Working at height regs

[Guest]

Dave, the picture of the guy on the A frame ladders is using them wrong as you are not ment to go past the top of the A.

67794[/snapback]

Then what's the point in having them extend out if you cant go up them? You may as well just have a normal pair of steps.

I'm not saying you're wrong though, just seems a bit pointless to me to have something you can't use.

[Guest]

although it doesnt actually affect me as Im scared of heights anyway.

67798[/snapback]

lol! I'm not scared of heights, I'm scared of falling from one though. If I feel safe at any height I'm fine, if I'm on some rickety ladders then I feel scared.

I was on a job last week with a painter and I was doing the scissor lift operating for him and he was scared but I loved it. We got up to about 15m and I've never seen anyone paint so quickly, ever! I was quite happy enjoying the view but he was shouting at me to get us down.

[Guest]

We get regular talks on the use of ladders,the usual stuff about three points of contact but im still expected to fit to a bell off them. I always say its impossable but then I was told your knees count as two of the contact points .

Dave, the picture of the guy on the A frame ladders is using them wrong as you are not ment to go past the top of the A.

Several months ago we were told about the eye bolts but has anyone been to a job and found one?. Whos job is it to fit this, and how long before they bring out a reg on load testing the eye bolt .

67794[/snapback]

knees dont count...neither does {any other body part} wrapped around a rung...i asked

[Guest IM_Alarms]

lol! I'm not scared of heights, I'm scared of falling from one though. If I feel safe at any height I'm fine, if I'm on some rickety ladders then I feel scared.

I was on a job last week with a painter and I was doing the scissor lift operating for him and he was scared but I loved it. We got up to about 15m and I've never seen anyone paint so quickly, ever! I was quite happy enjoying the view but he was shouting at me to get us down.

67800[/snapback]

You should try being 30M up and driving over a breeze block!!!!! Scared the living daylights out of me and i couldn't even slap the driver as it was a relative!!

[norman]

You should try being 30M up and driving over a breeze block!!!!! Scared the living daylights out of me and i couldn't even slap the driver as it was a relative!!  

67815[/snapback]

They would still have got a slap.

[PJF]

Its the makers that say dont go above the top of the A, but they have a picture of this guy in the catalogue right at the top of the largest set they do. He doesnt look very happy and is clinging on like a cat .

If you are at the top of the A its still double the height of most normal steps. I have found them ideal for the hard to reach 360 DT in the middle of high supermarket suspended cielings. They make a very steady platform when used correctly.

[Paul Giles]

All very well on paper but it will never be enforced.

How can you stop people using ladders? Make the use of them illegal? i dont think so.

We have Ankalads fitted to our ladders now but it still comes down to common sense.

A ladder used properly with correct support on a firm footing or use of stabalisers (ankalads etc) is very safe, yes you could fall from a great height and kill yourself but you can kill yourself falling down some stairs and they are over two meters!

HSE wake up and smell the coffee! (correctly poured and on a steady table of course)

[Paul Giles]

I know, getting each tower inspected before and after they are erected, crazy!

What happened to people taking responsibilty for their own actions?

Big sites are not as common as the main use of ladders e.g domestic or small commercial.

Some parts round here and im sure you will agree Monteey will not be suitable for towers etc.

[alarmdoctor]

These are also what i use and just lately customers are getting very edgy about the use of ladders in a situation where i am working alone.

Now speaking personally i spend 99.99% of my time working by my self (like most other service engineers i would think). Now, at least one of my customers is insisting that if i attend any of their sites and have to use ladders i have to have someone at bottom footing them. I suggested to them that i would use my usual method - using my car at a 'footer' but this was declined. In one instant last week i had to go to office, pick up an apprentice, and then come back to hull to complete the job.

What do the rest of you do when you need to use a ladder to check a bell,change a IR lamp, refocus a camera, or any one of the other day to day duties a lone working service engineer has ?

Now don,t get me wrong i,m all for safety but common sense has to prevail.

i will tie my ladders off to whatever i am working on and use my car or something extremely heavy to prevent slippage. If i don,t feel safe going up without somebody at bottom ,ie inside a building on a slippery floor, then i don, t go up.

paul

dont use laddres anymore they are dangerous we use cherry pickers to put up our bells

[Guest]

dont use laddres anymore they are dangerous we use cherry pickers to put up our bells

I wish you was my competitor. What happens when you can't get a cherry picker close enough, do you get those dangerous ladders back out again?

Words fail me.

Dave