Health and safety madness!

[Rum]

Here's where you can put your health and safety madness stories.

I'm not fan of keeping churches open, but I would make an exception for this one!
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From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/8262653.stm

Ladder danger brings clock change

A church clock which has been wound manually since 1793 may have to be replaced at a cost of £5,500 - because climbing an 8ft ladder is "dangerous".

The clock in the tower at St Michael's Church in Helston, Cornwall, is wound by a warden who climbs up the ladder.But the church has been told by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) that the job could be too dangerous. The Diocese of Truro said organisations had started pledging money for an automatic clock winder.

The clock is currently wound up manually three times a week. If an insurance company... decides to warn churches that they can't going shinning up ladders any longer, the HSE will be very quick to step in Jeremy Dowling Diocese of Truro

But the role faces coming to an end because of advice the Truro Diocesan Guild of Ringers has received from the (HSE) about unsupported ladders. Although the HSE said it was just advice and it was down to local authorities to enforce health and safety in churches, diocese spokesman Jeremy Dowling said the advice meant churches had to reconsider their position.

He said: "All the HSE stuff that comes out is headed 'guidance notes'.

"But if you send guidance notes to an insurance company, and that company reads these things and decides to warn churches that they can't go shinning up ladders any longer, the HSE will be very quick to step in and prosecute corporate bodies if they haven't taken care of their employees or their volunteers.

"From the that point of view, once a warning has been issued, the church can hardly ignore it."

Mr Dowling said it would cost between £4,000 and £5,500 to install such an automatic clock winder.

He said that local companies and councils had contacted St Michael's directly and had so far pledged £650 towards it.

[charlou]

Why don't they just pray for protection while winding the parishioners the clock up.

[klr]

Why don't they just pray for protection while winding the parishioners the clock up.

I think they learned their lesson when they had to install lightning rods. The great gods of thunderstorms obviously don't listen to prayer.

Seriously though, this sort of thing just gets my heckles up.

[Rum]

[Feck]

I once had to get a fire safety certification to prove that a Ferret does not make sparks capable of igniting natural gas .

[AshtonBlack]

Awww come on. 8ft? You can buy for a LOT less than £5,000 a set of these:



HSE love these and wear a hard had. That's all. They don't "need" a winder at all, I smell a rat.

Look, I know people at the HSE, I have completed several courses at to be fair, most of the time their advice is usually sensible and in this case it was just that, but it's the insurance company representatives who generate the "madness" stories like this.

[charlou]

hahyeah, borrow a ladder from the local supermarket nightfill stock room.

Reminds me of this.