Health and Safety Forum

[adrian]

I've looked around the site but can't find anything dedicated to health and safety.
I would like to see a Health and Safety Issues Forum opened up so that people can post information like:
Accidents they have had and what caused them.
Near misses.
Tool failures which may have caused accidents.
A forum like this could contribute to members being better able to construct their workshops and also could lead to pressure on manufacturers to redesign tools and machinery where a pattern of common failures becomes evident.
If there is one started I would like to see it at the top of the list of forums where it should be.

[Shane Watson]

Not sure what search criteria you used, but this topic has been talked about many many times. Especially when it comes to breathable contagents.

Will leave it to Neil to decide if he wants to add yet another forum.

CHeers.

[adrian]

As a regular user of the site I am familiar with many of the safety concerns raised but it is such an important topic it deserves a separate forum. Most of us have been injured, some severely, and some killed by the tools we use in woodworking every day. For instance, I just don't think it should be necessary for someone to have to wade through dozens of table saw threads to find out about 'kickback'. Kickback is a term they may not be familiar with so would not search for it.

[DanP]

I think it adds an element of liability to the BB if you have a dedicated OH&S forum. What if someone does themselves an injury whilst following advice received here. I don't particularly agree with that line of thinking, but you know insurance companies. They will sue if they think they're half a chance of getting anything back. People mostly post when they have a near miss anyway.

If people are not familiar with the term "kickback" they probably shouldn't be using a table saw.

Dan

[ozwinner]

And as these forums show, just because the thread is titled "Kick Back".

It wont continue with talking about kick back for very long.
Youd be lucky to get two posts keeping on thread.


If you are conserned about safety, then go here, there is enough guff to make your head spin.

http://www.workcover.vic.gov.au/dir090/vwa/home.nsf


Al

[Ben from Vic.]

Most of us have been injured, some severely, and some killed

Safety is a serious subject, but I'd prefer not to have this BB turn all safety concious.

I've been on US based woodworking BB's were this is the case, and they are boring .

Everytime someone posts they have to try to cover their bottoms from all directions, so as not to be repremanded on safety issues.

That said, if we did compile a list of things to watch-out for when using dangerous tools, and keep it handy for learners or first time buyers/users, that may not be so bad.

IMHO (In My Humble Opinion)

Ben.

[Eastie]

It's a fair idea for ease of use but it's not an idea that I would like to see happen.

Aside from issues that relate to opinions/advice and civil liabilities for such actions/ommission (which is a realy grey area), health and safety can be as boring as bat **** - so I say keep spreading it around in the context of all of the forums rather than concentrating it all in one place.

Another issue is that from time to time someone will jump in after a few posts on a topic to add a safety/risk concern/observation or relate to a specific incident, so looking through a dedicated safety forum may not give you as full a picture as you may get when doing an advanced search on the topics you're interested in.

Eastie
(aka - Mark, Safety Advisor to a big building mob + PhD OHS student - don't ask why )

Last edited to remove surname so as no one will look me up and rob me workshop I know they're watching, and they follow you too!

[bitingmidge]

Great advice Eastie,

WH&S is so boring it sends everyone to sleep and that's exactly when they fall into the beetroot peeler.

Keeping the stuff spread through the whole shooting match is the best way of keeping it top of mind I think.

As an aside, I walked in on one of the staff in our sandwich shop the other night and found him fooling around with the Vegetable Slicer.

I fired them both!

Cheers,

P

[ozwinner]

Most of us have been injured, some severely, and some killed by the tools we use in woodworking every day.

Yeah, I remember the last time I was killed, it was a real bummer, and sooooo heavy man. ( Said in my best Neill, from the Young Ones voice. )

Whhooooooo, Al the ghost. :eek:

[Sturdee]

Another aspect to consider is that if there is a special H & S forum and there is no warning against a particular operation.

What would a new member, and new to woodworking, do if he can't find a warning in this forum? If there is no warning would he consider something to be a safe procedure? Would it not be better to recommend a full search of the whole board?

As such I think it is better not to have a separate forum.


Peter.

[outback]

I come here to talk wood, and anything else which distracts me. I hate OH & S, Its all crap. If people used their brains and some sense I wouldn't have to spend a frigging great fortune every year remodelling, or buying new machinery to make it safe for idiots that work for me. And another thing my insurance premium wouldn't resemble a phone number, even though there has never been a compo claim made. I only employ a few people on a casual basis, but it costs me a bloody fortune.
I can only dream about the expense to other employers.

i will now leave the soapbox and let do some editing. :mad:

[Kev Y.]

OH&S may be considered crap, and most of us are able to apply a little bit of common sense to our hobby/ocupation, but unfortunatly there are some out there that prove the old saying that "common sense isn't all that common"

I am not too sure we need a OH&S forum here, there are various sites which cater for that already.

Kev

[rsser]

What a bunch of misanthropes!

Be good to poll all the guys who can't do woodwork anymore because the info on how to avoid injuries wasn't readily available. Trouble is that they're not logging on anymore!

Anyway, it doesn't need to be a forum; just a collection of posts with all the usual disclaimers. Just add bad wood habits to bad woods.

Ern

[outback]

What a bunch of misanthropes!

Mum I think he swore at me!


Misanthrope? well not actually everyone, just idiots who can't take responsibilty for there own stupidity.

[silentC]

I just want to know how you've been allowed to keep that Avatar as long as you have :eek: