Helmets vs Hard Hats

T

Travis1919

Location
Pittsburgh
So the company I work for seems kind of stuck in the Stone Age as far as climbing equipment and ppe. I’ve been wearing a petzl vertex best instead of the company issued hard hats and I’ve been written up for it. I’ve been told I’m not allowed to wear chainsaw pants and operate a saw. I’ve also been using my zig zag instead of the company issued hitch climber set up (which they just introduced in October 2019) It’s a larger company so working my ideas up the ladder is nearly impossible (I’ve tried several times)
My Foreperson is an older guy and seems pretty out of touch. He insists anything other than a Blake’s hitch is for rock climbing. So my question is.. is there anything I can do? Should I fall in line and accept their ppe and equipment standards? Or should I start looking to find a different company? The pay is good as well as the benefits so it’s hard to walk away from but I’m not sure It’s worth the lack of safety and equipment standards.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
 
Most big companies are inside the box thought for reason of continuity. They have a lot of employees spread over a large geographic area. They need that continuity to control costs and to be able to apply their training and safety across the board. Your complaint is not new and will surely be repeated again and again by others. The decision to move on is yours to make, only you and your spouse or SO can truly decide what path to take. That doesn't mean you need to stop learning and trying new techniques and equipment, it is just that the expense will be yours and I would keep it away from the job and use it privately.
 
Head gear: what does the company policy say? If it just says needs to meet ANSI standards, I'd wear the Petzl and stand on that ground. If it says company issue, gotta wear theirs.

Chainsaw protection: i assume they insist on chaps instead of pants? Again, if company issue is the rule, you do that or get a written exemption.

Overall, if the policy is "company issue", I think that is reasonable. They want control over the equipment that is on their jobs. They pay the fine if OSHA shows up and you have an unapproved helmet. If you are responsible for providing anything, that is a different story, should just require foreman to inspect for compliance.

Probably why foreman is oldschool...if they have spent and entire career there, that is all they know.

Should you stay or go? How bad is the hardhat? Yes, Blake's is slow (and tiring!), but that is their dime, so take you time and don't abuse your body. If you are being pushed to be quicker, that is when I'd bring up better climbing systems. "I can be quicker if I was on a zigzag instead of the Blakes..." not in a defiant and disrespectful way, but with the attitude of I want to help the team win, and here is something we can do better. If you stay, find contentment in the fact they care about your safety and even if you would rather a different hardhat, know there are plenty of tree companies who don't even have one on the truck...
 
A Blake's hitch has never cracked. What generation of ZZ are they on?
What happens to a Blake's hitch when a climber takes a swing into a part of the tree and cross-loads it?
How hard is it to lose an expensive Blake's hitch, or replace it?

Look from both sides.




Life with good pay and benefits has its tradeoffs.
 
I’m with a national brand right now, and face similar issues. My approach is (mostly) compliant in the field, and working with direct management and corporate training dept to push for advancements. It’s not a short game.

To explain my mostly- when the company wants me to use my skills and techniques, but hasn’t provided the company-compliant gear, I use my own and figure if they want it done a certain way, they need to follow through on providing the gear. My situation differs from yours in that I don’t really answer to a foreman, and the manager doesn’t really get involved in the more technical gear and techniques.Thankfully, the company is getting more gear approved all the time, so the gap is closing. If you need to change companies, I’d be happy to share what I know about the company I’m currently with, in case it could be a fit. Definitely not saying it’s great for everyone or that it has everything going for it, but it’s a great choice for the right situation. PM me if you want to connect.
 
Travis1919 said:
So the company I work for seems kind of stuck in the Stone Age as far as climbing equipment and ppe. I’ve been wearing a petzl vertex best instead of the company issued hard hats and I’ve been written up for it.
Click to expand...
Trav1919,
Maybe have a look at your OSHA regs and state OSHA regs if they are different/ supplementary to the Federal ones - in a lot of jurisdictions side impact protection may be required as well as top impact. And brain buckets have an expiry date as well - that can differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. I'd certainly have no problem wearing something that was one of ANSI/ CSA/ CE certified as most of these products are interchangeable if they meet the standard you need. Maybe the regs just need to be pointed out to them? Or maybe they're worried about helmet electrical rating or something else?
https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUccVSv3bws
https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGXf3QnlN80
 
I’m with one of the big outfits and they’re fairly open minded to innovative approaches.

If you have hit a dead end as far as learning goes and feel that they’re requirements are too restrictive and outdated it’s probably time to move on. If I were in your situation I would definitely be looking.
 
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