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

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Handle9

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#2249374 31-May-2019 21:48

surfisup1000:

The tradesperson should have refused to drive to your place too. Roads are very dangerous.

OSH is just way over the top.

Clearly which is why we have a workplace fatality rate six times that of the UK and 1.8 times that of Australia.

Workplace health and safety is finally starting to be taken seriously in New Zealand and it's about time.

compound

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#2249381 31-May-2019 22:12

I worked as an electrical technician and always ensured I had the safety gear on that I needed to stay safe on the job. That started with safety capped footwear and an insistence from a customer for me to remove gear the kept me safe from harm would end in me not doing any work for them. OSH is now Worksafe and they may be considered over the top on occasions but steel capped footwear, safety glasses and hearing protection are basics that when needed should be worn and nobody should discourage or shame you in to removing them when you consider they are necessary.

On a separate point, who asks for proof of a current practicing license from electrical workers? Just because they drive up in a van with lightning bolts down the side doesnt mean they are registered and capable.

raytaylor

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#2249385 31-May-2019 22:38

mattwnz:

As I said , I have never come across a tradesperson that has refused to remove their shoes on entry before, so would have never even thought of buying something myself for that purpose.

This is my policy for our staff - we wear steelcaps where ever we are working. One of my staff dropping a drill or hammer on their toe is going to create a bigger problem for me.

Though in the vans we do keep gumboots and plastic bags so they dont bring in mud.

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raytaylor

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#2249386 31-May-2019 22:46

surfisup1000:

Is it common to have man holes (person holes?) in the middle of a house?

I wouldnt say a high percentage, but it is common - usually by lifting a panel in the bottom of a wardrobe. If possible we avoid going under a house as its just icky.

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Aredwood

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#2249404 1-Jun-2019 00:55

compound:

I worked as an electrical technician and always ensured I had the safety gear on that I needed to stay safe on the job. That started with safety capped footwear and an insistence from a customer for me to remove gear the kept me safe from harm would end in me not doing any work for them. OSH is now Worksafe and they may be considered over the top on occasions but steel capped footwear, safety glasses and hearing protection are basics that when needed should be worn and nobody should discourage or shame you in to removing them when you consider they are necessary.

On a separate point, who asks for proof of a current practicing license from electrical workers? Just because they drive up in a van with lightning bolts down the side doesnt mean they are registered and capable.

I find it difficult to take seriously what Worksafe say, when they don't care about vehicle safety.

What is the worst case scenario of dropping a hammer on your foot? Maybe an amputated toe, if it is a big hammer and you are really unlucky. Worst case scenario of being in a head on crash in an unsafe van - Death. And if you are not dead, then spending the rest of your life in a wheelchair.

But since employees tend to drop things on their feet more often than they get killed / seriously injured on the roads. Worksafe and others make a big fuss over little accidents like bruised toes. And ignore the hazards that lead to events that don't happen often. But which have extremely bad outcomes when they do happen.

Which is why we get accidents like the Pike River mine explosion.

And at the same time, you see employees wearing hard hats while working outside in the open. (What things are they worried might fall out of the sky, and hit their employees on the head? And why can't that hazard be eliminated or isolated instead?) The real answer - wearing hard hats looks good written down as part of the H&S policy. And makes it appear that the company has a safety management system.

Of course, when the reason for footwear is due to electrical hazards. Then safety footwear is entirely justified. But how many electrical contractors preform insulation resistance testing on their boots? And then the question needs to be asked - Is working on equipment while it is live actually necessary? If it is for testing purposes, then (assuming that it is a plug in appliance) Temporally powering the appliance via an isolating transformer would be an effective means of isolating the electrocution hazard. And would take virtually no time to implement.

Handle9

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#2249406 1-Jun-2019 01:31

Ummm yeah no.

Pike River had systemic failure and deliberately neglected health and safety because they were chronically under capitalised. This of course lead to the new health and safety legislation which made the management and ownership of the PCBU personally liable for health and safety in their organisation. It has resulted in an significantant changes to behaviour of organisations on construction sites. Some of it is safety theatre but a lot of it is well.past time.

It's been pretty comprehensively proven that there is a triangular effect with health and safety. If you have a large number of small scale accidents you will eventually have a serious or fatal accident as it is endemic of a weak health and safety regime. Similarly if you never have recorded near misses you aren't effectively documenting incidents.

The main reason for wearing a hardhat is to stop abrasions from brushing your head on protrusions. They are not at all effective with falling objects.

compound

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#2249427 1-Jun-2019 06:30

Aredwood:

Of course, when the reason for footwear is due to electrical hazards. Then safety footwear is entirely justified. But how many electrical contractors preform insulation resistance testing on their boots? And then the question needs to be asked - Is working on equipment while it is live actually necessary? If it is for testing purposes, then (assuming that it is a plug in appliance) Temporally powering the appliance via an isolating transformer would be an effective means of isolating the electrocution hazard. And would take virtually no time to implement.

Actually live work is very necessary. How do you test voltages through a faulty circuit if you cant liven it? No need for an oscilloscope ever in that case. Just because the modern practice is to replace modules until smoke stops coming out of a circuit when you turn it on does not make it the correct way to fault find.

An isolating transformer is not isolation of an electrocution hazard. They isolate phase from earth only, preventing you shorting yourself to ground. Have you lifted a 2kVA isolating transformer? Dropping that on your toe accidentally without foot protection will end your day badly. RCD units are light but takes more than a moment to install a temporary one into a 3 phase permanent connection install for a single run test. So as you say, plug in small appliances only and most of those are sealed, double insulated, non repairable items that are cheaper to replace than repair.

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pctek

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#2250644 3-Jun-2019 18:36

What? I don't insist, OK it's new but it's hardly like they just climbed out of the sewer.

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