Thread: has OH&S gone overboard

Been following this thread....wanted to share a puzzling one.....

OH&S required us(a few years ago...when hubby was still alive)to do a safety course to allow us on site.....(CleaningBusiness)...
On attending...9 people.....7 who...could NOT understand English....but worked for a larger company....who were obligated to send them....NO....they didn't have to understand one word.....BUT...hey guess what?..... they all knew how much money/per hour they got!

I didn't understand...that old saying.....about rules & laws...some rules are made to be broken.....wow....the big companies surely know what that means...don't they?

A small business competes against large companies that pay the same for twenty workers under Public Liability as we did for just one of us....but the best is yet to come.....

....the shopping centre's policy required us to have all work completed before public were allowed into the building.....ie...we had to be out by 6.30am....but to have the privillege to work there we had to pay $900 + a year to come into the building...when our work was outside windows!!!
Public Liability to work for when public were excluded....????
Much like.... buying shoes for someone with no feet!

It came as no supprise.... to find out...only recently....who owned the larger cleaning company....LOL....the Shopping Centre Owners.....the ones who wanted us to be safe...but didn't care if their workers understood anything!
You ask just one of them(cleaners today) where a phone is....where to ring for an ambulance, where the nearest fire extinguisher is....where is the nearest first aide box....& what should they do...a code...blue or yellow if someone has a heart attack while their working.....NO...they don't understand ENGLISH!!!!

Still wondering....???

WOW..dont even start me on some people getting a drivers liecence.....who can't speak ENGLISH but are entitled to have their interpreter take the exam for them....that's a nightmare!

Sorry mate but you're exactly the type of person that has caused these rules to be introduced. So you've got no-one to blame but people like yourself who are too stubborn or stupid or whatever to do the right thing. Do you really think not wearing shoes in a workshop is a smart thing? Mate, I would not brag about that on a public forum because it doesn't reflect on you too well.

i take full ersponsability for anything that happens to me if i drop a bloudy hammer on my tow its my fault not the blanke who made the hammer handle.

i have had my fair share of acadents as some of you will know but i dont intend to let that stop me doing what i love.

problems related to safter equipment include

saftey glases - block periferal vision and become foged and dirty quickly. if you cant see what you are doing then you are mutch more likely to make a mistake

long pants and long ???? - can easily be caught by machinery. i have had a shirt sleve get caught in a post hole borer bnd rip it of my back

chainsaw chaps - reduce mobility dramaticly witch is not good whne running from a tree or moveing round amongst fallen brances. they also have lose straps that can eaily become caught in machinery.

gloves - can get caught in macinery, the reduce the bility of the hands to grip and reduce fealing.

boots - most work boots are mutch to big heavy making it hard to move around easily.



in teh fire brigade they even go as far as to tell you that you must wear cotton underpants or you arn coverd by the insurance. not if the fire is hot enough to ment your undies threw fire retardant overalls then i think your in truble anyway.

i got an email last night saying that the rules have now changed and ppe must not be worn inside the prep room mess area of office of the fire station. now our station is one big shed this means we have to get changed everytime we enter the shed. and must wear a second pair of clotes uner the uniform. on top of this the trucks must be parked in teh shed and we cant enter a truck without ppe so when acking the trucks into the shed we must be wearing out ppe but cant get out of the truck into the shed untill we have taken it off

weisyboy, I reckon your heart is in the right place, but your head just needs a bit of re-alignment

Originally Posted by Ron Dunn

Maybe we should go the other way ... a few more deaths from "OH&S" factors might be a good thing:

* Reduce the pressure on scarce national resources like water
* Reduce the pressure on government infrastructure like hospitals, transport, etc.
* (and for most of the idiots who caused this overload) raise the national IQ

Death through stupidity is God's way of cleaning up the gene pool.

I couldn't agree more.

most work boots are mutch to big heavy making it hard to move around easily.

Sorry mate but there's no excuse for going barefoot into a workshop, I don't care how tough you think you are.

You complain about all the OH&S laws but you're actually prepared to do what most people would think is a dumb thing. It puts things into perspective a bit. You obviously think you are bullet proof and so you don't need all these pencil necked paper pushers telling you what to do. I was like that when I was 18 but fortunately I've developed a bit of sense since then. I used to work as a glazier and in summer I hated wearing boots, so I wore thongs. How bloody stupid was that? I was no hero, I was an idiot. I walked out of there with all my toes not because of how tough I was but in spite of how stupid I was.

The problem is that if/when you do cut off a toe or something, you're going to be a burden on the hospital system and your family until you're up and running again - when it's an easily preventable scenario. Maybe the problem is that you haven't tried the right brand of boot. I wear Redbacks all day every day and they're very comfortable and light and a damn sight safer than bare feet!

