Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: jo5hm4n on June 09, 2021, 01:59:34 pm
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I need a little inspiration. For my smaller van i am about to start looking for a new employee. We have a DIY Electric hose reel in this van, and i want to write up a sort of waiver document to explain that the employee has been trained in proper use for the DIY Electric Hose Reel, has been show proper health and safety and how to avoid any risk of accident. Then get them to sign the document at the bottom.
I'm doing this purely as a safety measure in the extreme unlikely chance of an employee cutting a finger off in the chain or something like this happening.
I need some inspiration on how to write the waiver, and what to or not to include.
Any ideas?
(no im not getting an engineered reel)
Thanks
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Firstly if there is any chance they can get hurt due to lack of guarding no waiver will help you
If its 100% safe to use all you need is a a couple of lines stating the employee has been shown how to operate the equipment + if your going down this route hoe to repair it in the event of failure and a line stating the employee fully understands the training given --- signature and date ( 2 copies - yours and theirs )
Darran
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personally - I wouldn't let any employee use DIY equipment - its a minefield about what is safe and what's not - I point to H-Man and his handles - if I let my staff use these things and they got hurt, what recourse have I got ? where as I supply an Unger squeegee with ergonomic handle and they get an injury my recourse is back to Unger and them to provide evidence of testing etc..
If I was in your position I'd fit either a shop brought electric reel or install a manual reel
STAFF = if it can be broken they will break it, if there is the smallest chance of f**king it up - they will - they will always ignore the bleeding obvious !! - Work to this and never be disappointed
Darran
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personally - I wouldn't let any employee use DIY equipment - its a minefield about what is safe and what's not - I point to H-Man and his handles - if I let my staff use these things and they got hurt, what recourse have I got ? where as I supply an Unger squeegee with ergonomic handle and they get an injury my recourse is back to Unger and them to provide evidence of testing etc..
If I was in your position I'd fit either a shop brought electric reel or install a manual reel
STAFF = if it can be broken they will break it, if there is the smallest chance of f**king it up - they will - they will always ignore the bleeding obvious !! - Work to this and never be disappointed
Darran
totally agree!
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Darran has summed this up well employees should not be using some bodged up home made equipment should the worst happen the HSE will throw the book at you and if not a LTD company could end up loosing your house and anything you own in fines and then the employee will personally sued you fir compensation as your insurance would be invalid . For the the sake of a few hundred pounds buy a proper electric reel or just use a manual one . If you are trying to cut corners with this it save money it doesn’t sound like you are earning enough to have an employee.
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U got to love some people 😂😂😂
It’s like sticking a set of ladders on the van an letting the lads work on there own and they fall, employer becomes at fault as we’re is the working at height permit and we’re is the second man ......
I love reading Ciu wen I get home from work it’s better than any daily newspaper 🗞
People see Darran doing well and using, say hypo ( correctly ) then u av every Tom dick ad Harry jumping on the band wagon with it, then u get posts saying why has this happened or why has that happened when really they shouldn’t be using it with none or little knowledge of the chemical 😂😂😂
Window cleaner loses finger whiles using diy hose reel, and solicitor tears his waiver apart probably costing employer best part of 40k in legal fees 😂😂😂😂
Go get urself a h&s advisor and pay the subscription fees before u end up in 💩 creek 😂😂😂😂
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I need a little inspiration. For my smaller van i am about to start looking for a new employee. We have a DIY Electric hose reel in this van, and i want to write up a sort of waiver document to explain that the employee has been trained in proper use for the DIY Electric Hose Reel, has been show proper health and safety and how to avoid any risk of accident. Then get them to sign the document at the bottom.
I'm doing this purely as a safety measure in the extreme unlikely chance of an employee cutting a finger off in the chain or something like this happening.
I need some inspiration on how to write the waiver, and what to or not to include.
Any ideas?
(no im not getting an engineered reel)
Thanks
stick to a manual reel or get a pure freedom electric reelmaster(which has an enclosed chain)....
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Does not matter what document you produce, if it is a self built electrical reel and you are not a competent person you are liable.
