Health and Safety at Work

[Tony Taylor]

Holding stock is money tied up, then if circumstances change you are left with unwanted stock.

[happy daze john in oz]

I agree some things will be out of date or useless if stored or stocked for too log.

But with an aging population I would not consider holding a stock of medical supplies of any kind would fit that bill.

[Ivan Cloherty]

#33 I would have thought that expiry dates on medical supplies were more important than any other product John, on my medicines it says do not use after xx/xx/xxxx (by the way they are not Roman numerals!)

[happy daze john in oz]

Ivan I agree with that concept.
But my comment was more regarding equipment, a good supply of which should be there at all times.

But UK is not alone in this, we have our shortages here in Oz as well.

[Colin Wood]

When studying for masters in 1962 at Plymouth Tec, This work place health and management was being forecast, so Captain Moreby started an after school series of lectures on the subject. Most of the master candidates attended, and at the end we were asked to fill in a questionnaire of the course. One of the questions asked about our intentions, and an almost unanimous answer was that we were all going to go overseas to Hong Kong etc for employment as not happy to spend good off duty time attending stupid meetings. Just get the bosun to thump them and send them back to work.
Only ever had one major crew problem, when the HK office was slow confirming new rates of pay. Got word that ER crew were going ot walk off if no extra money before sailing. I had phoned HK office,only time ever, who guaranteed that I would have the new rates when we got to Colombo. Luckily, I had looked after the Police in Rangoon, so come time to sail, ER crew about to walk down gangway when a fleet of police vans pulled up alongside the gangway. Crew reconsidered their actions and returned to work. New pay scales received on arrival in Colombo

[Chris Allman]

JS & Terry - to save further Off Topic posts - your two posts re the 1966 Seaman's Strike have been moved to a Thread of that name. Please try and stay on topic, thank you.

[j.sabourn]

It must take some improvising teaching through examples of work practices between certain types of jobs. Take for example the police the fire service and the ambulance service. Most of their safety of and saving of life rebounds around taking risks to themselves. If you get someone who is too Safety conscious then it certainly lowers the life expectancy of the person or persons in fear of their lives who they are supposed to assist.. In lots of cases such people who aren’t willing. To take risks , shouldn’t be employed in that industry. There will always be acceptable
and unacceptable risks, whichever way one wants to ice the cake. Health and safety has its place in the world but it is not always the deciding factor, that choice is not made by the so called expert, it is made by the person at the coal face. JS.

[happy daze john in oz]

Not sure about all the emergency services but I know with our police here all persons who wish to join do not find it easy.

Apart from medical and family back ground checks they also have to undergo some psyciatric studies to see what their mental state is, and possibly would be in an emergency.
Nurses going into a University course have to go through the same practice, all person sin such position smust be able to react in a timely and effective manner no matter the circumstances.

What to us may appear to breach the OHS act is just a days work to them.

[Colin Wood]

In Darwin pre cyclone Tracy, we had an accountant who vertually emptied the store for the fork lifts and bulk loading facility, and I disagreed with him and told him the following, we don't keep stores to save money, so we go up the road to Catapillar or Hyster and ask for spares, they don't keep stock as they can get it overnight by air from Sydney, so they forward the order. Sydney can see no point in keeping stock, as they can get quick air cargo from Japan, so they forward the order, which means there supplier must contact the manufacturer who the goes to his steel supplier who then goes to the steel maker, who thenorders a bucket of ore from Australia. Unfortunately, the ore is waiting to be loaded on our loader, which cant work till we get the part. Real smart.