This is why we need OH&S laws: to force people like you to do the right thing. The fact it has gone overboard is a real issue but if we didn't have fools running around thinking they're immortal, we probably wouldn't have needed them at all.

Originally Posted by silentC

Sorry mate but there's no excuse for going barefoot into a workshop, I don't care how tough you think you are.

You complain about all the OH&S laws but you're actually prepared to do what most people would think is a dumb thing. It puts things into perspective a bit. You obviously think you are bullet proof and so you don't need all these pencil necked paper pushers telling you what to do.

The problem is that if/when you do cut off a toe or something, you're going to be a burden on the hospital system and your family until you're up and running again - when it's an easily preventable scenario. Maybe the problem is that you haven't tried the right brand of boot. I wear Redbacks all day every day and they're very comfortable and light and a damn sight safer than bare feet!

This is why we need OH&S laws: to force people like you to do the right thing. The fact it has gone overboard is a real issue but if we didn't have fools running around thinking they're immortal, we probably wouldn't have needed them at all.

Originally Posted by silentC

I wear Redbacks all day every day and they're very comfortable and light and a damn sight safer than bare feet!

Personally I prefer Blundstones, but then I have never tried redbacks cos I have never felt the need to change.

Just a point for Ron Dunn.

I don't think it is possible to raise the National IQ. I was under the impression that by definition the average IQ is always 100. This applies equally to Canberra and everywhere else. In other words I think it is standardised.

I know what you mean though and agree.

Carl, it sounds like you need to learn something some basic risk management. Every action has a negative consequence but the risk of not wearing the PPE you refer to below, is usually greater and in some cases much greater than wearing them.

Originally Posted by weisyboy

saftey glases - block periferal vision and become foged and dirty quickly. if you cant see what you are doing then you are mutch more likely to make a mistake

I agree, but it sounds to me like you need to get yourself a good face shield. I have the full wrap around with orange head piece, $30 from mitre 10 - excellent peripheral vision. I now use it with the chainsaw, angle grinder, TS etc all the time.

long pants and long ???? - can easily be caught by machinery. i have had a shirt sleve get caught in a post hole borer bnd rip it of my back

It's not the fact that they are long pants or sleeves, the issue is looseness. Maybe you are like me - live in shorts and T-shirts but at the right time like welding etc long pants just make sense.

chainsaw chaps - reduce mobility dramaticly witch is not good whne running from a tree or moveing round amongst fallen brances. they also have lose straps that can eaily become caught in machinery.

For a start you should know running away from falling trees is an absolute no-no. Secondly, people that wear chaps have far fewer CS accidents than those that don't (maybe it's because they are the sort of people that wear them are safety minded to begin with) and when they do have an accident it's usually a minor one. The research done on this is pretty clear all over the world. In an article called, "New Zealand Logging Industry Accident Reporting Scheme Focus for a Human Factors Research Programme", a clear graph is shown where in 1983, chainsaw cuts to the leg accounted for 29% of all reported CS accidents, to 1986 where this value was only 8%. The principal cause of this substantial reduction in chainsaw injuries to the leg is primarily due to the introduction and widespread use of protective legwear during this 3 year period". This is very hard to argue with.

gloves - can get caught in macinery, the reduce the bility of the hands to grip and reduce fealing.

True - this has been discussed elsewhere, but the overall risks when using things like Welders and some machinery says you run a greater risk of hand injury by not wearing gloves. As a CS operator have you experience white finger yet Carl? It's most unpleasant and dangerous and a pair of good gloves reduces this significantly

boots - most work boots are mutch to big heavy making it hard to move around easily.

No comment. I assume you at least wear thongs when using a chainsaw?

Originally Posted by silentC

Sorry mate but there's no excuse for going barefoot into a workshop, I don't care how tough you think you are.

You complain about all the OH&S laws but you're actually prepared to do what most people would think is a dumb thing. It puts things into perspective a bit. You obviously think you are bullet proof and so you don't need all these pencil necked paper pushers telling you what to do. I was like that when I was 18 but fortunately I've developed a bit of sense since then. I used to work as a glazier and in summer I hated wearing boots, so I wore thongs. How bloody stupid was that? I was no hero, I was an idiot. I walked out of there with all my toes not because of how tough I was but in spite of how stupid I was.

The problem is that if/when you do cut off a toe or something, you're going to be a burden on the hospital system and your family until you're up and running again - when it's an easily preventable scenario. Maybe the problem is that you haven't tried the right brand of boot. I wear Redbacks all day every day and they're very comfortable and light and a damn sight safer than bare feet!

This is why we need OH&S laws: to force people like you to do the right thing. The fact it has gone overboard is a real issue but if we didn't have fools running around thinking they're immortal, we probably wouldn't have needed them at all.

i have blundstones 3 pairs one i wear when working one for horse rideing and a going out pair the are mighty comfortable but when i come home from work after wearing tehm all day my feet need a bit of fresh air so i take them off and go about my business. they stink enough as it is.

and i do not think im imortal but as iv said befor im not gonna let things stop me doing what i love comfortably.

