Keen to dispel the “itself‘n’safetyinnit” culture that surrounds Health and Safety advisors, IOSH are not only sponsoring but are entering a team in the conkers championships:
Keen to shrug off their spoilsport image and further dispel the myth that they make children wear protective goggles for the playground game, health and safety officers have also entered a team in the tournament.
After years of being derided for banning such jolly pastimes as sweets being thrown into the audience at theatres and balloon modelling by clowns, the supposed killjoys have said enough is enough.
Ray Hurst, IOSH president, said he was looking forward to showing that health and safety workers were not spoilsports at the championships, which take place in Ashton, Northamptonshire, on October 12.
Good for them. Much of the derision that surrounds the risk averse culture that we now live in stems not from safety advisors, but those who are scared witless of being sued or who simply do not understand the common sense approach to risk management:
“We do not, and never have, required children to wear goggles to play conkers,” Mr Hurst said.
“These decisions are being taken by people who have limited knowledge of health and safety and who haven’t sought the advice of a health and safety expert, or are simply scared senseless by the perceived compensation culture.”
“Health and safety doesn’t require goggles at conker matches, and it doesn’t ban goggles from swimming pools.”
Precisely. When the working at heights regulations came in a couple of years ago there were scare stories about window cleaners being put out of business because ladders would be banned by the regulations. They are not and never were. The regulations, like all modern safety legislation merely places upon the employer a requirement to asses the activity and manage it appropriately. For short jobs (such as window cleaning) a ladder is perfectly acceptable, providing that ladder is suitably secured. This, frankly, is common sense.
You may – quite reasonably – decide that there is far too much regulation. I would agree with you. The Health and Safety at Work Etc., Act (1974) says all that needs to be said, quite frankly. Much of the subsequent legislation merely expands upon its basic principles. We could have a debate about how much of this stuff is needed and how it has contributed to undermining common sense; but, health and safety advisors are not the ones banning conkers or insisting that children wear goggles and other such nonsense.
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website, it was a headteacher who came up with the idea of children wearing goggles to play conkers, and subsequently other schools banned the game on health and safety grounds.
Quite. By all means criticise our risk averse culture. By all means condemn the plethora of unnecessary legislation, but get the target right.
Quite. This “elf’n’safy” culture is really a “somfink for nuffink” culture which started when the Tory’s allowed lawyers to work on a “no win, no fee basis”. Their adverts generated a belief that no matter how stupid their actions, people are not resposnible and that no matter what happens every misfortune is someone else’s fault. Furthermore, that someone can, and should ,be sued and screwed royally.
Insurance comapanies fearing large payouts increased rates and in some cases refused to cover certain risks – hence the end of bonfire nights at schools. the fact that a lot of the sillier and high profile cases nefer reach the courts doesn’t get mentioned, but the damage has been done.
I’m sure that the Headmaster in question was only covering his arse with the insurance companies, but thanks to hysteria and ignorance in the MSM it was blamed on the wrong people.
The Great Simpletons last blog post..Politicians should stay out of sport
They still do. Have you seen their sick-making adverts on the box recently?
I nearly made a comment about day time TV being their main hunting ground. I remeber the one about someone tripping on a broken pavement – I can’t remeber the figures but AFAICR there was a huge spike in councils being sued with many settling out of court.
The Great Simpletons last blog post..Politicians should stay out of sport
“..get the target right…”
Indeed. It’s not like they don’t give enough opportunity to hit that target:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1063192/Fury-school-bans-playground-games–health-safety-reasons.html
JuliaMs last blog post.."Where’s The Fire Emergency…?"
My day job is in “Elfin Safety”, and I have been greatly distressed at the way it has been abused by those without the guts to stand by their own decisions. They hide behind “Elfin Safety” because no-one in their ‘right mind’ in these politically correct days would argue with that, would they? “Elfin Safety” has to concede the finishing tape to “Think of the Children”, but it is almost as powerful when misused by those with an agenda.
As well as the predatory lawyers, one should also blame the insurance companies. The latter are only concerned to cover their backsides and their losses. So they issue stupid edicts in some cases, and settle on many cases where they should have fought it. And if only employers had the guts to stand firm against an errant employee instead of their dreading the exercise of their “yuman rites”.
But that is typical of the UK these days, very few are willing to stand up for what is right. We will get the police state we deserve.
I’ve been involved in safety in the rail industry in one form or another for the past decade. I agree entirely. I also had to do battle with safety reps who misunderstood the nature of the legislation and how effective risk management is supposed to work.
Some folk also forget that safety legislation places a duty on employees, too 😉