That was the response I got when I phoned the emergency number to notify the local water company about a hazard that one of their contractors had left on a road not far from where I live. Continue reading
Picture this. You are walking along a roadside pavement when your path is blocked or obstructed by the activities of a contractor working nearby.
Actually you probably don’t have to imagine it, I expect you have had to negotiate round such obstacles.
So, why “We’re alright Jack”? Continue reading
People ask me “Why we have to have Health and Safety?”
Simple – because of the idiots out there.
This morning I caught a train from Whitstable to London. I was early for the train, so being the restless person I am I wandered up and down the station platform. Continue reading
This is a particular favourite of mine. How often have you seen a safety sign placed to warn you/people of a hazard that is actually a hazard in its self?
Skid Risk
I recently saw a sign warning traffic of a “Skid Risk” which you might say is a good idea and in principle I agree. However the person who placed the sign clearly had not thought about the danger it was creating. Continue reading
I saw a tweet on Twitter this week by someone from in the Yorkshire area to say that they 
had freezing rain up there and that he’d been out to spread salt to make it safer.
But does it?
Is ice as slippery as, principally the media would have us believe? Continue reading
This week I decided to pay my Income Tax because as I am sure you all know at the end of 
January the tax man wants paying. I thought I would accept the invitation to pay it online and this is where my gripe starts, so if you don’t want to read about me whining about my view of the inefficiencies of public sector management and their apparent lack of business acumen, I suggest you stop now.
Alternatively you could read on, Continue reading
It’s that time of year again, when people start burrowing around in their loft or shed to find out what has happened to their Christmas decorations and getting ready to dust them off to put them up for the festivities. They dig out the Christmas lights and check them to see if they will work this year or if they need to replace them. Continue reading
A friend recently asked my opinion about the need for an expensive piece of equipment for 
a school where she is a governor. She had received a strongly worded request for a petrol driven mechanical sweeper, it used emotively persuasive terminology and made references to Health and Safety to support their argument.
Like many people the person writing the request to coin an old phrase was “using a sledge hammer to crack a nut”. Continue reading
One of my remote clients (Andy who is an expert traditional painter and decorator)
www.traditionalpainter.com
contacted me recently with an interesting question, that lead me to explaining how the relationship and responsibility for safety in the workplace should be approached. It started with him quoting for a job to repair and decorate a ceiling in a small office. He agreed that the work would was to be completed over a weekend while the office was not in use.
However once the quote had been accepted Andy’s customer decided that they wanted the work done during office hours and this is where the conundrum started. He was quite rightly concerned that there were several hazards that posed risks and that if he did complete the work while the office was in use the likelihood of someone getting hurt was hugely increased. So he asked my advice. Continue reading
Shortly after coming into power the government ordered a review of Health and Safety. Lord Young who is due to outline his report at the Conservative Conference has hinted at the content which has already prompted a huge amount of speculative activity by the news media, Trade Unions and Claims Solicitors Associations. Much of the content appears to be unfounded since all that he has said so far is that he wants to encourage a more common sense approach to safety in general. Continue reading