If he/she hurts themselves whilst using it you are liable as their will be no manufacturers guarantees, no service history or service manual so you are liable.
If you have enough work that you need employees then buy a new one and do not put your staff at risk.
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Does not matter what document you produce, if it is a self built electrical reel and you are not a competent person you are liable.
If he/she hurts themselves whilst using it you are liable as their will be no manufacturers guarantees, no service history or service manual so you are liable.
If you have enough work that you need employees then buy a new one and do not put your staff at risk.
correct...you will be liable for sure with a diy reel
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The liability side is obvious, but there’s a more important point…
You surely don’t WANT your employees to hurt themselves? Even if they never sue, or never make a complaint, surely you want to prevent them from injuring themselves and suffering?
If you really don’t care about their safety then in all honesty, you’d be better not employing.
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Some excellent replies there Joshman , any thoughts as to wether you will proceed with said botched up DIY equipment that could potentially, cost you all lot of money in claim compensation etc
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Do the right thing fella buy the correct equipment for your staff instead of penny pinching schemes and waivers
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I would just supply them with a cheap manual claber reel, if they dont injure themselves they will only break it and not know how to put it back together.
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I'm with Stoots, get a Claber reel, they're not great, but it could be the best £60 you've ever spent!
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Op gone quiet wondering if he's still tinkering with his final draft of his waiver of missing fingers
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As everyone has come down on him like a ton of bricks (with some justification), the poor guy has probably been put off posting on the forum anytime soon.
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As everyone has come down on him like a ton of bricks (with some justification), the poor guy has probably been put off posting on the forum anytime soon.
you d have to be a thin skinned snowflake to not post because of a bit of constructive criticism......easily offended people need a check up from the neck up.......
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As everyone has come down on him like a ton of bricks (with some justification), the poor guy has probably been put off posting on the forum anytime soon.
I don’t want to be hard on the op but who in there right mind us going to let an employee use home made potentially dangerous equipment if they cannot afford to buy a decent reels they have no ideas about running a profitable business they should not be considering employing anyone , as they obviously couldn’t afford to .
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Bang on there splash good post , hope OP listens to some experienced guys giving out sound advice,
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Ok,
Appreciate the advice guys. Just wanted to give a little more clarity on why i even made this post.
The main reason that i don't want to get a PF Electric Reel, or a Waterworks Powerup Reel is because if anything breaks, they are so over engineered to perfection that its difficult to fix for somebody like myself who is not the best at DIY. I would have to send the reel back or drive a 4 hour round trip just to get the reel fixed. This is way too much aggro.
The reason why i prefer the DIY Electric Clabber Reel that i made is because i built it, so if it breaks i know exactly how to fix it in minutes.
Cost is not the issue here its more downtime or faffing about if an Engineered reel breaks on me.
Infact i think i am more tempted to go with Adams idea, and just use a Manual Clabber Reel instead. I only got the electric reel originally for my own ease when working. My best friend currently works in my van and he is fine with using the DIY Electric Reel, but as mentioned the issue is when i get a new employee where the concerns arise from.
At this point i think i would rather either Keep the DIY Electric Reel and just hope for the best, or get a chain guard fitted somehow myself. Or just swap it out for the Clabber Manual Reel.
I have written a waiver, but clearly from what all of you are saying, it really would not stand up in any legal sense should there be an injury.
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By writing this waver you are admitting the reel isn't safe, your best friend may be happy using the reel but even the best of us can have an accident, especially when doing repetitive work, if he does you will be liable.
Remember your insurance wont cover accidental damage caused by anything that doesn't have the proper health and safety approval so keep this in mind when using anything DIY in your business.
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By writing this waver you are admitting the reel isn't safe, your best friend may be happy using the reel but even the best of us can have an accident, especially when doing repetitive work, if he does you will be liable.
Remember your insurance wont cover accidental damage caused by anything that doesn't have the proper health and safety approval so keep this in mind when using anything DIY in your business.
I do get your point. If you are using DIY you dont really have a leg to stand on if anything goes wrong.
I will bear this in mind going forwards with all purchases for my van systems.
