Health and safety gone mad.

[JeffinNZ]

Team.

I work in the forwarding industry; both air and sea. A regular client moves a lot of tin with me (YES, I know, I can't get any). At the weekend we flew 1005kg across from AU. When it arrived the airline took and hour and half to remove the ULD (the aluminum unit load device) from the plane as the base had buckled under the weight. I have another shipment flying tomorrow so instructed the Ozzies that they most use spread boards under the skid of tin to distribute the weight evenly. This is what came back:

"It’s very hard for use to use spreader board as the OH+S manager (for Aus & NZ) has taken away all saws from the warehouse as our storeman aren’t allowed to use them as they aren’t “qualified” to use them. Apparently they need to do a course to learn to use a saw and became qualified to use one (even though they use them all the time outside of work). So we can’t cut the spreader board we have or anything else, you can imagine how hard this is making it for us to wing our pallets and load units properly."

How is that for madness? Move the H&S issue down the line.

[bruce drake]

It happens when Unions run amuck...

[bearcove]

It happens when Unions run amuck...

Not the union but the customer, we hate the BS

[SciFiJim]

It happens when Unions run amuck...

Actually, it is probably lawyers run amuck. Someone probably got sued because an employee was injured using a saw and lawyer found that formal training on the proper use and care of the saw (with 16 hours of classroom instruction and 8 hours of field training as well as continuing yearly instructional updates) was not conducted.

Jeff, tell them that if need be, they need to order the boards pre-cut from someone, but that you need them to spread out the load.

[smokeywolf]

The unions don't make or enforce the H & S codes or rules. Here in Kali. that's OSHA, CAL OSHA, and the company's industrial safety dept.

Although the situation may be completely different at your airport and the service people, top notch.
I do understand why the employees at many businesses aren't allowed to touch a saw.
Up until 3 years ago, I worked at a very large motion picture company that shall remain nameless. We had a Doall bandsaw that was located in the plumbing shop. On the Doall bandsaws near the ON and OFF switches is a placard which reads, "REDUCE SPEED TO LOWEST SETTING BEFORE TURNING OFF SAW". Only about 1 in 10 people followed that simple instruction. They either never learned to read, or were to dam_ stupid to follow the simplest of instructions.

I was constantly amazed at the utter stupidity of so-called craftsmen in some of the machine shops I worked in. Guys using drill presses and lathes while wearing gloves. Guys (at least I think they were guys) with long hair leaning over spinning parts in lathes. Guys sticking their finger with wet-or-dry wrapped around it, into the I.D. of a part spinning in the the chuck or collet of a lathe.

Every time I think I've seen the height of stupidity, somebody comes along and demonstrates that there is no limit to the stupidity of man.
Look at all the people who are planning to vote for the evil O.
Will the stupidity ever end?

[JeffinNZ]

"Will the stupidity ever end?"

Not while natural selection is held in place by H&S.

The worst part is I would think we are talking hand saws. No necessarily power type circular saws. Whaddayado?

[smokeywolf]

Sorry Jeff, I was generalizing saws, and relating stupid to stupid and ridiculous to ridiculous. When people make stupid mistakes, H & S makes ridiculous rules.

Didn't mean to go off topic. I'll bow out.

smokeywolf

[JeffinNZ]

Smokeywolf: Don't bow out. It's all relevant.

No sensible person would ever argue against work places being safe but there are extremes and this is one of them.

[StrawHat]

Wait until they come up with classes on safe breathing methods and until you pass the course you won't be allowed to breathe.

[clintsfolly]

Was a carpenter for 23yr and ran my own carpenters shop before I hired in at GM. At GM I worked for a time as a carpenters helper. I was not able to use any of the power tools till I took a safety class. The best part was the teacher was a young friend how had worked for me as a helper!! We both had a good laugh as I am a stickler for safety. It was fun having to work for men that had less training and experience. At one time we got a job to make 500 14" disc of 3/4"plywood. My so called leader get out a compass and starts to lay out all the disc. I asked why not make a jig to cut then? His answer was It can't be done. After a 20 minute of back in forth I said I will make a jig and cut my half You do yours your way. I had the jig made and cut 300 before he got 50 done! I let him use the jig to finish up his. After that he asked me if I had any ideas when we got things to do! Clint

[MT Gianni]

It happens when Unions run amuck...

You may as well blame the Government that won't let loggers on forest fores until they train them to run the equipment that hey use daily.

[1Shirt]

It is a combination of all the things mentioned above: Unions, lawyers, union lawyers, OSHA, the EPA, political correctness, and a whole bunch of other factors.
Common sense seldom applies!
1Shirt!

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

That's what happens when one idiot cuts off a finger or 4 and lives out his days on disability

the lawyers get involved , they see the numbers that less than x% of all people who took the certification ever had a loss of work injury do to the saw

back when i worked at an engineering firm in the 90's we had to get checked out on every piece of equipment we had to operate , I ran mainly drill press , radial drill press , and overhead crane
each piece of equipment was a 15-20 minute safety video then some time with a trainer who was just one of the lead welders on that shift who spent about 30 minutes going over the operation and protocol.

and if you did have an accident and weren't following protocol then they could limit the damages they paid out for you because you were breaking the rules

the question i would be asking is how fast can they fix their training issue , so they can stop breaking equipment and delaying the airline , just a guess but an aluminum ULD is not cheap , if it goes in an airplane it always seems to costs 2-5 time what it would cost if it went on a truck


part of the problem is people have no common sense , no common knowledge , you can take nothing for granted as obvious , some do but so many idiots in the mix that it is hard to be sure
and they make dumber idiots every day

the real question is how much money will it cost the packager before they realize they need to train some one to use a saw or purchase the boards cut to a specified length from someplace else

[frkelly74]

It is a business model. The young, dumb, cheap, accident prone help is hired in and the more mature , experienced, level headed, and yes more expensive if you only look at the hourly wage are told to take a hike if they are told anything at all on the way out the door. Bottom line short term is all that matters.

[DHurtig]

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits." Albert Einstein. Dale

[44man]

It is teaching in schools. Unions---YES.
I am self taught with wood working and metal. Electric, construction, plumbing, gun smithing, TV and radio repair, and anything else for life.
Get out of of school today with a paper and you will not do a thing. You are a lump of nothing. No common sense.
I have a liberal neighbor on the dole. Never worked a day. She searched for work but her education (liberal arts) told her she was over qualified for every job. She votes Democrat every time. Free stuff.
I spent years helping her, cars, faucets, toilets, mowers, cutting and splitting wood, etc. No more. I do not know where she gets money to fix stuff now.
We fought tooth and nail over Obama, I warned her but it was useless.
The best thing in my life was to get away from a liberal. I will do anything for a republican in our development.
Many liberals here and all have lost my help, you will never change them, they are brain dead.
I will die proud of taking care of myself and family. Working hard and doing anything needed. I did not need to be taught, learned how myself. There is not a single thing I can't do. Even aircraft mechanics come to me to help in their houses.
I am old school. If I hurt myself hunting a neighbors property, it is my fault. I would never sue. Lawyers SUCK. The very goodness of them to let me on their property means they are a friend, never at fault. I also take care of their land.
One thing I have learned is that liberals will take advantage every step of the way. They are never real friends. They will suck you dry. They are too stupid to make their way in life.
Our country is in dire straights. I have never had so much fear.