Personal Protective Equipment

[rostraqueen]

Hi Everyone!

 

Firstly, please answer the quick poll to help with research into PPE for the theatre and live entertainment industry.

 

Also, I'd like to discuss the following questions...

Where do you buy your PPE?

What are the best brands, websites or shops?

What do you use most often?

Do you have your own PPE or has your employer provided it?

Are there any H&S regulations that you think don't make sense or can't be applied in your area of work?

 

I look forward to hearing your opinions!

 

Thanks,

Rosie

[kerry davies]

1) Wherever decent kit is reasonably priced

2) Brand do not count, websites = ACS, Protec Direct and various others.

3) All of it.

4) Since most of us are self-employed the answer is both self and employer.

5) Don't be silly. H&S is common sense but oil-rig regs, for example, are not applicable. This question needs reconsidering.

[rostraqueen]

Thanks for your response, Kerry.

 

Of course H&S is mainly common sense, it's just a question to instigate conversation...

Perhaps an alternative question could be: Do you have any comments on current H&S regulations and the application of them in your area of work?

[Yorkie]

I'm an electrician predominantly not working in the entertainment industry, though my input may still be relevant.

 

1) Shoes need to be bought locally so you can try them on. Have bought them through the post once to my cost. My boots are dickies and my steelie trainers CAT. Gloves, goggles, earplugs wherever I'm ordering from that has what I want at the right price. Hats - wherever you buy it there's a chance it's been dropped somewhere along the supply chain so I've not yet made my mind up on that yet.

 

2) resonably priced reliable ones. PSF in S9 my local place, footwear specialist

 

3) not really relevant given my area of work

 

4) Self employed. When I was employed they did fairly well - getting an assortment of sizes of Hi vis coats for you to try and letting you try boots too. This doesn't get round the fact that not all boots fit all feet even in the right size but for an engineering company of 1000 uk employees, 95% of whom probably spent at least one day a month on site they did well.

 

5) Sometimes get strange rules, like the students' union that told the guy who subbed me in that anyone up a scaff tower needed a hi-vis on (there were three of us working in the whole club - daytime in a fully glazed room)

[cfmonk]

1) Wherever

2) Ummmm.... no favourites, no brand preference either as long as it conforms to relevant BS

3) Least often would be the eye goggles and the ear plugs

4) Well technically it belongs to my employer, Cascade Events Ltd. I own some of that. So I guess I own some of it.

5) Not sure what regs you're referring to? Appropriate PPE is decided by my risk assessment and what I'm up to. There are no "rules" that I have to follow.

[adam2]

Safety shoes I must obtain but my employers will pay the expense within reason, now that I know what size I take I purchase by telephone from progressive safety footwear limited. Lighweight and easy to wear but far from durable. But very cheap so buying two pairs a year is no problem.

 

Hard hat provided by employer, not often needed but esiential to have one just in case.

 

Ear muffs, required when working on diesel engines or other noisy plant, provided by employer.

 

Safety glasses, bought my own as the provided ones are no good in addition to corrective spectacles.

 

High visability clothing, not provided as not normally needed. I bought a dayglow yellow overall coat for "just in case"

 

Electricaly insulating gloves not provided "because we never work on live equipment" Bought my own from RS for "just in case"

 

Flame retardent treated cotton overall coat and full face visor and leather gardening gloves are my own in case of accident with high capacity electrical equipment. Most unlikely to be applicable to theatre work, but a sensible precaustion when inserting 400 amp fuses live, possibly against a fault..

[itiba]

with reference to "Are there any H&S regulations that you think don't make sense or can't be applied in your area of work?" I'd have to say the implemintation of CDM regs to some events is a bit misguided.

[kerry davies]

I'd have to say the implemintation of CDM regs to some events is a bit misguided.

 

And I would have to ask, why? Read This it is a bit detailed but worthwhile background information, and get back to me with the answer to a question.

 

Why, if ditch diggers must have a safety card to dig ditches miles away from the public, doesn't a crew building highly complex structures in the public arena? Are they "above all that" or not capable of matching ditch diggers? (Devil's advocate mode.)

[Jivemaster]

HSW - The Act works well, BUT it's implementation by school caretakers (etc) who can't even spell HSE usually brings the Act into disrepute. Dropping "responsibility" for H&SW on a brush pusher doesn't work the way the Act was intended.

[itiba]

I'd have to say the implemintation of CDM regs to some events is a bit misguided.

 

And I would have to ask, why? Read This it is a bit detailed but worthwhile background information, and get back to me with the answer to a question.

 

Why, if ditch diggers must have a safety card to dig ditches miles away from the public, doesn't a crew building highly complex structures in the public arena? Are they "above all that" or not capable of matching ditch diggers? (Devil's advocate mode.)

 

It seems I've already read that at some point...can't remember why or when!

