Tom,
Andrew is right, but how far it will ever get to domestic work is another story. H&S Executive only seem to get involved after a commercial accident, as this is where they can apportion blame and issue large fines for breech of the regulations - or regulations by extension of another regulation.
There is no regulation regarding us needing a certificate of competency to use a water fed pole. But the Puwer regulations cover the competency of employers, employees and soletraders with regard to the handling of equipment, so it applies. If you are a small window cleaning business with a couple of employees, your 'inhouse' training won't suffice. You interprete the regs one way and find you didn't interprete them correctly after an accident - just like the rule changes of Formula1.
Ladders aren't banned but ...................................................................... Why don't they ban the use of ladders like they have in Holland then we would all know where we stand? But what would the Sky fitters and BT do? A different reg for them? After all BT argued with H&S that their engineers were competent enough to decide whether using a ladder on that job was safe or not and H&S conceded apparently.
How do we know whether we are competent users of WFP. Get someone who is (or who has been authorised to be), test you and then issue a certificate. Now we need to do the same thing with a ladder. Now we need to do the same thing with regard the handling of heavy objects (ie our hose reels) and get another certificate. Then we find out that our certificate is only valid for a period of time, unlike your O Level or GCSE exam results which last a life time. So you need to be re-certificated). What happens if we get a certificate of competency to use a ladder and then fail to renew it when it expires in 3 years time. What then? Is this a criminal situation like driving a car without a driver's licence?
How many sole-trader window cleaners are there? How would they police it? Can the economy of the UK afford it - they want to de regulate building regs to get the economy going so any further regulation is going in the wrong direction.
Personally, I think this has gone too far. Yes, if a window cleaner continues to use ladders he takes the risk and pays the price if he falls. The provision is there for a safer method - I think the choice should be up to each individual TBH.
How does a gardening service get on. You need a certificate to use a spade, and then another to use a pick axe because you need to cone a safe distance off incase the pick axe head flies off.
How does it start and how does it end?
We are in the process of doing the Impact43 course, and have found it a valuable course for us to attend. We have started doing risk assessments on paper, and not on the day. We are also in the process of writing a method statement out as well.
My signage is being redone to include trip hazard (which I already had) and objects falling from height warning on the same board.
Spruce
