Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Common Sense

STOP PRESS: There has been a dangerous outbreak of common sense at Edinburgh City Council. Officials have assured me that it is unlikely to spread further and normal service will be resumed shortly.

10 comments:

Torbon Nipolag said...

I think it has to be said that hanging pictures etc. is one of the jobs listed in the STPCD, that teachers should not be doing.

Union advice is that teachers should not carry out these tasks. There is every possibilty that if a teacher was injured doing one of these tasks, e.g by falling from a worktop etc., they would not be covered by their employer's insurance. In fact they could be subject to disciplinary action. I know it sounds crazy, but it is true.

Fee said...

That guy's in the wrong job. Do I pay council tax to have Edinburgh officials making sense? Er, actually, yes.

Like you said, it won't last long.

Anonymous said...

Oh for goodness sake. The MOD will be going to court to take money away from wounded soldiers next! Oh, sorry, they have. Whoops.

MarkUK said...

As I am a part-time H&S Officer in a City Academy, I can only commend my Edinburgh colleague's professionalism.

Most stupid decisions made in the name of H&S are made by amateurs sticking their nose in.

I was told some years ago that "H&S isn't about stopping you doing things; it's about making sure you can do them for a long time to come". How true.

The Health & Safety Executive have the concept of sensible risk. They too are fed up with overenthusiastic amateurs cocking it up, and have a Myth of the Month page:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/myth/

Incidentally, the HSE regularly enters a team in the World Conker Championships - and they don't wear goggles! The event has been sponsored by the Institute of Occupational Safety & Health, as they (we) too are fed up with the silliness.

Miss said...

Schools are obviously dangerous places and should be avoided at all costs ;o)

CFM said...

the school that wants to hang it's own pics is a PPP building. The owner of the building wants to employ tradesmen for the job so that they can charge a huge amount of money from a trifling task. This isn't about H&S, it's about the scandalous profiteering of the private companies in PPP projects making extra money as well as fleecing the public for the intial project in the first place. (Poor designs and sub-standard materials for what should be working, robust buildings - in many PPP schools the corridors are too narrow and classroom designs impractical) The public officials quoted won't reveal this because it was their short sightedness that let these private companies put these maintenance clauses in the original PPP contracts in the first place.

Lilyofthefield said...

CFM, ours is a PFI build and leaving aside the roof that flies off in a wind (it's situated on top of a hill....), and the corridors that are wind tunnels and have to have the fire doors held open at breaks and lesson changes (against fire regs to prop) by a staff rota to prevent children sent flying or having their wrists broken as they slam, if anything is spilt, the teaching or support staff may not wipe it up.

If they don't do it properly, children may die, you see. Either that or the janitorial staff employed by the owners of the school at huge expense have to earn their keep somehow.

Imagine what fun practical food lessons are. Spill - report - put cones down - wait - wait - wait - wait.......

Tradesmen Jack said...

Being in H&S myself with buillders and tradesmen i see its importance but i do dispair when it is taken to over zelous extremes.

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