Well, there's a rub - current thinking, backed by law, is that you should only ever use ladders for access and never to work from unless no safer method of access (e.g.scaffolding tower, cherry picker, scissor lift, etc) is feasible. Secondly, whilst ladders should be adequately secured, use of a harness on a ladder except in very special circumstances is also frowned upon. But then I doubt from what you say that you've ever written any RAMS.
I have heard guys talk about having heard it all before, but the reason that h&s stuff gets reiterated so often is that like anything else things do change over time. Being blase and saying "I've never been injured on a job" means very little if your knowledge of safe working is out of date, and you don't review your own approach and behaviour constantly. One of the most common things I've read on the 'net is what you said, often coupled with a further comment about safety being a matter of common sense. My experience of common sense is that it isn't that common at all!
You really do seem to have a bit of a chip on your shoulder about formally trained people, I'd say. Someone coming on site with a CSCS card has demonstrated to an examining body that they have a defined minimum level of technical knowledge of their trade, as well as a minimum level of understanding in site safety. In other words as a charge hand or foreman I have a bench mark from which to start. Come to site without those and you could be a genius or know jack sh1t about the job or how to behave in a safe manner on site. How can I tell without spending a lot of time and effort? And like anyone in my position I watch new starters like a hawk to see if they are (a) competent and (b) safe. Once I am happy that they are both thing get a lot easier, at least for me
In the matter of training, what you say you've done is a fraction of what a trained carpenter should be able to do, possibly because your lack of training means you have never learned some of what are fundamentals. That means whilst you may be good swinging doors, you may be useless if you have to do other stuff because you have had no exposure to it. I notice you don't say that you've done stairs, roofs or joisting - and that you don't like windows - all staples in carpentry. So why should someone consider a semi-skilled man with no proofs over a trained man with all those useless bits of paper? That is what you are up against
When you find one of your graduated who has always used a harness on ladders, scaffolding, roofs, etc, call me.
I see them everyday on major building sites.
Apart from my younger years when i was learning, I was never one to go and ask for work, people called me to offer work knowing my standards.
I have built all sorts of stairs, roofs, summer houses, children playgrounds, extensions, dormer conversions and much more.
In my days there was traffic outside my workshop and many times i had the door locked and a sign on the door: Closed: too busy.
Many of your graduated professionals used to come to me, get their stuff built by me and then just flog it or install it claiming it was their work.
Doesn't bother me.
Then, as said, as a semi-skilled diyer i was constantly called to sites to fix the mess left by your graduated professionals.
For a decade that became my main and very profitable income.
In fact, i had so many unstarted project that i gave them away to other semi-skilled diyers like me.
So overall, I corrected your graduated professionals in h&s, fixed their poor workmanship, taken down entire structures built by them, built cabinets, stairs and all sorts for them, trained them in carpentry, carving and joinery and finally being derided by them for not having a piece of paper to wipe my arse with.
Truth is that they will have to always duck and dive, join the cowboy builders trusted traders scheme to get work and never have repeat customers.
Of course this doesn't apply to all of them, i'm sure lots are very good, it's just that i've been unlucky to meet only a handful of them.
