Personal Health and Safety.

[BoxBasher]

There is always a lot of emphasis on Health and Safety in large companies / on large sites. I would just be interested to see how many people use or own PPE (personal protection equipment) when doing DIY jobs, working as a self-employed individual or even for a large firm.

How many people wear ear protection when drilling, goggles when hammering or working with sprays/liquids/particles overhead?

It makes me laugh when people I work with will gear up with earplugs at work, but don't bother at home.

Does anybody work on large sites/ for large firms, that don't provide adequate or any PPE? What about apprentices... do you get encouraged to use it, or do you see it as a waste of time?

 

[masona]

protection when drilling, goggles when hammering or working with sprays/liquids/particles overhead?

My company have posters all over the place to show you the damaged of the people who haven't bothered with PPE, it's shocking, I even wear safely glasses for just cutting the lawn, a small stone hit me on the side of my face once made me realise how important safely is.

 

[diypeter]

i always put my saftey 1st at work and at diy

 

[carpenter les]

on the better sites ppe enforcement is strict ..you shouldnt be able to get on a decent site nowadays without a cscs card ...having passed a h&s test.!!

 

[eggplant]

you shouldnt be able to get on a decent site nowadays without a cscs card ...having passed a h&s test.!!

good point - could even be expanded on to the stage where public liability insurance wont be given unless the applicant has the relevalt certificate(s) for his/herintended work - one snag is, the price of courses.
Back to the original question, I must confess that Im terrible when it comes to h&s, I have often drilled with no eye protection, also used angle grinders, oxy torches and plenty of other things in my time with little or no protection, funny though how one might cut a piece of steel section with a grinder and squinted uyes but wouldnt pick up the then end that had just been cut with bare hands.

 

[BoxBasher]

I only asked because we've just had our annual H&S "conference" where we get told about the new gear we're meant to be getting, and briefed on new procedures etc (in addition to our usual monthly meets).
A member of management asked a few questions including:

1)Who wears PPE at home for DIY jobs?
About half the people in the room stuck their hands up.

2) Who wears their work issue PPE at home for DIY jobs?
I was the only one who stuck my hand up and then he stuck his up too, said that he'd rather people used their works PPE at home than ended up deaf or blind etc.

I think hire shops should provide PPE when hiring equipment out to the public.

 

[Big_Spark]

on the better sites ppe enforcement is strict ..you shouldnt be able to get on a decent site nowadays without a cscs card ...having passed a h&s test.!!

What a stupid joke the CSCS system is..Decent sites do not need this CSCS rubbish, they have managers who are aware of the dangers and take the common sense steps to ensure safety without having a H&S broom up their rear orifice.

The ONLY reason the MCG created the CSCS system was to prevent mass prosecutions by the HSE due to the accidents on sites where blind eyes had been turned.

The situation is no different with CSCS, it simply gives the contractor a back door escape from responsibility when it goes pear shaped and it gives the individual no more awareness of safety than they had before.

 

[carpenter les]

no offence but you are totally wrong ... the first point is ..it is a skills card for the operative , proving you have the relative qualifications and whether you have served an apprenticship...secondly it makes sure that people on site have a basic understanding of H&S , so when an imagrant worker or unexperienced worker comes on site they are not a danger to themselves or anybody else .....how anyone can call a tightening up of the health and safety system at any workpace , never mind one thats as dangerous as building sites ,as a joke is beyond me!!

 

[masona]

So far, I have yet to see any council workers with a stone grinder cutting pavements & kerb that is wearing gloves, ear protection, goggle & they are breathing in all the dusts

 

[BoDon]

I work in the Oil Industry (Offshore + onshore). It's mandatory to wear PPE on site, all day every day.
I wear my steel capped boots and safety glasses when I am in the garage or doing the garden at home. I may look a prat sometimes wearing full PPE strimming the garden or trimming the hedge, but i would look even more 'prattish' having to call an ambulance after being lacerated by a strimmer!

I usually have a spare pair of safety glasses in my kit bag and in my car, I was once working in Leeds, heading for the airport, I stoped to fill the hire car at a petrol station in Bradford, there was this guy cutting up some concrete blocks in the forecourt with a stillsaw!! needless to say he was not wearing any PPE what so ever, I fetched my spare pair of safety glasses, I handed them to him and said "use them, you only have 1 pair of eyes, and they are very hard to replace! , but your family may still get compensated if one of that sparks ignites one of the pumps!!" however, I didn't think he heard a word I said (no ear defenders), anyway he did look at them curiously, put them on and carried on cutting away.

On another note:
Manual handling training is also taken very seriously, so much so, when you are back on the beach and out shopping with your wife, you can always spot the offshore worker, he is often the only person 'with one hand free' using hand rails whilst going up and down stairs.

Also when we visit an unfamiliar work site whether it be on or offshore, the first thing you do is, you get a site induction which includes your nearest escape route, I wonder how many people on this forum look for your nearest accessible escape route from their hotel room when on vacation??

 

[masona]

Also when we visit an unfamiliar work site whether it be on or offshore, the first thing you do is, you get a site induction which includes your nearest escape route, I wonder how many people on this forum look for your nearest accessible escape route from their hotel room when on vacation??

Here , you may know this but others maybe interested

 

[RF Lighting]

I perhaps dont wear my PPE as often as I should, but I was shocked last week when working from a lifter upto 10 meters, one of our guys refused to wear a harness because 'it made him look silly'.

I have avoided a nasty injury though, thanks to my PPE.
While mowing the grass a few years back with a petrol rotary mower, the blade hit a rock which flung the to the left about 10". This ended up with all the leather being removed from the front of one of my rigger boots, and polishing the toe cap.

Oh and possibly the most common bit of PPE that saved my life - The seatbelt

 

[Gary_M]

If the Company has trained their staff to know that they should wear such protective gear, and the employee chooses not to, then the employee becomes the liable person - basically meaning that if they injure someone else or themself, they have no right to compensation and they would likely have to pay any damages to another person out of their own pocket

It is an interesting point when referring it to DIY'ers. I suspect that the majority don't wear the appropriate safety equipment (including me). Unfortunately most humans have the 'it won't happen to me attitude' and it usually takes a personal accident/injury to change their mind

Much of my work is with Council employees, teaching Manaul Handling (social work sector), and it is amazing how many people are willing to place themselves into positions that are known to cause great injury (particulalry to the lower back) without any thought about their safety.

I fully endorse that people need to take risks as part of the learning process, but when there is sufficient evidence to indicate the outcome of certain risks, people need to take this into consideration before going ahead 'unprotected'

 

[Steve]

If the Company has trained their staff to know that they should wear such protective gear, and the employee chooses not to, then the employee becomes the liable person - basically meaning that if they injure someone else or themself, they have no right to compensation and they would likely have to pay any damages to another person out of their own pocket

back to the real world. The idiot would sue his employer/ex-employer for millions due to loss of earnings / stress / funeral costs / anything else he can think of. Whether he was educated or not, it can be easily argued that its the employer's job to make sure PPE is used.

 

[joe-90]

Oh and possibly the most common bit of PPE that saved my life - The seatbelt

It amazes me that Taxi drivers never wear one. On the road all day they are more likely to be involved in a collision than just about anybody.