Electrical repair agent not removing shoes in house due to health and safety?

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#2248829 31-May-2019 02:30

If only they were walking on something designed to be walked on that would suffer no appreciable wear and tear being walked on by clean shoes....

gregmcc

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#2248834 31-May-2019 04:24

mattwnz:

That is probably true, but you would hope common sense would prevail. However there is nothing stopping them having indoor shoes, boots, which will have the same safety level. Theonly ime their woul dbe a risk involved, would be during the time they switch shoes.

Obviously you don't have much exp. in dealing with or been a tradie, I don't know of any company that would require their workers to have an "indoor pair of work shoes" and can you imagine the extra billing hours swapping shoes, having done the domestic trade work for some years it would be impossible to get everything from the work van in one go, and extra 5 mins lacing and unlacing work boots no big issue but when the customer is presented with the bill for a days work there would be complaints about the time taken.

andrewNZ

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#2248838 31-May-2019 07:11

mattwnz:
That is probably true, but you would hope common sense would prevail. However there is nothing stopping them having indoor shoes, boots, which will have the same safety level. Theonly ime their woul dbe a risk involved, would be during the time they switch shoes.

Worksafe don't give a proverbial about common sense or people's feelings. If something goes wrong, the go for the jugular of anyone conceivably involved. And when they are done with it, ACC , insurance companies, police, and other authorities might decide to have a turn too.

It all seems very silly, but what is actually happening, is employees are finally getting much needed backup from a safety authority.

The few places I've worked on new carpet, probably 15-20 years ago now there was cardboard laid throughout the house for walking and working on. This meant that boots stayed on, and more importantly, tradie mess, like wire strippings, paint, and dust didn't end up on the carpet.

I don't know what the tradie was fixing for you, but I haven't handled an appliance that wasn't awkward and sharp when removed and disassembled.

Mistenfuru

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#2248853 31-May-2019 08:13

I used to work as a Fibre Installer, We commonly climbed out of underfloor cavities in the middle of peoples houses.

We had the same enforced rule (not all of us followed it of course) that Boots should remain on no matter what.

I carried a single drop-sheet for climbing in-out of manholes, but informed the customer that anything else they'd need to provide covers.

99% of people were happy to drops some old sheets or towels down to allow for us to do this cleanly.

surfisup1000

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#2248866 31-May-2019 08:53

Mistenfuru:

I used to work as a Fibre Installer, We commonly climbed out of underfloor cavities in the middle of peoples houses.

We had the same enforced rule (not all of us followed it of course) that Boots should remain on no matter what.

I carried a single drop-sheet for climbing in-out of manholes, but informed the customer that anything else they'd need to provide covers.

99% of people were happy to drops some old sheets or towels down to allow for us to do this cleanly

Is it common to have man holes (person holes?) in the middle of a house? I'm guessing the cavity under the house is bare earth, probably with building discards such as nails and so on. That makes sense to wear shoes in that situation.

I know some people get totally fussy over shoes in the house, but we don't. Carpets get replaced every few years , and unless the tradie had been traipsing around in mud (which is never) it hasn't been an issue for us.

1101

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#2248879 31-May-2019 09:07

mattwnz:

Also had other tradespeople working in the house, and they all voluntarily removed their shoes.

Some tradies will also work on the roof without safety gear , or climb trees & cut down branches without saftey gear.
Common sense is irrelevant. You can be held liable .

If you dont like their H&S rules, turn them away & refuse entry. Its that simple :-)
Yes H&S rules are ridiculous now, to the point of some companies requiring training & certed to go up over 10feet , and require head office approval, each time, before going up on roofs etc .

Mistenfuru

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#2248938 31-May-2019 09:38

Is it common to have man holes (person holes?) in the middle of a house? I'm guessing the cavity under the house is bare earth, probably with building discards such as nails and so on. That makes sense to wear shoes in that situation.

Yeah, was really common on mid century houses to have a manhole in the hallway closet or laundry, alternatively on concrete surround houses they were cut into the floor after the fact.

A huge number of early (now on-sold) state houses in Hawkes Bay have internal manholes

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#2248977 31-May-2019 10:39

1101: H&S rules are ridiculous now, to the point of some companies requiring training & certed to go up over 10feet , and require head office approval, each time, before going up on roofs etc .

