As someone who has practical experience of such things as safety management and risk assessment (not to mention training the subject), it irritates me when the ill-informed use health and safety as an excuse to cover up for their own inadequacies.
So, once more, we have health and safety being proffered as an excuse for a ban.
Organisers of the Isle of Wight Festival have defended their decision not to allow fold away chairs to be brought on to the site.
About 100 visitors were told they had to leave their seats at the entrance to the site at Seaclose Park in Newport when they arrived on Friday.
The organisers said it was because of health and safety concerns and to improve the “audience experience”.
Oh, for crying out loud! Health and Safety, my arse. What, precisely is the risk involved in allowing people to sit and watch the acts? Well, actually, it may even reduce risks as people will be sitting in one place rather than moving about or sitting on the ground where they may be trodden on by others who are moving about. There is no discernable risk to peoples’ safety by allowing them to bring in their own chairs and no safety risk worthy of note – and if the organisers are worried about a chair collapsing and causing injury to the person using it – a remote possibility that can be considered to already be as low as is reasonably practicable – then they can issue a disclaimer. The likelihood of one collapsing and causing injury to the third party is so low that beyond noting the possibility, warrants no action other than, possibly, warning visitors to ensure that their chairs are not faulty. A simple notice at the entrance would cover that one if they were really that worried. Otherwise, I’d recommend a large dose of common sense.
As for audience experience, frankly, I would find it far more appealing to have people sitting quietly watching proceedings in their chairs than standing up and blocking my view.
…chairs were being sold within the festival site.
Ah, now I suspect we get to the nub of the matter.
“Otherwise, I’d recommend a large dose of common sense.”
That’s a medication not often taken these days.
As a former H&S professional, what would be your suggested solution to this constant use of H&S as a figleaf for managerial incompetance, laziness, or just as excuses for something they want to do anyway?
My suggestion elsewhere on another subject (but could cover H&S too) was for a law that stated any public official demanding X or Y from a member of the public would have to state in writing which law (and clause) he was relying on for his demands. A fast track legal service would then be available for members of the public to challenge whether that law actually applied in their case, and if not an automatic unappealable fine would be levied on the public body responsible, payable to the individual concerned.
I would suggest something similar. There is a precedent for this kind of approach with parking tickets. Anyone faced with the “Oh it’s H&S” excuse would have the absolute right to see the relevant risk assessments and be able to challenge them via the independent ombudsman. If the appeal is upheld, then hefty fines and sanctions would follow.
I’d also like the judges to do their bit by throwing out vexatious claims and award costs to the defendant. If they do this enough, the ambulance chasers will get the message and, perhaps, organisations will become a little less risk averse.
Oh yes. It’s all very well for you “freedom” types to go on about “over-zealous application of blah blah blah….”
But let me tell you. A fold away chair once turned me into a NEWT!
(I got better)