is LOLER worth anything?

[Mat]

Yet still no accidents, thats my point.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know loler isn't going away, I'm just playing devils advocate here..

 

You are playing devils advocate here???

 

Damn, I thought I was playing devils advocate here

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

You are playing devils advocate here???

 

 

 

Damn, I thought I was playing devils advocate here

 

 

No way Matt! You're "Devil in the detail" and it's good stuff!

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Hi all why not check it EACH TIME YOU USE IT BUT HAY HOLE WHAT DO I NO THANKS JON

 

 

That's the one Jon, check it when it goes away & check it as it comes out!

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Do you critically look at a lot of others climbers kit on a regular basis though?

 

 

 

I have lost count of the times that I have come across Krabs with useless gates, ropes with the end full of silky knicks (not to mention the hundreds of prussics that are so frizzy or glazed that I wouldn't use them to hang my chainsaw on, let alone climb on).

 

 

 

Why do people chance their life on such duff kit?

 

 

 

1) gradual decline - they hardly notice it getting worse (generally prussic loops)

 

2) apathy - they are fed up with messing about trying to get stupid 'self lockers' to work, so they stop bothering

 

3) tight wad-ness - those silky knicks always seem to be on the 'spliced eye end' of a nearly new rope.

 

 

 

Just try borrowing someone else's kit to do a really tall spindly tree above a set of nasty spikey railings, and tell me you feel perfectly comfortable.

 

 

Para 1 - No,although, as mentioned earlier, that might be the kit you're rescued on and therein lays another regulatory good practice issue - rescue climbers. That's another thread in its own right - if you're unconscious you'd need a rescue climber, if it's a minor injury, get yourself down, if it's a major arterial bleed, it would still be get yourself down or wait a) to bleed out waiting for rescue or b) take the fast(est) possible route down.

 

Para 4 - wouldn't lend or borrow, period.

[gensetsteve]

Tbh I tend to charge per kit rather than per item

But it's a lot cheaper than replacing the item like some folk I know do.

1 bloke I know just bins all his lifting strops every yr and buys new

Luckily he was happy to give me his old ones

 

A new sling is £3.25 so I would imagine it could be cheaper especially if any fail as you will be buying new anyway.

[Marc]

Para 1 - No,although, as mentioned earlier, that might be the kit you're rescued on and therein lays another regulatory good practice issue - rescue climbers. That's another thread in its own right - if you're unconscious you'd need a rescue climber, if it's a minor injury, get yourself down, if it's a major arterial bleed, it would still be get yourself down or wait a) to bleed out waiting for rescue or b) take the fast(est) possible route down.

 

Para 4 - wouldn't lend or borrow, period.

 

If your unconscious it would probably require 2 people to rescue one to get the climber to the ground and one to support his head to maintain an open airway... Aerial rescue could be to rescue and trapped climber or someone who has damaged there system a unable to descend.

 

Anyway back on topic.

 

6 monthly this 12 monthly that. Someone said it's the wrong way round, others have pointed out it's probably misguided and rigging kit should be 6 months, it probably should, at the moment we generally accept it is 12 months. Myself am thinking of moving ours to 6 monthly as I find we our replacing our ropes and slings yearly anyway so this proves to me the intensity of use means the interval of thorough examination should be shortened.

 

There was a period when I was climbing intensively during this period I could of shortened my PPE thorough inspections interval to just 3 months.

 

And after the storms earlier this year end of last, some of the rigging we was doing was pushing the limits of the kit we had, no reason why I shouldn't of had the kit go through another thorough check after that period which was only 1 month after it's last.

 

6 and 12 is not written in stone.

 

And thorough examinations are only a part of it, daily checks should be performed by the end user and recorded weekly, including introduction of new kit into service and retirement of old/worn/damaged/faulty kit, not just the loler guy every time he comes.

 

I used to think loler was pointless, and like many thought I do not need anyone to check my own kit and kept it in good condition. Now though I still don't see why "I" need loler my kit is BLING! I just like it I see it's benefit, it's all about being professional and raising the bar in the industry, ok it's not perfect buts it's a step in the right direction.

Edited June 8, 2014 by Marc