OT (sort of) Do you know how to climb a ladder?

FFS! reminds me when my wifes business got sued by an empoyee that cut her hand on a knife. She got some money as they hadn't told her knives are sharp. She worked in a sanswich shop using knives all feckin' day.

On or around Thu, 09 Aug 2007 12:17:14 -0700, BeamEnds enlightened us thusly:

's a good rant.

You ought to see the rig-up I've got here to try and fasten the roof of the new shed together... 4x2 ft scaffold tower with half another tower on top, stabilised by ropes tied off to the shed uprights and standing on soft (ish) ground - i.e. not on solid concrete.

Meanwhile, I seem to be minus a crossmember and 2 out of 4 disco dampers - I trust they're on the way somewhere? The rest of the stuff came on Tuesday, IIRC.

On or around Thu, 9 Aug 2007 20:35:25 +0100, Ian Rawlings enlightened us thusly:

oy, hangon, he said 5 minutes plus practice in company.

On or around Thu, 9 Aug 2007 23:03:56 +0100, "Oily" enlightened us thusly:

No-one said it was a good thing NOT to have the blanket on it. I suspect it's a bit of both - makes it visible and helps to mitigate a rope failure. Given enough energy in the rope then it can still hurt someone standing in the wrong place.

It's quite possible that the blanket started off as "let's hang this on here so people can see it" and later someone observed a rope fail and noted the effect of having a blanket on it.

5 minutes still isn't enough, besides 5 minutes plus practice in company basically describes a full off-roading intro session..

they could use a mobile cherry picker. no need for the ladder training.

On or around Sat, 11 Aug 2007 14:20:51 +0100, Ian Rawlings enlightened us thusly:

The basic safety spiel can be done in 5 minutes, I reckon. 's like archery tuition.

"Now, first of all, we have to do the safety talk: Don't shoot anyone. Now then..."

Actually, there is a bit more to it than that, there are instructions about which line is the shooting line and what signals you might get that it's OK to shoot. But easily do-able in a couple of minutes.

Off-road driving, pre-driving tips:

• Drive as slowly as you can for the conditions.

• Don't be ashamed to take several goes at an obstacle.

• If in doubt, stop and reconnoitre on foot.

• If still in doubt, look for another way round.

• Know your vehicle and what its theoretical limits are.

• Take it easy 'til you understand the real-life limits for your particular vehicle, which are generally a good bit less than the book says.

• Don't be ashamed not to drive something you're not happy with.

• If it scares you, you shouldn't be doing it (yet).

• Secure large or heavy items inside the motor, or leave them behind.

• Wear the seatbelt if there's any chance of it tipping over.

• Don't Panic.

Anyone want to add any more?

On or around Sun, 12 Aug 2007 00:52:31 +0100, "Robin" enlightened us thusly:

butbut, then they'd need cherry-picker training.

As a school caretaker I've had to do various 'safety' training days.

Climbing ladders, changing light bulbs, mixing chemicals (Adding disinfectant to water) .... there are a long list of absolutely pointless non-issues that are regularly addressed by council fuckwits.

For instance, the lamp-changing exercise didn't have a neon tube fitment on which we could see how hard a tube had to be rotated to free it ... the instructor said (paraphrased a tad) "well you've all done it before at home, you know how it should feel" Gob-smackingly incompetent. And took a full day. .... ;)

(etc etc)

Almost all of the things you mention, e.g. "know your vehicle", are haynes-like, e.g. "step 1, remove engine" ;-)

For complete novices, a 5-minute chat isn't enough.

On or around Mon, 13 Aug 2007 10:21:27 +0100, Ian Rawlings enlightened us thusly:

Yeah, maybe, but I reckon you'd get 'em started on some simple obstacles and safe areas after not much more, with an experienced off-road driver in the passenger seat to observe and instruct if necessary. things like the 2 poles on the ground, some simple up-and-down ramps and if available a see-saw, then move on to axle twisters and side slopes - again, in your safe area, so there aren't unexpected holes or lumps. Most people who've never put the vehicle on a slope will be quite awed enough by about 20 degrees...

Most off-road sites have such an area to get people into it. Provided you don't let 'em off on their own, there's no excuse for spending too long waffling. You'd need to do the paperwork of signing in and so forth, but that wasn't included in the 5 minutes.

oh, forgot "any questions?" at the end of my list.

As with the archery - we do the basic safety spiel and then get 'em started. The rest of the instruction happens as you go along.

Yes, but this started when it was claimed that things like off-road driving and winching could be taught in a 5-minute chat, which is crap. Instruction is needed, we're not born with the knowledge. This all sprang from people going on about how ridiculous it is that people should need a course on how to safely use a ladder.

I reckon half of that is to try and cut down on chancers "falling" off ladders, i.e. getting a ladder, taking it somewhere, then lying down and shouting for help..

LOL, quite right, my bad. ;)

Yes, but in the old days people would work things out for themselves, now they have to be spoonfed.

Steve

They don't have to be spoon fed, they're taught rather than learning the hard, painful and potentially lethal way, saving time and possible injury. This is particularly relevant for people who are likely to use something potentially dangerous every day as they're much more exposed to risk than those of you who zip up a short ladder once or twice a month and think you know it all. I'll bet a few window cleaners could tell you a thing or two about dangerous stuff. So could Rod Hull, if Emu had managed to grab the guttering!

Speaking as a rock climber, I never received any "formal" training to do that either, considerably higher than a window cleaners ladders. And I'm still here. Steve

I read that as 'c*ck climber' i panicked for a few seconds......

No, but sending people off on a short course to teach them how to do their job safely is never a bad idea. Especially given the kind of brain trusts who are normally required to do jobs involving ladder work! I used to work on building sites regularly when I was a kid, I reckon some of that lot could have benefitted from "How to breathe" courses.