On 17 Sep 2007, at 18:06, Michael Kenward wrote:
> Could PSCI make a major contribution to PESTilence by compiling a
> list of
> daft health and safety rulings? The next step would be to get
> proper advice
> on this so that anyone presented with similar lunacy in future can
> turn
> round and say "That's a load of cobblers. It is perfectly acceptable."
To squeak up in defence of the H&S industry - I worked with a 'major
regional broadcaster' through the process of them writing and
implementing a bottom-to-top rework of their H&S practices. Since I
was making a practical/demonstration-based children's science series
with them, this meant I was in regular contact with the safety
office, and they went through my risk assessments in astonishing
detail (as opposed to not reading them at all, as before).
On one occasion I had a delightful retired chemist coming into the
studio to do the usual - fling around liquid nitrogen, do things with
liquid oxygen one probably shouldn't, and breathe sulphur
hexafluoride gas. My risk assessment had rattled on for some fairly
large number of pages. It was all reasonable stuff, but perhaps
somewhat alarming to the uninitiated. And I'd filed it late.
My heart sank, then, when the H&S manager burst onto the studio floor
in a state of some agitation, waving a copy of said risk assessment.
"Have you started yet?" she cried, flustered.
Resigned, I admitted that we were running a little late, so no, we
hadn't yet blown anything up.
"Great!" she said. "I was worried I'd miss it. Sounds like fun!"
More generally, I can't think of any occasion in which an H&S
department has genuinely prevented me from doing something (rather
than merely raise question about it - sometimes even good questions).
However, they have in a few cases sided with me in my attempts to
stop somebody more senior doing something truly stupid.
--
Jonathan Sanderson
'If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.' (Pascal)
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