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6feetdown
Well-known member
Yeah looked a while ago be handy like you said emergency use as good as only
Lancs Lad
Well-known member
There's a HSE bulletin on the topic of your bored.
Basket needs loler as well.
Gunners
Well-known member
Man baskets aren't banned. Actually, very little is actually banned by the HSE. Telling us something we cant do leads to possible liability and they don't want that pointing at them! That's why they never tell us what we 'can' do - its all guidance and risk assessment based. If you have a man basket that allows the machine to be controlled from the basket, and the machine and basket is inspected every 6 months under LOLER, correct check valves fitted etc, then its fine. But is that the right machine for the job under risk assessment? In some situations it will be, but maybe a dedicated MEWP would be a better solution.
Remember safety doesn't care about cost. But good practice rarely costs more in the long run.
In terms of this made up hedge scenario, reducing the height of it to a more manageable height that can be controlled from long reach cutters from the ground would be ideal. It removes the working from height, cost of any platform or MEWP etc and long term makes the job safer and cheaper to do for the customer and garden maintenance operative/s
If the customer does not want their hedge reducing to allow for this safe working method, then they should be paying for a proper solution.
The days of hanging off a ladder, throwing boards on top of the hedge to stand on and or standing on a pallet on your mates forklift/ roof of the van or any other vehicle are long gone! Hedge cutting isn't worth the money to take the risk. And everyone has a camera now to take pics of you for experts on facebook to tell you how much of an idiot you are....
In any case, the hedge wants to be within marching distance of a cash point so granny can wedge you up quick snap and you can get the hell out of there. I think we can all agree that getting paid is an essential element of risk that needs mitigation on these cash hedge cutting jobs
Remember safety doesn't care about cost. But good practice rarely costs more in the long run.
In terms of this made up hedge scenario, reducing the height of it to a more manageable height that can be controlled from long reach cutters from the ground would be ideal. It removes the working from height, cost of any platform or MEWP etc and long term makes the job safer and cheaper to do for the customer and garden maintenance operative/s
If the customer does not want their hedge reducing to allow for this safe working method, then they should be paying for a proper solution.
The days of hanging off a ladder, throwing boards on top of the hedge to stand on and or standing on a pallet on your mates forklift/ roof of the van or any other vehicle are long gone! Hedge cutting isn't worth the money to take the risk. And everyone has a camera now to take pics of you for experts on facebook to tell you how much of an idiot you are....
In any case, the hedge wants to be within marching distance of a cash point so granny can wedge you up quick snap and you can get the hell out of there. I think we can all agree that getting paid is an essential element of risk that needs mitigation on these cash hedge cutting jobs
M
Monkeybusiness
Well-known member
‘Safety doesn’t care about cost’ is a good mantra, but cost is definitely relevant to ‘practicable’. The working at height regulations still allow for roped access for example - solely within tree-work you could theoretically risk-assess all climbing operations out and replace them with MEWPS and cranes. You could get a big enough MEWP or scaffold to any tree anywhere with an unlimited budget. House in the way? No problem - drop the MEWP in with a helicopter, or demolish/rebuild the house…
@Russell - I’d suggest decent tripod ladders or a ‘henchman’ style platform are worth looking at, or otherwise a small mobile tower scaffold.
@Russell - I’d suggest decent tripod ladders or a ‘henchman’ style platform are worth looking at, or otherwise a small mobile tower scaffold.
S
Smiffy
Well-known member
Man baskets aren't banned. Actually, very little is actually banned by the HSE. Telling us something we cant do leads to possible liability and they don't want that pointing at them! That's why they never tell us what we 'can' do - its all guidance and risk assessment based. If you have a man basket that allows the machine to be controlled from the basket, and the machine and basket is inspected every 6 months under LOLER, correct check valves fitted etc, then its fine. But is that the right machine for the job under risk assessment? In some situations it will be, but maybe a dedicated MEWP would be a better solution.
Remember safety doesn't care about cost. But good practice rarely costs more in the long run.
In terms of this made up hedge scenario, reducing the height of it to a more manageable height that can be controlled from long reach cutters from the ground would be ideal. It removes the working from height, cost of any platform or MEWP etc and long term makes the job safer and cheaper to do for the customer and garden maintenance operative/s
If the customer does not want their hedge reducing to allow for this safe working method, then they should be paying for a proper solution.
The days of hanging off a ladder, throwing boards on top of the hedge to stand on and or standing on a pallet on your mates forklift/ roof of the van or any other vehicle are long gone! Hedge cutting isn't worth the money to take the risk. And everyone has a camera now to take pics of you for experts on facebook to tell you how much of an idiot you are....
In any case, the hedge wants to be within marching distance of a cash point so granny can wedge you up quick snap and you can get the hell out of there. I think we can all agree that getting paid is an essential element of risk that needs mitigation on these cash hedge cutting jobs
Whilst they haven't literally banned the use of man baskets. The guidance pretty much does the same thing. If anything happens and you haven't worked to there published guidance as a bare minimum then you aren't wriggling out of it.
S
Smiffy
Well-known member
Where you taking a picture of the working practices or purple chainsaw trousers
Gunners
Well-known member
Stop taking pictures of members on here - especially ones who have gone so far to meet their employers inclusion quota and issued their operatives with sexist coloured PPE
Gunners
Well-known member
CPS
Well-known member
Did anyone get the number on the transit?. Asking for a Friend 
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6feetdown
Well-known member
I'd loler the purple trousered op
Canal Navvy
Well-known member
Telegraph pole being cleared of ivy.
7.5 tonne scaffolders truck with two men. Hilux based mewp towing a chipper with two arbs plus a supervisor. No way of getting near enough with a mewp, would need to shut an A road totally to use a bigger mewp, pole hasn't been structurally checked for 15 years. All in all practical and practicable
7.5 tonne scaffolders truck with two men. Hilux based mewp towing a chipper with two arbs plus a supervisor. No way of getting near enough with a mewp, would need to shut an A road totally to use a bigger mewp, pole hasn't been structurally checked for 15 years. All in all practical and practicable
🫣
D
DaveDCB
Well-known member
Watched my neighbours in the field driving around with loader tractor and two blokes in front bucket with a chainsaw at full height dropping branches off overhanging trees! They must have been 20ft up while he was driving around around the tree canopy! You wonder why farmers die faster than anyone else!!
Gunners
Well-known member
CPS
Well-known member
D
DaveDCB
Well-known member
So I get it folk are insane! But why didn’t they drive the dumper into the building forwards and set the scaffold up ontop that way around, rather than some canterlever ratchet strap extra effort jobbo!
Giles
Well-known member
I want one though haha
I cut my own hedge stood it bucket on tracked hinowa and lifted it up and got tracked along as I cut it haha
Pulled up at home and dad was loading a pallet onto the telehandlrr for mum to lift him up to trim a branch/ the euro pallet was next to our man basket!
Had to badger him into using the man basket then I lifted him up mums 78 dads 79 lol think they might be getting safer not riskier
Giles
Well-known member
doobin
Well-known member
Exactly. No customer will pay to have their hedge reduced with fixed scaffolding. And nobody bats an eye at a gardener working off a ladder.
Is a mancrate on a Multione 6ft off the ground safer than a ladder? Of course it is. I know two people who have lost fingers to their hedgecutters when the ladder slipped.
And if it’s taller than the reach of a Multione then that’s where the mewp comes in.
HSE
Member
Very interesting thread.
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