Input, please...
I've always used goggles, or a full-face visor, when using a strimmer ( or hedge cutter on hawthorne, or been felling//pruning trees)......just one of the normal safety precautions I'd thought, along with the other protective clothing according to the job in hand..
I'm just back from the USA visiting family & on my arrival day I went to pick up my grandaughter from an after-school Community Farm where she goes for 2 days a week, which she loves.
When we arrived I was horrified to see 2 young lads strimming a grass verge.....not the strimming but that they weren't wearing protective goggles?
Although I mentioned my concerns abt the safety of this to my rels at the time, I waited til I got back to email the Farm about the safety aspect of this....I got this reply this morning :-
Hello!
Thank you so much for your concerns, and trust me, we take all concerns very seriously. The two young men in question are both Junior Mentors, meaning they are at least 12 years old, and are trained on the equiptment. Something that not every student is trained on. We also have permission from their parents for them to work with various equiptment including our lawn mowers.
However, I see your point and understand your concern. It would be beneficial to have them wear goggles when they are using the equiptment. I will make sure that they are aware of this.
Again we do appreciate your concern, I will talk to (the owner) about it as well. If there are any other questions or concerns I'll be happy to address it.
Thank you,
******
Office Manager
So........tell me, is it me, being indoctrinated by our Nanny State, that thinks that the use of protective eye shields should be the status quo when using such equipment, or .......what?
Of course they should have been wearing them.
I absolutely agree with you, it is not 'nannying' to use elementary protection - anyone who has been hit in the face by a stone when strimming will concur. Eyesight is too precious to risk. I think a strimmer is a fairly dangerous item, twelve is fairly young to be using one IMHO. Were they wearing gloves, also essential in my book?
you did the right thing, Hyacinth, only takes a shard of stone to blind them :)
If you had ever hit a bottle hidden in scrub whilst using a brushcutter you wouldn't need to ask. It is fairly rare for a brushcutter to cause injury in itself (although there have been occasions where people have partially amputated limbs of people standing too close), when they do it is normally down to tripping over, carelessness, or stupidity but when a blade spinning at 20,000 rpm hits a concealed object such as a bottle you get shrapnel flying everywhere & most of it seems to fly towards your shins hands & face.
When I am doing clearance work it normally involves felling trees so I have my chainsaw safety gear with me anyway but on several occasions I have had to pick out bits of glass, slate chips, or metal which were embedded in my chainsaw trousers, I have had thick gloves pierced by debris & have gone through several forestry helmets over the years as the visors have been damaged. If I hadn't been wearing appropriate safety gear then I would of had some very nasty injuries all because I missed the odd bottle, can, stone etc... when checking for & removing rubbish prior to clearing scrub. Admittedly I use a heavy duty professional brushcutter (it will cut through a 2" thick sapling just as effortlessly as it will cut through brambles) but a cheap domestic one is just as likely to throw debris up in the air with sufficient velocity to cause injury.
Hyacinth, you have to report this to the Health and Safety Executive (0845 345 0055). The answer you got tells me that the establishment is not managing health and safety. Tell the HSE what you saw and what response you got to your concern.
I wouldn't want to find that some kid lost their sight because I didn't make the report.
Thanks for your replies.
While I don't think that 12 is too young, necessarily, to be using such equipment, Small, the answer from The Farm really does suggest that what I'd considered to be pretty universal safety precautions, seems to have pased them by?
If anyone disagrees, I'd really like their input, here.
Many thanks.
(Unwashed, your concern came in when I was typing mine...I'm leaving it stand for the mo....remember, this happened in the US (a Country I'd considered to be more litigious than ours, even?)
Like you, I care about the eyesight of ALL peeps, not necessarily my own...
Well done, Lishka!
If you don't want to appear cissy, I find these quite 'cool'. And light-enhancing.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission sets voluntary safety reccomendations for strimmer/brushcutter use in the USA they do not have to be adhered to. All manufacturers include safety information in the instruction manuals if people ignore that advice it voids any claim an injured person may have towards the company as they are not using the product in accordance with the manufacturers instructions.
