The risk from working at Heights
In 2004/ 2005 53 people died in the UK and nearly 3,800 were seriously injured as a result of a result of a workplace fall. Falls are the most common cause of death at work.
If you work at height for any task then your employer has a duty under the Working at Height regulations which places a duty of care on employers to protect their employees safety at all times who may be at risk of personal injury from a fall from height.
Latest projects launched by the Health and Safety Executive highlight the risk to the health of workers who conduct duties whilst at height but do insist that this does not mean a ban on the use of ladders as previously reported in the media.
The working at height regulations do not outright the ban in the use of stepladders but place emphasis to employers that they must carry out a suitable and sufficient assessment of risks connected with the working duties. This also entails finding reasonable alternatives if possible for not working at height in the first place. As an example of good working practice the use of a tower scaffold rather than the use of a stepladder is always the safer option.
Designers also have a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act to design products which do not place people at risk during maintenance tasks etc.
A typical example of this connected with the Working at Heights regulations would be that designers construct windows which can be rotated in their frames so that they can be cleaned without someone working at height or design new coatings which protect the glass and self clean like modern ovens.
The most common area of accidents connected with working from heights are connected with window cleaners, electricians and cleaning maintenance personnel. Recent cases provided evidence that a cleaning company was fined ?15,000 after one of its employees fell seven metres fracturing his skull. The employee was cleaning gutters at the time when he tried to cross a roof and fell through a plastic roof light. In another recent case a decorator died as a result of his stepladder collapsing.
Stepladders and ladders should only be used for low risk, short duration work.
A visual inspection should be carried out before any use of ladders to ensure the safety of the equipment, any cracks or deterioration of the equipment must be logged and the equipment removed from service until repaired and signed to warn other people of the hazard.
Employer's management requirements include assessment of risk, suitable safe systems of work communicated to the employee, supervision, task briefing or toolbox talks on the risks connected with the task, training, method statements communicated, using the safest equipment possible and routine checks on the equipment.
The regulations also require all working at height to be properly planned and supervised. With this hierarchy of control measures in place;
Avoid working from heights if practical
Provide working platforms, guardrails, toe boards or using elevating platforms
Providing nets or air bags if a working platform cannot be used
Safety harnesses but do rely on the employee to wear them.
Ladders
A ladder is a collective set of steps, linked vertically via two horizontal rods. These steps are called rungs and the rods supporting them are called stiles. A ladder is commonly used for climbing at home or at work. There are two types of ladders -- rigid or hard material ladders and rope ladders. Rigid ladders are generally portable, but are sometimes fixed permanently to buildings or structures.
Ladders come in variety of styles and heights. They can either be rented or purchased. Styles include stool, foldable and single length ladders. Each ladder has a defined weight that it can support and come in a choice of materials like aluminum, fiberglass, steel, wood and iron. Fiberglass ladders are the strongest and most durable.
Although a bit heavier than aluminum, they do not present any risk while doing electrical work.
Rigid ladders serve a lot of purposes. They are used for attics, pools, docks, libraries, shops, etc. They are available...
Ladders > Ladders
Trampoline Parts & Supply Jumps Into Affiliate Marketing with Share Results
Montreal, Canada (ContentDesk) February 6, 2006 -- Share Results, a pay-for-performance affiliate network, launches the Trampoline Parts & Supply affiliate program this January, offering a flat 5% commission on all sales of its trampolines and accessories.Affiliates promoting Trampoline Parts & Supply attract customers shopping online for trampolines plus parts, pads, mats, springs, ladders, covers and safety enclosures in a range of sizes, from top manufacturers such as JumpKing, Hedstrom, Airmaster and more. With the International Trampoline Industry Association (ITIA) reporting an increase in consumer trampoline sales of approximately 395% from 1989-2002 in the U.S., and trampolinings introduction at the 2000 Summer Olympics, affiliates marketing trampolines on their websites should springboard this popularity into high conversions and profits. Trampolines are a common sight on American lawns, used by entire families for both safe fun and exercise, says Nicky Senyard, CEO of Share...
Trampoline Parts & Supply Jumps Into Affiliate Marketing with Share Results
Ladders > Trampoline Parts & Supply Jumps Into Affiliate Marketing with Share Results
I Want a Cold!
"Honey, can I have a cup of lemon tea," my wife asked me the other day. Normally, my wife doesn't ask me to do anything, knowing my laziness has no bounds. But my wife had a cold - a very bad cold. For most illnesses, my wife would just "suck it up" and get her cute little behind out of bed, fully realizing that nothing would get done around the house without her. But today, she was lingering beneath the bed covers.
