Bent Jack - warranty issue?

[brad]

Hence my additional label in 4 posts above.

Using the "this equipment is dangerous, therefore don't use it" argument doesn't stand up in court.

I've been through it plenty of times - demonstrated to a contractor the safe/proper way of carrying out a maintenance task & the moment you turn your back, they do something else. It costs us a bloody fortune engineering out the risk. My opex budget at the moment is $5mill pa & I could spend that 20 times over trying to engineer out all the inherant safety problems with the aging assets (up to 130 years old) I have to maintain.

[Maverick]

All those things you mentioned are simply precautions to reduce the risk. Keep in mind that (IIRC) you are an ex-tradie & therefore probably carry out a mental risk assesment everytime you do something like change a tyre. It becomes second nature for many because you are trained to do so.

Not me but I do apply some common sense when looking at anything and don't just jump straight in.

Unfortunately, not everyone has the mindset to do this & they are the people that get injured. IMO, nobody actually deserves to be injured, so you have to cater for those that don't think in a risk-reducing manner.

Not sure I can agree with you there, we can't protect the stupid because the cost is unbearable and we're already going over the top trying to stop them from killing themselves with all the laws to protect them. There's a point at which people have to be accountable for their actions and subsequent injury/death and blaming others for their stupidity is not a solution.

Like the example I gave above where a GTI owner asks if it's safe to work under the car with just the widowmaker holding it up, common sense should tell you how absolutely stupid and dangerous this is and short of wrapping them in bubblewrap and watching them 24/7 someone like that is going to kill themself through sheer stupidity at some point if they don't start thinking for themself.

[brad]

I don't believe in zero risk - just minimisation. At my last place we spent $8mill (IIRC) and achieved $60mill in savings on reduced payouts, productivity increases (you should see what a death/funeral costs in direct/indirect losses - even if the bugger dies at home), sick leave etc (we were starting off a pretty low base though).

I can't ever recall seeing someone get injured & thinking "he deserved that", no matter how incompetent they were. Sure, I'd prefer they quit & go and work elsewhere but they don't "deserve" to maimed/injured because they are stoopid (slapped around a bit to knock some sense into them would be OK though) .

I wouldn't have an issue if somebody asked if it was OK to use the scissor jack..... providing they took my advice when I said it was dangerous. At least the guy was thinking a bit rather than just diving straight in.