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Working at height - health and safety breach

I took this image back in the summer and I meant to post it sooner.

This guy was standing in the bucket of a fully-extended telescopic handler, cutting galvanised guttering with a hand-held electric grinder.

First thoughts were 'what an idiot'.

Second thoughts - putting aside the health and safety issues and the obvious risk (not only to himself but anyone walking on the pavement underneath) this guy must have nerves of steel.

I cannot condone his actions but there's more than a small part of me that admires someone who is able to work at height without fear.

I get scared on top of a 4' step ladder (and I mean that).

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  • I am currently involved in a HSE investigation with regards to working at height. THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ME OR MY COMPANY!!!

    It is so important to ensure that risk assesments, PPE, method statments, and training are met and kept upto date. If you cut corners some where along the line it will kick you right up the arse, empty your bank account and possibly close your company. Let alone you probably never get insurance again.

    Recently we was asked to adjust our quote for road side work, felling trees. Our customer rang us up and side the other company quoting was not quoting to provide traffic control etc. And would I drop my price to reflect no traffic control. My reply was NO WAY! There was no way my staff and contractors were going to be working on a 60mph A road with out traffic control. The other company got the job and how nothing went wrong I dont know.

    Keep it safe!
  • around 20/30 feet before my knees start knocking together

  • He is selfish
    Insurance is killer and idiots like him getting injured put the premiums up.
    I did a close board fence one along the side of a 60mph road on the verge never again.

  • Seen someone last week in a bucket just like that ripping off asbestos sheeting of a shed roof pretty much in the middle of the town then chucking the sheets to the ground with dust going everywhere! I did not hang around for obvious reasons! Should have reported him really!

  • PRO

    I also recently saw a chap (I'd estimate about 60 years of age) in the bucket of a telescopic handler limbing/bottoming poplar trees. It looked like this chap's wife was driving the machine. They were in woodland (although adjacent to the road).

    The chap was standing in the bucket with his chainsaw, at about +7 metres up, wearing shorts and t-shirt but no safety gear.

  • Hey Phil, thats the norm in France! You wont get me any higher than a step ladder, let alone in a bucket - how aboutthis for a pic at a wedding a couple of years ago, they were having their roof done!

    bride & bridesmaids half way through the reception!!!!!!

    Steve

  • I know this is an old(ish) post now but I thought I'd add to it...

    My neighbours opposite are having their chimneys re-pointed and there's scaffolding at each end of the roof, around the chimneys. I've just come home to see a guy hanging from one of the bits of scaffolding with one hand using the handle of a broom to sweep leaves from the gutters while his mates flush the gutters with water from trugs!

    Fair play for nerve, but hanging by one hand on the roof of a two storey building with slippery tiles and a slippery plank (to disperse downward force of the scaffolding on the tiles) while people add more water to a wet roof... surely the HSE would have a field day?!

  • Don't take risks and the older I get, the less I take!  30 years ago I would shin up trees to prune or take down, with no safety equipment.  What was the problem - I was climbing the same size trees at 12 years old!?  But when the family came along, I began thinking 'what if'.  Nowadays, if I can't do the job from my tripod or pole saw I get the experts in +15%.

  • PRO

    Slightly different angle of working at height - should read working with height.

    We had a town council contract that involved managing several community sports grounds. Part of our duties involved erecting and dismantling football and rugby posts.

    Putting up and taking down football goal posts is relatively straight forward and with minimal risk.

    The rugby posts were a different matter though. We inherited rusting steel posts. The sockets in the ground were also steel and because water ran down the posts and got caught in the sockets, the base of the steel posts became thin over time as they rusted through after being constantly sat in water.

    The previous maintenance manual advised unbolting the crossbar and then lifting the posts up manually and then lowering them to the ground. 

    The posts were about 15 metres tall and because they were made of steel they were extremely heavy.

    We had to refuse the task on health and safety grounds. Initially we added a variation to the contract which stated we could use a telescopic to pull the posts out. 

    Eventually we had to refuse to undertake the task. The problem was because we were being asked to handle equipment at height but from, what was effectively, ground level.

    The most worrying aspect of the contract specification was that someone had written the specification without apparently understanding the risks. 

    Secondly, the method of handling as initially explained within the contract document had been used for at least 12 years by the previous contract operator. I can only assume that the low value of the contract led to health and afters breaches that when I look back, were truly frightening.

    Eventually all posts were replaced with light aluminium.

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