That's how I knew she was really sick.My wife is tougher than Randall "Tex" Cobb on his best day (and for those of you who don't know who Randall "Tex" Cobb is - shame on you!). Her finely developed sense of martyrdom compels her to force herself into activity, even in the face of the killer cold. Being the caring husband that I am (and not wanting her germs spread through the entire house), I suggested she stay in bed.So, even though it was a Sunday, which is a very inconvenient day for her to be sick (because I usually park my large, ugly behind on my favorite chair...
I Want a Cold!
Ladders > I Want a Cold!
Quality Time?
From the book Spider's Big CatchGary Andersonwww.abciowa.comThere's a phrase that's become popular over the past few years that fills me with wonder. That phrase is "quality time." We've all heard it, and we all seem to accept it as a real concept. But to the average country person, that phrase is difficult to comprehend.Here's what I mean. Last summer, my 10-year-old son Cody and I spent an entire day walking the fields, checking fences. When we saw a post that needed straightening or a strand of wire that needed to be tightened, we set right to work.
Sweat poured across our faces, our shirts grew soaked from the hard work we were engaged in. But as we strained against the task at hand, we talked about his little league baseball team and how he could improve his hitting to the opposite field. Then, as we walked a little farther down the fence line, we laughed till we cried when a covey of quail nearly gave us a heart attack as they...
Quality Time?
Ladders > Quality Time?
Create Your Own Garage Storage Design with Storage Systems Solutions From Slide-Lok Garage Storage Cabinets. Get Organized Today in Texas, New York, and All Across the United States and Canada.
The Slide-Lok Garage Storage Cabinet Dealer Network, continues to expand in New York and Texas as well as across the U.S. and Canada.
"This is a direct result of increased sales," says President, Gary Smith, "and, since we make house calls, expansion is necessary to insure the perfect storage system for your home regardless of the configuration of your garage."
Smith asks the question, "Where do you put all the stuff that accumulates in the garage?"
"We have designed so many garage storage solutions that we remember to ask the questions that custom garage cabinet makers forget to ask.
This means the Slide-Lok Garage Storage Cabinet Systems that we design include all the things that the custom cabinets guys forget to include.""And what do the custom cabinets guys forget?"Clean Up Your Garage First - This means decide what you want to keep, and keep only what you use.
That which you do not use is just taking up space.Develope a Plan or Garage...
Ladders > Create Your Own Garage Storage Design with Storage Systems Solutions From Slide-Lok Garage Storage Cabinets. Get Organized Today in Texas, New York, and All Across the United States and Canada.
How To Measure and Install Blinds like a Pro
How do I measure for Blinds to ensure that they fit great?
Its easy if you will follow a few general guidelines, take your time, and use a quality 1" wide Tape measure.
We build to the nearest 1/8" so the better you measure, the better your blinds will look.
Inside Window Case Mounts (Inside Mount)
1. Measure the width inside the window opening in 3 locations - at the top, middle and bottom. The top measurement is critical because the headrail must fit and you will want the Valance to fully cover the mounting brackets! Record the actual dimension of the shortest width to the nearest one eighth of an inch.
Tip... If the window doesn't taper in more than 3/8", you can simply provide the width where you intend to mount the support brackets.
2. Measure the height inside the window opening at left, right and center. Record the actual dimension of the longest height to the nearest one eighth of an inch.
How To Measure and Install Blinds like a Pro
Ladders > How To Measure and Install Blinds like a Pro
The Fisherman Sweater
The Fisherman Sweater Fisherman sweaters used to be something that were seen as items of warm and rugged work wear, but much as changed, and fisherman sweaters have followed jeans to make that transformation from work wear to a 20th century fashionable clothing item.Fisherman Sweater HistoryRooted in our common heritage, commercial fishermen, weekend sailors, farmers and in fact people from all walks of life love the fisherman sweater. At sea, and in town, it is a symbol of simpler times when you could look good in something that was designed just to be practical and keep you warm, not to show off a label in order to be some kind of status symbol like many garments manufactured today.The fisherman sweater has its origins in Brittany. Surprisingly it was not the fishermen that started to wear them, but merchants who during the 18th century travelled to England to sell onions, these merchants wore an item of knitted wool clothing that made them recognizable from a distance, the garments...
The Fisherman Sweater
Ladders > The Fisherman Sweater
Ladders
This page loaded in 0.03799 seconds.