Working over 3 m has required WaH training and suitable PPE for a looong time in this country. If you're working in a fall arrest situation, you need a rescue plan, and as part of that you need to notify whoever is to rescue you when the work commences. Having people at head office as your rescue plan probably isn't going to do you much good though unless they're really close. In a lot of situations you can work in fall restraint instead, where the harness + lines prevent you from actually getting into a position where you could fall, and then you don't need a rescue plan etc. Having seen a colleague very close to death I don't think it's wise to trivialise the risks.

mclean

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#2248981 31-May-2019 10:45

Whiteware technicians are called out to handle and test appliances with known faults, often electrical faults, and often in machines containing water. Any technician willing to get into this without proper protective footwear is a brave one in my opinion. If his employer has a rule requiring him to keep his boots on when handling faulty appliances then expecting him to make his own assessment at individual worksites is a big call.

There are many appliances in my house which are not faulty, as far as I know, that I still wouldn't touch without proper footwear on.

tripper1000

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#2249057 31-May-2019 12:07

gregmcc:

mattwnz: That is probably true, but you would hope common sense would prevail. However there is nothing stopping them having indoor shoes, boots, which will have the same safety level. Theonly ime their woul dbe a risk involved, would be during the time they switch shoes.

Obviously you don't have much exp. in dealing with or been a tradie, I don't know of any company that would require their workers to have an "indoor pair of work shoes" and can you imagine the extra billing hours swapping shoes, having done the domestic trade work for some years it would be impossible to get everything from the work van in one go, and extra 5 mins lacing and unlacing work boots no big issue but when the customer is presented with the bill for a days work there would be complaints about the time taken.

It is all about customer service. The customer is paying by the hour. If the customer wants you to change shoes, wash your hands, put down protective matts, vacuum up afterwards etc you do it.

I used to work on boats. Some were filthy some were very flash, clean and white. Some owners were particular, so you did bring 2x sets of shoes. It's not that big of deal really.

It's all about repeat business - if you keep the customer happy, they'll call you back for the next job and the next. If you p!ss them off, they won't and you will have less work and less money. It's good manners and commerce 101, not rocket science.

Mistenfuru

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#2249071 31-May-2019 12:52

It is all about customer service. The customer is paying by the hour. If the customer wants you to change shoes, wash your hands, put down protective matts, vacuum up afterwards etc you do it.

I used to work on boats. Some were filthy some were very flash, clean and white. Some owners were particular, so you did bring 2x sets of shoes. It's not that big of deal really.

It's all about repeat business - if you keep the customer happy, they'll call you back for the next job and the next. If you p!ss them off, they won't and you will have less work and less money. It's good manners and commerce 101, not rocket science.

That works both ways though.. If you want that level of service and for a tradie to do that, then you should expect to pay more than for a tradie who doesn't

Tracer

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#2249235 31-May-2019 16:58

tripper1000:

It is all about customer service. The customer is paying by the hour. If the customer wants you to change shoes, wash your hands, put down protective matts, vacuum up afterwards etc you do it.

If you want that level of service expect to pay a lot more for it. If you want to pay regular rates there is no shortage of good work that doesn't involve being messed around with footwear changes.

gzt

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#2249245 31-May-2019 17:22

Simple enough to carry over-slipper type things or even disposables in the van. My guess is some do and some don't.

sir1963

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#2249339 31-May-2019 19:58

If working on heavy appliances then its acceptable for the serviceman to be wearing safety shoes. Fines from OSH are very real and expensive.

Putting on cover shoes is a PITA, especially if you need to go out to the van a few times, most cover shoes are so generic they never fit properly and can actually be a hazard themselves. And Yes, I am expected to wear them in certain areas of my job.

It is likely that part of the persons employment contract is they wear and use appropriate safety equipment at all time. Tradies can, and have, been fired on the spot for failing to comply with safety requirements on the worksite.

Commercial sites also mean going through induction seminars, signing agreements. I have been in places where my local contact was not allowed to be more than about 3 meters (and always in direct view) at all times.

Handle9

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#2249372 31-May-2019 21:42

mattwnz:

gregmcc:

It's all about safety at work and taking all practicable steps as required by the law.

Imagine if they dropped one of their tools - lets say a screwdriver and it stabbed their foot, Worksafe would be all over the worker and the employer issuing fines and picking apart the company health and safety policies. Wearing safety boots is a simple practical step which every trade worker should observe.

Asking a worker to remove their PPE which is their last line of defense against injury would also open you up to been liable to been fined should an accident happen.

That is probably true, but you would hope common sense would prevail.

I agree. It's common sense for them to wear shoes. It doesn't do any damage to your flooring (otherwise it wouldn't be suitable as flooring) and protects the trades persons feet. Where is the actual problem?

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