Was a bit bored and noticed my neighbour's chimney being re-pointed by 2 workmen. It's a 2 storey house. They had an unbranded van and accessed the roof by long ladders up the front and a roof ladder on the slates. Then crawled along the ridge. They carried buckets of mortar. Didn't appear to have any safety equipment. Is this the normal way to do chimney work or should they have installed scaffolding? Is that up to the contractor? Anyways, I took some photos for the local paper just on the off chance they fell.
They ‘should’ have scaffolding or fall arrest gear. Problem is that such precautions would price most small outfits out of the market. There is also the ‘i’ll never fall off’ mentality, despite the obviously catastrophic consequences of falling off a two storey roof. I feel sorry for the the young lads and lasses taken on by these operators who are taught false lessons on safety. HSE is all about reducing risk as low as reasonably practical. If someone fell off a roof, it would have been reasonable to put off scaffolding, so they’d be crucified in court.
Yes, my prime worry was for their safety. Nobody wants to have a body on their block paving. The photos were a joke btw.
If the client won't pay for scaffolding they're not worth working for. If they're content for you to risk serious injury.... If you think health and safety is expensive, try having an accident.