Staying Safe.

(WLL) · Dec 23, 2006

prefecto great post

coydog said:
I worked under an experienced foreman who freeclimbed to the top of firs etc to set his lifeline/rigging, he once told me if you have to always be tied in what kind of a climber are you anyway? he fell and broke his back a year later, he was tied in but it was a crappy tie in that tore out. I used to be a freeclimbing fool as a kid, climbing to the top of big trees was my hobby, but now I'm a professional and I climb in order to support my family. I have a safety protocol that I follow which includes: I don't climb on questionable equipment, I tie in twice when I fire up the saw, and I stay tied in at all times(to a tie in that I can inspect!), among others, these may have slowed me down as a newer climber, but I'll put my production skills against anybody now, If an employer doesn't like it, I'll walk, there's plenty of others who would be happy to have me. The protocol is muscle memory as much as anything now, so it doesn't slow me down, only achieved through practice. There's always someone who can get the job done faster, the bottom line is can you get the job done consistently, day after day, year after year, without getting hurt.

now that is quality

(WLL) · Dec 23, 2006

sorry johnd

JohN Dee said:
Thats a great post mate, its about you - not them. Like someone's signature says: Climb High, Climb Safe is a great line to go by. If you don't feel safe then don't do it simple as that, if you wanna feel safe then get all your good gear together and start learning - That is the best way to feel safe and re-assure yourself in the tree.

WLL you got that red dot because you yourself are mis-informed. Why was this thread bumped back up anyway? It's like 8-9 months old the creator would be past this point in his life by now anyway.

u are right. that pulley i got is cmi 20000mbs it came from wesspur was that dot from u i thought u gave me a grey one. what ever they r starting 2 pile up. hope i can learn from them thanx john

SRT-Tech · Dec 26, 2006

dont ever climb on questionable gear. EVER! ropes that have nicks, or are badly abraded, fliplines that are hacked from the saw, NO NO NO! go to Baileys, drop $64 for a 120' Arborplex, 10 - 30 bucks for a couple of biners etc and like others have said, LOCK IT UP, and dont let ANYONE use it (unless its a tree climber emergency and they need a rope for rescue etc)

Lonnie · Jan 7, 2007

You have the right not to use anything that is not safe......If u have a saw on the job that has a broken saw break on it and the boss tell u to use it U have the right not to.... I know telling them u will not use it will get ya fired but then u are still kicking at the end of the day not in a pine box.....If ya get fired then im sure some safety guy just hanging around some where hehehehe But buying and using your owen stuff is the way to go if u can go dat way........

Jumper · Jan 7, 2007

Lonnie said:
You have the right not to use anything that is not safe......If u have a saw on the job that has a broken saw break on it and the boss tell u to use it U have the right not to.... I know telling them u will not use it will get ya fired but then u are still kicking at the end of the day not in a pine box.....If ya get fired then im sure some safety guy just hanging around some where hehehehe But buying and using your owen stuff is the way to go if u can go dat way........

Here in Ontario you also have the "right to refuse", however you can not be fired for refusing unsafe work. The employer if unable to resolve the problem is mandated to call in the Labour Ministry, and believe you me those guys error on the side of caution every time. As an employer it would be far easier and likely cheaper to resolve a legit safety problem.

I only ever refused once....the company owner's idiot son wanted me to jump into a dumpster and compact the contents. Knowing darn well it was full of huge shards of plate glass (I put them there) did not seem like too good an idea to me. I told him to go find someone with a front end loader and crush it that way so he jumped in himself to show me how to do it while I supervised.
(he did not get cut, but I did not offer that it was full of glass either). There is a good set of industrial accident safety ads on TV here now, basically stating very few "accidents" are accidents, but related to unsafe equipment or procedure.