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/5005.html
Quote
# Keep all people away from the operator during use. At least one manufacturer recommends keeping people, including helpers, a minimum of 30 feet away.
# Before starting, make sure the blade is properly secured to the shaft. Replace damaged blades. - Avoid cutting close to fences, sides of buildings, or other such obstacles that could cause the brushcutter to ricochet. Clear the work area of trash or hidden debris that could be thrown back at the operator or at a bystander.
# Use the proper cutting attachment for the job. Use the flexible string trimmer or hand tools for cutting near buildings, fences, etc., where the rigid blade may cause damage and injury.
# Wear protective clothing, including safety eye goggles.
My 12 year old has been taught how to use a strimmer safely, but uses it whilst wearing a helmet with full face visor and ear protectors ( those petrol ones are noisy!). He only strims clear grass areas though on the allotment, and we are slowly getting rid of that........ ;D
WOW Tim! I'd love some of those....like RayBans with a Hint of Orange - my fave colour 8)
BaccyMan,,, once more you've come up with The Goods, for which many thanks. :-*
Thanks Deb 8)
I'm thinking of sending this whole post off to The Farm, which is why I'd also like to hear of any opposing view...
Lish, would you like my input on how to use a " strimmer". ;D
No all joking aside well done you for reporting that.
I absolutely agree, safety goggles are a definate must when strimming, you've only got to strim over a stick or bit of debris and shards can hit you in the face, very painful but if it hit your eye you'd lose your sight.
Sorry, thought it was in the UK.
I use a brush cutter and strimmer at work and my visor even comes round under the chin because I've had stuff bounce up under just a regular shield.
I would have thought goggles or a visor would be the absolute minimum protection required when operating a strimmer. If the powers that be don't insist that the children/teenagers operating machinery on their site take basic, common sense, precautions then I'd be asking questions about their safety policies (or lack thereof) across the board.
Ever strimmed a big slug by mistake and got a mouthful... yeaaaaaaak. :-X
Quote from: tim on October 25, 2009, 18:18:21
If you don't want to appear cissy, I find these quite 'cool'. And light-enhancing.
When I first started using the brushcutter on our site, I was using the goggles issued with the equipment by the manufacturer. On my first day, 2 small stones in the undergrowth were strimmed up in the air causing some superficial cuts and bruises to my cheeks. Needless to say, the town council purchased me a full face shield protector before I used it again. No problems since.... fingers crossed. 8) 8)
Quote from: saddad on October 25, 2009, 23:01:45
Ever strimmed a big slug by mistake and got a mouthful... yeaaaaaaak. :-X
I might be sick :o
I certainly retched... :o
OH, had a nasty rash from cow parsley while strimming, all over his arms and caused nasty
red lumps that were there for at least 2 weeks and very itchy !
Can't say enough about protection when using equipment like that --- and it's not
being '' nanny '',
better safe than sorry thats what i say
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y23/simmo116/3rdstrimmer.jpg)
I had a conversation about this with my optician a few years ago. It came about when i asked about contact lenses. He felt that as I can really only see properly with one eye spectacles were preferable as I could not afford to lose my one good eye - I do not have stereoscopic vision.
He then asked about whether I used goggles and insisted that when strimming or using an electric drill that i must always use goggles. He occasionally worked in an eye hospital and he said that the most common cause of eye injuries that he dealt with were caused by strimmers.
I now use a petrol brush cutter and even bits of weed thrown out really sting if they hit my hand or arm.
Hitting a hidden cat sh-t was enough to make me buy a full face visor :-X
Quote from: gibbygib on October 28, 2009, 13:16:21
Hitting a hidden cat sh-t was enough to make me buy a full face visor :-X
Ugh! :o
Thanks everyone for all your input 8) I replied to the email..I'm sure that a nod was as good as a wink to a blind.....duh! I'd better rephrase that :-[...I'm sure that they will now ensure that all their children and operatives will now have the correct safety gear. :)
Hi all,
I wouldn`t use my strimmer without wearing steel toe-capped boots and long trousers and sleeves, overalls are best, whatever the weather. I have clipped my feet several times and always end up splattered with green bits that cause red marks otherwise.
Col