Elf N Safety And Ism's

grendel · February 27, 2019

I had to pull our health and safety team up at work today, they issued a flash report regarding an incident where one of our operatives was injured pulling a cable by hand (we tend to use winches nowadays).

in the report they quoted that the maximum lift was 25kg - now this is contrary to all training we are given which states there are no maximums or limits, but it is what we are comfortable moving as an individual, and that risk assessments must be done with any lift.

well aside from the fact that a cable pull is a pull not a lift, by stating 25kg they also clearly excluded our lady engineers from the equation, (if you are talking maximum lifts they are rated at 16kg so were clearly being excluded by omission) some I know, would get stuck in and help (others wouldnt, but thats their option).

anyway my concerns were sent to the head of safety, who forwarded my email to the person who writes the flash reports, correcting his thinking on maximum weights in the guidelines, and saying I had some valid points.

I like to think that my company is a safer place now, with less discrimination (albeit unconsciously) than it had previously (it is actually a very good company on these points anyway, but we do need to take care of any gender inequality as we come across it)

ChrisB · February 27, 2019

With retirement age stretching ever further towards the horizon one wonders if age should also come into the equation.

I know at nearly seventy I can't lift what I could 10 years ago. My wheelbarrow and two sack barrows (one folding for in the car) get more and more use.

grendel · February 27, 2019

at 59 I have got crafty, I do a risk assessment and assess that someone else needs to move whatever the item is. I have a folding barrow, but its not a sack barrow as such and its getting a bit ancient (like me) lidls occasionally sell something similar, its a 4 wheel barrow with the base extending , the handle folds up to about hip height