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2nd January 2014, 11:32 AM
H & S is something that archaeology needs to get its head around. From my experience it ranges from commercial companies who cut corners through ignorance (or let's be honest cost saving) or are forced to follow inappropriate dictates from the main contractor to amateur groups who have no concept of the inherent risks in digging a hole or their duty of care to themselves and the general public. That said there are plenty of examples of good practice out there but in general individuals show a depressing lack of knowledge of their responsibilities under the law. Don't get me started on CSCS seems all you need for that is to be able to read English.
Let's hope 2014 is a good year with jobs for all and pay increases all round. Happy (and healthy) New Year
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3rd January 2014, 02:25 PM
Dinosaur Wrote:If we don't comply with the main contractor's H&S (like wearing pointless PPE) on e.g. the current motorway scheme we're doing, we're instantly off the job, no appeal.....
if you did your own risk assessment in the first place, even if it was in direct conflict with the main contractor, your manager should be able to argue that yours takes precedence because it was compiled by a competent person with direct knowledge of the industry to which it pertains. stop letting them get away with it!
If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers
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3rd January 2014, 06:13 PM
Main Contractor's H&S policy
always takes precedence, however idiotic - it's their site after all, and they're paying us
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3rd January 2014, 06:16 PM
Oh, and of course with us just being mere archaeologists who clearly know absolutely nothing about construction sites and their hazards, they of course
always know better...
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3rd January 2014, 06:49 PM
Archaeology without smoking roll ups ? whatever next ! I remember when it was obligatory to smoke dope all day on site ......
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4th January 2014, 07:25 PM
steady - showing your age there....
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5th January 2014, 04:19 PM
In these days of mandatory Drugs and Alcohol testing you couldn't even smoke dope at home yet alone on site.
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6th January 2014, 09:21 AM
At the end of the 19th century, I think it was the British East India Company which did a report on Indian Hemp smoking in India and decided that in fact it helped workers do boring jobs for longer... I'll be skinning up for my staff from now on!
Further to the health thing, I've been operated on for a slipped disk and am now on 'light duties' due to arthritus of the knee and elbow, probably all work related.
Lesson learned - don't work so hard!
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6th January 2014, 09:37 AM
Dinosaur Wrote:Main Contractor's H&S policy always takes precedence, however idiotic - it's their site after all, and they're paying us
you are wrong on this. any h & s policy has, by law, got to take into consideration risk assessments from a competent person. if a main contractor is trying to ramrod inadequate assessment they would be liable for prosecution. they just need a gentle reminder from a sensitive manager!
If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers
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6th January 2014, 10:03 AM
Think you've missed the main thrust of the recent discussion, the main complaint seems to be that Main Contractor H&S seems to be rather excessively more than adequate, sometimes I'm amazed we're still allowed sharp stuff like shovels, and allowed to go out on site not wrapped in [flame retardant] high-vis bubblewrap....