Yes and I'm sure that missing a toe or half a foot wont stop you either, but I reckon things are a lot easier with all your bits attached.

Anyway, you're a grown adult, so it's up to you what you do. Let's hope we don't one day read a post from you wishing you'd put your boots on before going out to the shed.

All the best.

weisy - like you, i dont let stupid things like injuries stop me from doing things.

eg, a hockey ball hits me in the chest when i was standing behind the goalkeeper. it hurt but it also stopped the goal. but i will go back and stand there even tho i know there is a big risk.

but even I think you could use a little more PPE. decent anti fog safety glasses or a faceshield protects your eyes / face. some joggers will stop splinters etc getting into your feet. those two i just mentioned are not a big inconvenience are they???

my main hate for OHS comes from sport.
firstly, at cross country club, OHS made it so you have to be over 14 to do the long runs ( 7km + ). at the time, i was 12 and was capable of doing them. this annoyed the hell out of me because i was stuck doing the boring 5km courses instead of the fun, exciting long runs.
secondly, last year or a couple back ( cant remember which year ) HNSW made a rule saying all players have to wear shinpads and a mouthgaurd. i hate wearing mouth gaurds, i cant talk properly with them in, i cant breathe properly and i cant focus properly. it effects my game too much for my liking so i hate that rule. the good thing is if i go to nationals and they are outside NSW, i dont have to wear one i know they protect your teeth but i still very much dislike them.

When I was not a parent, I was pretty slack about PPE - although I have always tried to deal with wooddust from power tools. I had my share of silly accidents (the worst wast the axe into the top of the left foot which only had a Volley OC on it while chopping through the roots of a tree down a deep hole), but I was young and only hurting myself.

But once the kids came along and started to want to come with Dad into the workshop, I had to make rules for them, and stick to them myself. As an adult, I could take the individualistic line like Carl, but when I'm responsible for the safety (toes, fingers, eyes and hearing, etc) of little kids, then it is a different thing. And even I am more important, because even with life insurance, the kids will need me to keep working for a few more years before they can look after themselves.

So it is on with the goggles and earmuffs for all of us (or outside the workshop for the kids - and always outside if I'm welding or spraypainting inside) when I'm using power tools, and a strict rule that no-one (repeat no-one) is allowed in the workshop unless they are dressed with shoes on their feet.

After a while using sensible PPE become second nature..

A teenage cricketer from the Wirral died after he was hit in the chest with a ball, an inquest was told. Tim Melville, 18, collapsed with heart failure on the field minutes after the ball was bowled at the Wallasey Cricket Club player in a match last July.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/m...er/4652290.stm

Boiardi was not stabbed, shot or suffocated. He was hit in the chest by a lacrosse ball during a game against Binghamton. With less than three minutes left in the game and Cornell leading, Binghamton player Nate Kerstein shoot the ball towards the goal when it hit Boiardi in the chest, causing him to collapse to the turf. Doctors pronounced him dead by the end of the day.

http://media.www.jhunewsletter.com/m...-2244933.shtml

Four-year-old Cayden pulled away from his 12-year-old brother while another boy hurled a baseball at a pitch-back net. At that moment, Cayden wandered in front of the net and the ball hit him in his upper left chest, above his heart.
He took a couple of steps forward and collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.
A man in the park scooped up the motionless boy and carried him across a street to the family's home, where Cayden's mother spoke to 911 emergency operators.
When Pasco paramedics arrived, Cayden was unconscious, not breathing. He was pronounced dead a short time later at University Community Hospital in Tampa.

http://www.tbo.com/news/nationworld/MGBRCWZLJ8F.html

Eric Sopracasa, a 21-year-old University of Massachusetts lacrosse player, was participating in a routine practice last Wednesday, during the last week of the Minutemen's season. During one drill, he was struck on the chest by the ball, not an uncommon occurrence for a defensive player. The ball was not going particularly fast and seemed more like a pass than a shot, said some of the people at practice that day.
But Sopracasa, a fourth-year junior from Long Island, had been struck in exactly the wrong spot at exactly the wrong time.
He collapsed and stopped breathing; his heart stopped beating. After being revived briefly, he died that afternoon at nearby Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, Mass.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...pagewanted=all

Been nice knowing you, Stirlo....

In that same article about the success of chain saw chaps in preventing CS injuries there is also another success story about high visibility clothing. from the mid 80s to 1992 there was a steady increase in both the number and % of accidents involving chain saws where the worker injured was simply not seen before the accident. In 1993 the wearing of high visibility clothing was brought in for forestry workers the number and % of accidents involving unseen workers dropped dramatically to virtually nil..