I recall that where I worked, we were told by management to "never walk past a problem". This stuck. I recall a lift at a local store that has a paper message saying that the emergency phone was not working and giving a mobile phone number for people to report a proble. It was difficult to get through to the manager that this was unacceptable. I guess many of us see potentially unsafe things - it is often hard to get something done about it though.
It needs to be in writing and with a confirmation the same, that way they realise they are on the spot where responsibility is concerned.
I was doing a manual backup of our servers at work one night and the Accountant was holding up the process with some key files open. I asked him if he could just save his work and logout for 5 mins but he protested. I typed up a note, absolving myself of any negative outcome of not being able to complete a backup and handed it to him to sign.
When he asked what it was, I explained that I wasn't going to take responsibility to a potentially dangerous situation for *not* backing up *company* information on behalf of the *company*and so doing so was obstructing me from doing my duty. He huffed a bit, saved his work, logged out and went a got a coffee. ;-)
See above.
I note that all the posts that could / do carry any high voltages (even a mains light) by the railway bridge we cross regularly have very big and very large earth ties bolted to them (and they all seem to be singles, no 'daisy chaining').
When doing some electrical work here recently I needed to work on a junction box live to trace what was what. Because we had the dog with us (who likes to be with me whatever I'm doing) I made a point of popping the cover back on whenever I wasn't actually measuring stuff.
1) The local swimming baths. While the changing rooms were being refurbished, temporary ones were in use, at the end of a plastic tunnel, outside the building. They were obviously designed for sports use - benches with hooks above, a washbasin, a toilet and two showers. However they were not designed for large numbers of already wet people using them. I had to point out to the staff that a large pool of water kept forming, right where people would stand (barefooted) and where inquisitive children could open the outer cover of the consumer unit, without any tools. I had to explain this twice, on two separate occasions and then get the manager, to get anything done.
2) The previous office had lifting barriers to the car park, but also a set of substantial, swinging barriers that could be padlocked across the entrance at night. One of the posts at the open limits had sunk slightly, so when the barriers were open, the padlock hole did not line up with the one on the post and it was held open with a very frayed elastic luggage rope that could easily have given way on a windy day. It has been known for people to be killed by this type of barrier, when they have blown across an entrance and the end has speared through the windscreen of a vehicle. I raised the problem locally and on the overall company system. Raised it again a week later. Someone phoned me a fortnight later and finally organised a management visit and then had it chained open three weeks later, until the post could be removed and refitted correctly.
In both cases, the people in charge should have seen the problem in the first place, but having not done so, when I reported it, they should have acted far more quickly. The former problem should have been sorted by the next day and the latter (temporarily) on the same day.
With the barriers, all it needed was for someone to buy a lock and chain or a bike lock and use that as a temporary measure. That could have been done, on expenses, by an onsite manager. Indeed, the maintenance company could have done it as it is one of two similar building, next-door to a much larger building, that they have responsibility for and a permanent on-site presence.
For the swimming baths, at the very least, they could have taped the consumer unit closed, there and then.
Not even (directly) dangerous but I have reported 3 faulty streetlights this year and they were all fixed within a week (one more is waiting for the power company to fix the feed to it) and they have recently replaced a broken street sign I mentioned a while back. ;-)
Is that not the same problem as the building cladding? The cladding on its own is safe but the breaching of the sealed cell construction by fitting upvc windows and gas into every flat through holes in the walls was never considered when cladding was decided upon. Brian
I will confess to finding myself more aware of safety matters than most, mainly because of various work-related stuff over the years.
I remember being at a social event which happened to be attended by the guy I knew as our company safety officer. Guess who dragged his chair right in front of the fire exit ;-)
At an event, I usually at least make sure that I know where the exits are, and the routes to them. Carrying out such a visual check, over the last 30 years I have found (and taken action on):
Emergency exit chained and padlocked: Bury Marquee with no fire exits, no exit signs, no emergency lighting: Lincoln. Previously failed electrical circuit leading to flat batteries in emergency lights and exit signs: London Inadequate exit signs and locked door on exit route: Whitby.
Even when the organisers have done their best, I have lost count of the chairs, piles of bags, push chairs and so forth which have been placed across the exits. Self-preservation doesn't seem to be a strong instinct.
The pictures show a fence that looks to be about 2.5m high. Short of putting razor wire on top, I don't see how it could have been made any more difficult to get to the light.
I was in a Morrisons a while ago - just joined the checkout queue. Fire alarm goes off. Saturday afternoon, so quite busy.
To my amazement, everyone filed past the emergency exit to the main exit ...
I just kicked the fire door open (very satisfying, and it did snap the plastic ties) and got out that way.
There was research years ago (possibly after Hillsborough) that showed people have a tendency to exit how they entered. Which is why so many big stadium events have so many entrances now.
I have been surprised several times in the last few years to see people making or receiving mobile calls while in a lift. I had assumed that the sheet metal on all 6 sides would form a fairly effective barrier to signals, but apparently not. Does anyone understand why?
Back to the original post: one danger here might be that you have a phone that works while in a lift that fails, but the number you are supposed to call is taped the the button on the landing outside it not inside the car.
The gaps between the metal panels act as slot antennas and re-radiate the signal very effectively. To make a Faraday cage at mobile phone frequencies all the panels would need to be bonded together every few cm.
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