly safe - move with the times and prove it.

What have you got to lose? your life maybe.

[fatharrywhite]

Won't this tend to favour people who've just passed their tickets recently rather than people with experience- from a safety aspect who would you rather be working with?

[fatharrywhite]

Tree surgery might be different but given the Forestry Commission policy of putting jobs out to tender & given we've just come through the biggest economic crisis since WW2 I could imagine there's quite a lot of contractors out there operating on fairly marginal incomes.