 

CDM is great on building sites but not so great for venues that have already been built. My biggest problem is that CDM regs are implimented very broadly and without assessment of the actual risk. So the requirement of 'hard hats must be worn at all times' really does mean at all times regardless of the risk of anything actually falling. The requirement to wear trousers and not shorts (to protect against concrete burn found on constructin sites) is also applied despite no wet concrete being present.

 

The legislation that already exists eg PUWER, PPE Regs and MHASAWA should already cover the activities being carried out. Obviously if a huge structure is being erected then it should be carried out to regs but those same regs should not be blanketed to include everyone on site including lighting technicians

[kerry davies]

Obviously if a huge structure is being erected then it should be carried out to regs but those same regs should not be blanketed to include everyone on site including lighting technicians

Hmmm? Lighting techs are that special and different? I think not.

 

CDM is nothing unique, it merely gathers the management of H&S in one system. Just because lighting techs may be behind the rest of UK in industrial practice does not mean they should stay there. The things you complain about were standard practice when I first climbed a ladder for PO Telephones in October 1974, a significant date.

 

The long and short of it is, it really shouldn't matter to lighting techs whether or not CDM or a similar, events based, management system is in operation on any site. They just need to do what they need to do to get paid.

[Simon Lewis]

I'm not arguing for exemptions etc., but wasn't there a bit of disagreement at one of the London Summer Sports Venues when those putting PAR cans onto lamp posts outdoors (and dressed in black Polo shirts and shorts) were told they had to wear full dayglo overalls and hard hats etc.?

[itiba]

Obviously if a huge structure is being erected then it should be carried out to regs but those same regs should not be blanketed to include everyone on site including lighting technicians

Hmmm? Lighting techs are that special and different? I think not.

 

CDM is nothing unique, it merely gathers the management of H&S in one system. Just because lighting techs may be behind the rest of UK in industrial practice does not mean they should stay there. The things you complain about were standard practice when I first climbed a ladder for PO Telephones in October 1974, a significant date.

 

The long and short of it is, it really shouldn't matter to lighting techs whether or not CDM or a similar, events based, management system is in operation on any site. They just need to do what they need to do to get paid.

 

Lighting techs ARE different from the other trades, they encounter different risks and therefore require different PPE.

 

The problem is a site supervisor working to CDM looks at the work the chippy's might be doing and they insist on goggles on the RA, they look at the work the scaffolders do and insist on gloves, they look at the work that concretors might do and insist on trousers to avoid concrete burn. CDM also automatically requires hard hats at all times. They then insist that all the PPE must be worn at all times and when I as a lighting technician turn up to hang some lights on abit of truss, despite no one working above me, despite no loose bits at risk of flying into my eye, despite no risk of concrete burn I suddenly have to plaster myselves up with '5 points of PPE'.

 

My comments were with regards to the large sporting event over the summer and yes that was the experience alot of people had. There is nothing in CDM that already isn't covered by existing regulation. I would much rather work under the PPE regs which require that PPE is used as a last resort rather than under CDM which IMO treat entire crews as uninformed toddles who are unable to decide for themselves what safety precautions are nessacery.

[the kid]

Obviously if a huge structure is being erected then it should be carried out to regs but those same regs should not be blanketed to include everyone on site including lighting technicians

Hmmm? Lighting techs are that special and different? I think not.

 

CDM is nothing unique, it merely gathers the management of H&S in one system. Just because lighting techs may be behind the rest of UK in industrial practice does not mean they should stay there. The things you complain about were standard practice when I first climbed a ladder for PO Telephones in October 1974, a significant date.

 

The long and short of it is, it really shouldn't matter to lighting techs whether or not CDM or a similar, events based, management system is in operation on any site. They just need to do what they need to do to get paid.

 

Lighting techs ARE different from the other trades, they encounter different risks and therefore require different PPE.

 

 

Is that not a standard thing ? Everyone in every trade is different. Situations change. I would say that a blanket RA that covers 100% of people is better than 1 for 5% another for 3% another for 10% etc etc. I would contend it is not so much "different PPE" as it is specific,

High-vis in public - yes. theatre - no

goggles in a dust/large particle prone location (thinking churchs, maybe outdoors by birds nests - yes theatre - not so much

 

However if you are told to do something by who is declared safety officer you comply simple as that. What I have to do may be overkill to some people but if I am asked to I have to simple as that.

 

Because of our space and people using it I can have everyone wearing hard hats while painting. or if I wanted everyone regardless of role wearing a p3 dust mask. I have no qualms about throwing students out of my theatre if we are rigging and they don't have hard hats on.

[itiba]

But that's completely against what the current PPE regs require. They stipulate that PPE must be 'appropriate' and only used as a last resort when all other control measures are not good enough.

 

Although by the sounds of it you deal with students and they are a completely different matter!