Why is every little job...

[George]

a two man job these days? The woman next door 1.5 weeks ago called the landlord for a leaikng roof,two blokes turned up to sort it. She called her landlord again on friday to sort a blocked toilet,today two blokes turned up.

I've seen this happen on numerous occasions,two blokes turning up to do a simple job.

Last year when I got my loft insulated,two blokes turned up.

Do some blokes get lonely on the job or do they need their hand holding?

When I was working for an electrician,he dumped me on a job on me todd and I had to cut out for the backboxs,chase walls and drill joist and route the wiring.

Sheeesh!

[keith_765]

Its against the health and safety regs to work on ones own in the construction industry.

[The Medway Handyman]

Does that apply to being a handyman?

[George]

Balls! does a carpenter have a mate,does the bloke who delivers the sand,cement and bricks have a mate,does the crane driver have a mate.

[BRG]

No it's not!

[BRG]

That's a normal procedure - especially if ladderwork was involved (and it usually is on a domestic property)

Again, that's normal - it can be damned awkward for one person to unblock some toilets in domestic properties!

They may have come off a job that required two people and were picking this 'simple' job up as they were passing!

What's wrong with that, the 'normal' loft hatches are hardly conducive in allowing one man AND a packet of insulation through at the same time - not to mention the access to certain parts of the roof when doing the job!

No, mostly they (or there supervisor) are just being sensible,

Want a medal? I've controlled electricians who have rewired complete streets on their own, but have had to go 'double handed' when replacing a simple light fitting - the female of that particular property had a history of making false, sexuall allegations against various workmen - and the local authority would not allow *anyone* to go there solo.

Double Sheeesh! :-)

BRG

[Ed Sirett]

One things not mentioned in BRGs reasonable explanations, is that when there are two one of them might be learning something. If no one has a chance to learn from anyone then the pool of skills runs down, not everyone is cut out to find out for themselves, besides which some jobs just have too many serious pitfalls to use that method.

[nightjar]

Not true, but there are many situations where a risk assessment would require a second worker to be present; working in confined spaces, needing to handle equipment that requires two people, as a backup in case of an emergency, etc.

Colin Bignell

[spuorgelgoog]

The requirement for a risk assessment for lone working does apply, so you should have a procedure for logging your visits, and keeping someone informed of your whereabouts etc.

[John]

The requirement for a risk assessment for lone working does apply, so you should have a procedure for logging your visits, and keeping someone informed of your whereabouts etc.

The world has definately gone mad!!

Conversation:

TMH: "Mrs Smith I am going to my van"

Mrs S; "OK"

TMH : Mrs S I am back in the kitchen"

Mrs S: "OK"

TMH: "Mrs S I am now moving into the hall"

Mrs S: "OK"

etc, etc....

FFS, what is going on!

John

[Paul Matthews]

Arse covering in case of allegations afterwards?

[nightjar]

No, he needs to have carried out a risk assessment. He only needs to have control procedures in place if his risk assessment comes to the conclusion that they are an appropriate way to reduce the risk, which is likely to vary with the type of work being done.

Colin Bignell

[tony sayer]

In article , nightjar scribeth thus

Colin...

Is there a good online source of such 'elfin safety stuff anywhere for the small firm or one man band operation?...

cheers...

[nightjar]

Unfortunately, none that make it particularly easy to understand. The regulations are strong on terms like 'reasonable' and 'adequate' and you often need a bit of experience to decide on what that actually means in practice. The HSE do their best to help with a complex subject and their myth of the month is often very informative.

also do useful guidance, like the one on risk assessment.

you need to search a bit, for example, to discover that the assessment does not need to be in writing if you have fewer than five employees. For the self-employed, that means that looking at a job before starting, deciding what the risks are, to others as well as the to the workman, and what precautions are needed, something a careful workman is likely to do anyway, is all the law requires.

Another useful resource for the small business, not just for H&S, is Business Link.

this helps

Colin Bignell

[oldship]

Another reason why in some circumstances two tradesmen may attend is parking problems. Sometimes there are time limits and having two will speed the job up even if one is just doing the fetching and carrying. In extreme cases where parking nearby is non existant to stay legal a tradesman might have a partner driving from one parking spot to another or in some places around and around. G.Harman

[The Medway Handyman]

That sounds very much like 'common sense'. What's that doing on a Govmint website?

Indeed. I went to a free seminar on 'Improving Google Rankings' befoer Xmas and got some great tips.

[keith_765]

He who says ball!! Try getting a ladder up to a three story building on your own. then wrestle with a crawl board over a ridge, just to put a tile or slate in.

[keith_765]

[BRG]

keith_765,

The answer is correct - it is NOT against H&S regs to work alone in the construction industry - if it was , the Medway Handyman would find it extremely costly to have to employ someone to accompany him on every job! :-)

It is not even against the H&S regs to work on a roof by oneself - but there a H&S regs about working a heights over 6' from the ground with regards to access etc.

It is against common sense to do certain jobs without assistance - and that includes working on a three storey building. BTW, it may now be against the H&S regs to do a job like that without erecting scaffold now.

BRG