14.07.2023

Ingenuity or Stupidity?

A regular reader from the USA sent us this example of solving a quick work at height challenge.

He was unable to say when or where it was spotted, but it is certainly another interesting one. It breaks most of the rules in place in western countries, does not achieve high marks for safety and certainly scores low when it comes to efficiency and productivity.
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A Death Wish though? It does score well on ingenuity and making do with what you have, at least the man at the top is not relying on his friends below to hold the ladder up - especially important given its angle. It looks as though they have used cable ties to attach the step ladder firmly to the rungs of the main ladder, and added some sort of fabric to the top, probably in order to prevent damage to the wall, but depending on what it is, it may also help prevent side slippage.
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A closer look at the mechanics of the rig

And with two men holding the whole thing steady – it looks like a half decent makeshift solution to an immediate problem. They are clearly quite safety conscious and given that this is seems to be one quick job……. Having said all that, any self-respecting health & safety inspector would probably cite them on the spot for employing such methods, if it was on a job site.

It just does not seem right to put it into our Death Wish series, although if it was used repeatedly that would be different. Let us know what you think.