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In my limited experience as a one man band the temptation to use tall step ladders and even ordinary ladders to trim/prune high hedges and trees without another person being present poses the greatest risk to personal and others safety. To that extent and I expect I have been lucky. I have managed to form a very trust worthy relationship with another one man band. Through the Autumn months we share each others hedge/tree trimming jobs so there is never the temptation to take unnecessary risks plus should something unforeseen happen the other person would be able to help or raise the alarm. The arrangement works really well. We sometimes consult on larger jobs to come up with an appropriate price and means we are able to tackle a greater variety of work safe in the knowledge that we will be working safe. .
Ear defenders and googles are now always worn when using most powertools. I did invest in a petrol cutter for the sole reason of being able to use the dust supression water jets as covering my nose with my T-shirt was probably not an acceptable safety method.
I think us smaller businesses take H&S more seriously now though than those that work on sites. I was watching a roofer working the other day with no harness, no hard hat, no safety boots... He was opertaing a cutter with no goggles or dust mask -whilst on a 3rd storey roof.
How their site manager lets them get away with it is beyond me ( as is why the roofer took such a risk)
I try always to use ear defenders or plugs when using any machines and combined helmet/face shield when strimming, hedge cutting and chainsaw work always. On the issue of ladder safety - I invested in a multi-use machine with articulating long-reach hedge trimmer attachment to drastically reduce precarious ladder scenarios. I will be purchasing the long reach pole pruner attachment in the next few days too for some tree pruning work I've got to do.
Believe it or not I only just recently bought an actual proper first aid kit for my van too! Previously there were just a few random plasters kicking about the glove box! I've never had a need but you never know when you may fall out of a tree or chop a finger off!!
As a small and fairly new business there is a pressure to meet expectations with regards professionalism, and high health & safety standards is one avenue of this.
One area that I'm not too hot on, though, is risk assessment. Since my studies and doing work previously for my grandfather I've not had a need for them in my own venture. I plan to expand operations in 2009, however, and envisage this becoming a necessary tool in larger contracts.
Any further thoughts on risk assessments specifically,and indeed the overall H&S at work issue would be considered most interesting to myself and no doubt many more of you.
Thanks.