5 Years ago everything i did was my done myself but now that i can no longer work my staff are doing everything.
Going forwards i think no more DIY. I will just use supplier equipment for peace of mind
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As everyone has come down on him like a ton of bricks (with some justification), the poor guy has probably been put off posting on the forum anytime soon.
you d have to be a thin skinned snowflake to not post because of a bit of constructive criticism......easily offended people need a check up from the neck up.......
I think most of us need one of those.
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Fair play Jo5shm4n, to your earlier post re downtime for repairs on electric reel I have the older hd power up reel used every day for 6 years and no issues or repairs needed , so if me bet not an issue get them in and forget about them v robust and reliable
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If money not an issue that is
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Good decision josh
Just buy them a normal hand reel one mate, it will be a few years before they start moaning about reeling in and by then who knows we’re we will all be
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Ok,
Appreciate the advice guys. Just wanted to give a little more clarity on why i even made this post.
The main reason that i don't want to get a PF Electric Reel, or a Waterworks Powerup Reel is because if anything breaks, they are so over engineered to perfection that its difficult to fix for somebody like myself who is not the best at DIY. I would have to send the reel back or drive a 4 hour round trip just to get the reel fixed. This is way too much aggro.
The reason why i prefer the DIY Electric Clabber Reel that i made is because i built it, so if it breaks i know exactly how to fix it in minutes.
Cost is not the issue here its more downtime or faffing about if an Engineered reel breaks on me.
Infact i think i am more tempted to go with Adams idea, and just use a Manual Clabber Reel instead. I only got the electric reel originally for my own ease when working. My best friend currently works in my van and he is fine with using the DIY Electric Reel, but as mentioned the issue is when i get a new employee where the concerns arise from.
At this point i think i would rather either Keep the DIY Electric Reel and just hope for the best, or get a chain guard fitted somehow myself. Or just swap it out for the Clabber Manual Reel.
I have written a waiver, but clearly from what all of you are saying, it really would not stand up in any legal sense should there be an injury.
So what you are saying is that money is not the problem but the over-engineered professionally built ones break down and you do not have the engineering expertise to fix them but you do have the engineering expertise to repair your home made one?
Really.
Do you have a spade in your hand whilst you type?
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Good decision josh
Just buy them a normal hand reel one mate, it will be a few years before they start moaning about reeling in and by then who knows we’re we will all be
we ll all be richer with better rounds in a few years...always tweaking,improving and making more money year on year.....hopefully! :)
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Nice one Josh.
This is why we use the forum...to get a different viewpoint.
I mean it's pointless talking to the missus! ;D
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Fair play Jo5shm4n, to your earlier post re downtime for repairs on electric reel I have the older hd power up reel used every day for 6 years and no issues or repairs needed , so if me bet not an issue get them in and forget about them v robust and reliable
The belt on my powerup 3D reel snapped last Thursday. Certainly in the case of this model I'd question the robustness and reliability. Only last month the switch failed too.
Doesn't look exactly simple to disassemble and replace the belt even if the supplier gets back to me and has stock of parts. In hindsight I'd have bought a reelmaster, or at least checked every available part I may need as a spare in future was listed and readily available. I mention this because its something worth bearing in mind. DIY is no good for staff but at least as Jo5shm4n mentions its fixable !
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Fair play Jo5shm4n, to your earlier post re downtime for repairs on electric reel I have the older hd power up reel used every day for 6 years and no issues or repairs needed , so if me bet not an issue get them in and forget about them v robust and reliable
The belt on my powerup 3D reel snapped last Thursday. Certainly in the case of this model I'd question the robustness and reliability. Only last month the switch failed too.
Doesn't look exactly simple to disassemble and replace the belt even if the supplier gets back to me and has stock of parts. In hindsight I'd have bought a reelmaster, or at least checked every available part I may need as a spare in future was listed and readily available. I mention this because its something worth bearing in mind. DIY is no good for staff but at least as Jo5shm4n mentions its fixable !
We have 6 of theses reels on long term test and haven’t had a single problem with any of them so far sounds like you have a duff one . Just for the record changing the chain on the reel master or putting it back on if it comes off isn’t an easy job either real pita