australian standards

[mitchell woods]

Hi guys do harness purchase from the USA meet australian standards

 

[treeseer]

Oz has standards for saddles?

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Most U.S. saddles don't have Fosters holders, you have to add those on your own....

 

[jefflovstrom]

 

[imagineero]

Yes

 

[TheShanks]

Most U.S. saddles don't have Fosters holders, you have to add those on your own....

Even in Oz, I've never seen any person drink a Fosters.

 

[Knobby57]

Fosters yuck[emoji13][emoji13][emoji13]make me feel like I stood upside down on my head for 2 weeks


Sent from my phone when I should be working

 

[a_lopa]

NO they DONT

 

[imagineero]

NO they DONT

Would you care to mention which specific harnesses and which specific standards you are referring to?

 

[treesmith]

As I understand it, legally a harness used in Oz should have an Australian Standard label, though the harness itself is exactly the same minus the label, would probably only be a problem if you were the employer and supplied non AS labeled harnesses to your staff and one failed or similar and ended up involving an official investigation. I brought my old harness came with me from the UK, as did others I work with, have since bought a new Australian Standard one but for personal use I wouldn't give two damns about a label. Its kinda funny when you think about it.

For the councils we work for, one of the prerequisite checks on climbing harnesses and gear is that it has an Australian Standard label....

 

[treesmith]

http://integratedautomation.com.au...e-marking-carries-little-weight-in-australia

 

[derwoodii]

we're upside down so just fall upwards anyhoo & spin the wrong way as we go.

this Q opens up a further query on climbing rope and UK US OZ industry standards.
hmm will have to ponder this

 

[DR. P. Proteus]

Look, you people wear cut off jean shorts with combat boots and here you are asking us what is normal?

 

[DR. P. Proteus]

And I am still trying to believe that Australia even has standards and just what they might be.

 

[treesmith]

There is an Australian Standard for tree pruning, amenity and utility, some companies work to standards such as ppe and recognised qualifications such as a company that has council contracts like ours. Saying that, as far as I'm aware when working for yourself you can climb trees in shorts and a vest

 

[imagineero]

4373 is the AS for the amenity tree industry, but it doesn't specify PPE. Workcover has a controversial draft code of practice for the tree industry which received a lot of flack when it was released because it was based mainly on existing codes for working at heights/IRATA type stuff. Based on the feedback they've received from industry my understanding is they went back to the drawing board.

Climbers are currently exempted from the other related codes for chainsaw operations meaning that they are not required to wear chainsaw protection/chaps when in the tree. Since there currently is no code of practice in place, you could basically do anything you want to in terms of equipment and techniques, but you're still under fairly broad umbrella workcover regulations meaning hardhats, safety boots, hi viz, hearing protection etc. Interestingly, you are really only under these rules if you have workers comp insurance, which you are not required to as a sole trader. There is also no actual requirement for a tree company to have workers comp or public liability currently, though individual councils do sometimes specify that you should have it but they have no real authority to enforce this.

The industry needs a cleanup for sure, but realistically there is no way to enforce any legislation given the nature of the varying daily sites.

 

[BC WetCoast]

For us, workers comp regulations are enforced by WorkSafe either by randomly having an inspector see your worksite on the street, a complaint by a member of the public/competitor or having the inspector calling your office and asking where you are working.

Often the regulations are set up as enforcement after the fact. That is, finding someone to blame if there is an accident.

 

[imagineero]

It's the same deal here, and work cover investigates all accidents. Though I often wonder how many work accidents are never reported. I'm guessing it's a lot. I think workers comp is such a wrought to be honest. It's insurance, but it doesn't cover the business.... it covers the employee. So even if you pay for the insurance, you can easily receive a very large fine (at least in australia). It offers you no protection at all. It's like paying for car insurance, and then if you crash your car and the insurance company said "you probably should have been paying more attention. So we will pay for the repair of the car which was $3,000 but you need to pay us $50,000 to make up for your negligence". That pretty much sums up workers comp right there :-(

 

[arborlicious]

Yes, Workers Compensation is a wrought. I think it's the reason why many tree companies in Australia are Sole Traders, why pay an extra 6-8% on top of wages when all workers can just have their own fixed premium. Of course those personal injury policies are usually worth nothing from stories I've heard.