Highland Council: Housing and social work committee - Health and Safety Report.

[chainsaw cat]

Water under the bridge, eh?

Felt a bit queasy mesen this morning.

 

[quimcunx]

I should hope so too. All that health and safety info, and it turns out you were just using the internet and Working at Height Regulations for grooming us, well teuchter.

That poor (no longer) innocent boy. You've ruined him. No one will want to marry him now he's damaged goods.

 

[chainsaw cat]

OK, so we sell him to a gang of gimps.

 

[quimcunx]

OK, so we sell him to a gang of gimps.

Ooh, it's like a Catherine Cookson novel!

We might as well now his reputation is soiled.

 

[teuchter]

It's health and safety gone mad.

 

[toblerone3]

Damm completely missed this revival of a classic thread. I ready this through again and laughed.

It was amazing how a small group split away from the thread and immediately there was (after a few PMs) a consensus on the spirit of cooperation on the Scottish Health and Safety Splitaway Count to 100 Thread.

Who started it the Splitaway? Was it Pagingo or Teuchter or Internetstalker ????

Eta: Just realised it must have been Teuchter as I think the thread was already up and running when the PMs were sent.

 

[quimcunx]

Teuchter was the brains behind it.

Credit where credit's due.

I should probably officially thank him from saving me from being locked up for my own good.

But I doubt I'll bother.

 

[toblerone3]

I think the continuing Count to 100 thread should be renamed as the

"Thread Where People Purport to Want to Count to 100 but Fail to Organise Adequately and Therefore Are Very Likely to Fail"

.......................and moved to Community

 

[quimcunx]

But we succeeded.

It should be renamed 'The Politest Argument in the History of the Internetz and Quite a Lot of Numbers'.

 

[toblerone3]

But we succeeded.

It should be renamed 'The Politest Argument in the History of the Internetz and Quite a Lot of Numbers'.

.

 

[chainsaw cat]

So does this mean that sitting on my chair does, indeed, constitute working at height?

Assuming I am also doing some work, of course. Not just sitting on my chair being lazy.

I'm sorry to go back so far, but this has been nagging at my mind.

You are 'at work' whether you are being lazy or not. I will look up the case law for the benefit of the Thread, but as memory serves, even being on the way to work or home from work can, in some circumstances, count as being 'at work'.

This does not mean that you have to be travelling on your work chair by means of pushing along backwards and gliding smoothly on those little wheels at the end of the chair feet, either, it can simply mean being on the Tube.

I'll clarify later.

 

[quimcunx]

I'm sorry to go back so far, but this has been nagging at my mind.

You are 'at work' whether you are being lazy or not. I will look up the case law for the benefit of the Thread, but as memory serves, even being on the way to work or home from work can, in some circumstances, count as being 'at work'.

This does not mean that you have to be travelling on your work chair by means of pushing along backwards and gliding smoothly on those little wheels at the end of the chair feet, either, it can simply mean being on the Tube.

I'll clarify later.

Bless. A whole week of nagging.

Your dedication is to be commended. But perhaps try and resist sexually assaulting teuchter this time. He's a delicate flower and there are regulations about that too.

 

[chainsaw cat]

It's not sexual assault, it's just a hobby.

 

[toblerone3]

Perhaps people here might be interested in this press release from the Use of Ladders in Scotland fortnight published by the Health and Safety Executive back in 2005.

"Tuesday 1 November 2005 14:56
Health and Safety Executive (Scotland)

HSE ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF LADDERS FORTNIGHT (14 - 25 NOVEMBER 2005) IN SCOTLAND

Last year 13 workers died from falls while working on a ladder, and more than 1200 suffered major injuries. Beginning on Monday, 14 November, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is organising a fortnight of events to raise awareness of the risks of using ladders; inspectors will work with ladder users and their employers, look at the current use of ladders and suggest sensible measures to improve safety. These events are part of HSE's national Ladders Week initiative to promote safe use of ladders.

In Scotland, between 2001 and 2004, five employees died as a result of a fall from ladders, 415 employees suffered major injuries, and 382 suffered injuries that required more than three days off work. These figures come from reports received by the HSE but it is possible that many more accidents have not been reported.

Stewart Campbell, HSE Director, Scotland said: "With a little more planning and assessment of the risks, understanding of the limitations of ladders, proper maintenance and checking that users are competent, many of these accidents could be avoided.

"A major injury, such as a broken bone or fractured skull, can often be a life changing event for the person concerned and their family. Quite apart from the personal suffering, an injury of this sort can adversely affect earning power and job prospects for a long time after the accident.

In Scotland the campaign is being launched with an event at the Dewars Centre in Perth on 14 November, (1.00 - 4.30) which has a target audience of facilities management companies, large organisations which may have their own maintenance facilities on site, and other companies which use ladders - the aim being to take the information available from the campaign and cascade this as widely as possibly.

Organisations which are involved in the launch event are: British Gas, the British Ladder Manufacturers Association, and Speedy Hire. BLMA and Speedy Hire will be demonstrating safe work at height solutions.

Other events happening during the campaign will include a series talks to large employers by various Inspectors cross Scotland; Similar talks to local safety groups cross Scotland, and sessions on ladder safety to college-run courses for safety officers. Additionally, there will also be a programme of pre-arranged visits to up to 70 facilities management companies in Scotland to assess the potential for improvement in selection of access equipment and the safe use of ladders.

To coincide with Ladders Week, HSE has produced Safe use of ladders and stepladders - an employers' guide, to help raise awareness of the risks associated with ladder use and giving advice on how to use them safely, and A toolbox talk on leaning ladder and stepladder safety, for employers giving refresher training to ladder users. These guides can be downloaded free from the HSE website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/fallindx.htm

Further information to help people who work at height, employers, and others with responsibilities under the law, is available free on the HSE website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/falls/. The website includes a number of "from experience" case studies of falls from ladders, together with advice on the precautions that should be taken to prevent such accidents. "

I thought readers of this thread might be interested in this recent video of a Geordie health and safety inspector falling off a ladder. This shows just how dangerous ladders can be if not used correctly.

 

[teuchter]

Thank you for posting. A valuable lesson learnt there.

 

[equationgirl]

You can't be too careful.

Our monthly safety reminder is about holding onto handrails when using the stairs - someone had an accident and fell down the stairs at our HQ , and they weren't using the handrail. Ooops.

 

[quimcunx]

I thought readers of this thread might be interested in this recent video of a Geordie health and safety inspector falling off a ladder. This shows just how dangerous ladders can be if not used correctly.

Would never have happened under chainsaw cat's watch.

 

[teuchter]

1

 

[equationgirl]

Me next

 

[equationgirl]

2