[ftp]

Brother-in-law is a builder and was telling me about the gutter clean they had to do on friday:
Three storeys high and full of pidgeon poo and grass. Foreman who is sixty four was standing on the top of a fully extended ladder on the second rung down fully stretched holding on to a plastic gutter with one hand and feeling for the muck above with the other. Brother-in-law couldn't foot the ladder because the muck was being chucked on his head. Madness 

I told him he should have given me a call and I could have done it with my vac - it wouldn't have cleared that he said.  :

[stephen s]

things like that even give piky's and cowboys a bad name

[trevor perry]

what you have got to remember is this man is 64 and in his time doing work that way was the norm , i am only 42 and in the past have done similar stunts probably worse so to call him a cowboy is just rude rather it would be better just to show them there is an easier safer way and not just slag him off, i say fair play to the guy to be able to do that at 64 even though it is obviously not the safest route.

[wire1078]

sometimes you have to do what you got to do

[stephen s]

and had he have fallen off the ladder  which thank god he didn't    you would have said he shouldn't be up there     or would you have still said fair play to him ?

there was 2 of them supposed to be doing the job and if a guy claims he couldn't foot the ladder because of the falling debris then that tells you they were doing the job all wrong with no care for H&S  either for themselves or anyone else who may have been in the range of the falling debris ?       in my books thats very bad workmanship.    so how can you say fair play to him ?

H&S isn't just for young people its for everyone and we are all  accountable,    what would insurance company say ? if he has any that is

he's some role model for the guy on the ground don't you think ?      there is absolutely no excuses for that sort of practice  and anyone who encourages or applauds such a practice should be ashamed.

I stand by my opinion of cowboy work.

[trevor perry]

and had he have fallen off the ladder  which thank god he didn't    you would have said he shouldn't be up there     or would you have still said fair play to him ?

there was 2 of them supposed to be doing the job and if a guy claims he couldn't foot the ladder because of the falling debris then that tells you they were doing the job all wrong with no care for H&S  either for themselves or anyone else who may have been in the range of the falling debris ?       in my books thats very bad workmanship.    so how can you say fair play to him ?

H&S isn't just for young people its for everyone and we are all  accountable,    what would insurance company say ? if he has any that is

he's some role model for the guy on the ground don't you think ?      there is absolutely no excuses for that sort of practice  and anyone who encourages or applauds such a practice should be ashamed.

I stand by my opinion of cowboy work.

i wasnt disagreeing with you on the methods he was doing being wrong as they obviously are and he does need educating , what i was applauding was his ability to carry out such a task at the age of 64 and as stated earlier he was only doing what was probably the norm 25 yrs ago and therefore knows no different, if in the future a law came out that we could only use wfp for intervals of 30 minutes before a rest was taken due to injuries from repetitive strain injury then we would find it very difficult to change our work methods , similarly this guy has probably carried out tasks like this for years and doesnt see the risks in what he is doing in fact he probably thinks he was quite safe my point being more education is needed to avoid these work practices and not just calling someone a cowboy.

[Paul_Rolfe]

I think standing at the bottom of the ladder and giving it a good shake would have woken him up to the dangers of working at height. 

[stephen s]

and had he have fallen off the ladder  which thank god he didn't    you would have said he shouldn't be up there     or would you have still said fair play to him ?

there was 2 of them supposed to be doing the job and if a guy claims he couldn't foot the ladder because of the falling debris then that tells you they were doing the job all wrong with no care for H&S  either for themselves or anyone else who may have been in the range of the falling debris ?       in my books thats very bad workmanship.    so how can you say fair play to him ?

H&S isn't just for young people its for everyone and we are all  accountable,    what would insurance company say ? if he has any that is

he's some role model for the guy on the ground don't you think ?      there is absolutely no excuses for that sort of practice  and anyone who encourages or applauds such a practice should be ashamed.

I stand by my opinion of cowboy work.

i wasnt disagreeing with you on the methods he was doing being wrong as they obviously are and he does need educating , what i was applauding was his ability to carry out such a task at the age of 64 and as stated earlier he was only doing what was probably the norm 25 yrs ago and therefore knows no different, if in the future a law came out that we could only use wfp for intervals of 30 minutes before a rest was taken due to injuries from repetitive strain injury then we would find it very difficult to change our work methods , similarly this guy has probably carried out tasks like this for years and doesnt see the risks in what he is doing in fact he probably thinks he was quite safe my point being more education is needed to avoid these work practices and not just calling someone a cowboy.

I take your point Trevor.

and yes maybe I was harsh with my comments about him but I like others view the situation form the H&S angle and when you hear stories like that you know its an accident just waiting to happen,   and I bet the guy on the ground can you a few stories of previous jobs they have done together.

I agree its about educating people but there remains that hard core that refuse to be educated on the grounds that they have did it their way for years without any problems,  I'm sure we have all come across some of those people in our time.

maybe FTP should have a word with his brother in law about driving this home to that bloke,  after all I bet the guy has a family himself and they would be absolutely devastated if something happened t him and all for the sake of something that could so easy be avoided.

[martinsadie]

I think standing at the bottom of the ladder and giving it a good shake would have woken him up to the dangers of working at height. 

what a stupid thing to post

[ftp]

My brother-in-law has been in the building trade all his life (he's 65). Never seen a hard hat, goggles, reflective vest or mask in his kit, never wears protective footwear and uses the crappiest ladders i've ever seen. Can't see him changing now.

[Paul_Rolfe]

I think standing at the bottom of the ladder and giving it a good shake would have woken him up to the dangers of working at height. 

what a stupid thing to post

Did you see the ' ' at the end, suggesting It was toungue in cheek?

[stephen s]

I think standing at the bottom of the ladder and giving it a good shake would have woken him up to the dangers of working at height. 

what a stupid thing to post

Did you see the ' ' at the end, suggesting It was toungue in cheek?

bad wolf corporation 

[Paul_Rolfe]

 :

[trevor perry]

My brother-in-law has been in the building trade all his life (he's 65). Never seen a hard hat, goggles, reflective vest or mask in his kit, never wears protective footwear and uses the crappiest ladders i've ever seen. Can't see him changing now.

he must only be involved in very small projects as all the building sites i have been on in the last five years are very health and safety conscious and if any worker doesnt follow the rules then disciplinary action is taken, luckily he is probably coming to the end of his career and has managed to avoid injury and as you say it would be very difficult for him to change now.

[TonyD]

what you have got to remember is this man is 64 and in his time doing work that way was the norm , i am only 42 and in the past have done similar stunts probably worse so to call him a cowboy is just rude rather it would be better just to show them there is an easier safer way and not just slag him off, i say fair play to the guy to be able to do that at 64 even though it is obviously not the safest route.

I'd agree with this, better to just politely try and educate people to H&S mistakes and problems.