23rd July 2005, 07:30 PM
Greetings Gerwyn. At no stage did I ever suggest that an ordnance officer hit anything with a shovel. Neither did I say that I was down a ten metre hole(do know what they look like). And yes, I did bring the issue to the attention of a grown-up. As far as being a part of the solution goes, my disgust at the state of HS in archaeology prompted me to join the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management some years ago. I have also worked alongside an internationally recognised company specialising in munitions clearance-and I do mean, closely alongside. Please read my earlier threads for clarity. My contributions on BAJR are designed to open frank and meaningful dialogue with as many flavours of archaeologist as possible in the hope that things will change. You will no doubt be pleased to notice too, that I discuss issues as general concepts and do not release sensitive details pertaining to unit names and/or sites. For the past seven years, I have been bringing HS issues to the attention of the grown-ups and, worked closely with Health and Safety Officers when I ran my own shows. Galaxsea for example is one tough cookie and did`nt let my risk assessments slip un-molested-bless him. At this point, I have to switch tack slightly and welcome Mr Hinton to BAJR.Thank you for your contribution! Gerwyn sir- see earlier threads-tiz all there.To refer to Mr Hinton`s clear statements-employers are not above the law. Secondly, I for one have hammered the IFA over the years for what I saw as selective hearing. Mr Hinton is clearly saying that if an individual or organisation that has signed up to the IFA guidelines is not fulfilling his/her/their duty of care, then we are invited to pursue the issue first, through line-managers then, inform the IFA if no solution is apparent or indeed, adequate. I welcome Mr Hintons comments, am genuinely tempted to rejoin the IFA after hearing from him and, on a final note, I am not anon. For those of you who don`t have access to my details on BAJR- My name`s Si Cleggett and am open for dialogue at any time on, 07944 179499 (only text whilst in Cyprus please-saps credit like a bent mattock) or, sicleggett@fsmail.net. Yep- for those of you who know me, I do bitch. A lot. After all, change only ever comes about through open dialogue. And if anything needs change, it`s the current state of commercial archaeology. Of paramount importance of course, is health and safety. On this issue, I will bitch and pursue with vigour when archaeologists are put at risk when those with a duty of care simply can`t be bothered, err on the side of economics over safety or, are simply incompetent and make a mockery of the IFA accreditation system. No venom here guys, simple tenacity when it`s so clearly needed. The IFA talked about training during a joint conference with Prospect...how about funding for cosh/nebosh/HSE qualifications? I can think of no more valid funding applications than this.......Gerwyn, take care sire, will do some(safe) sunbathing for you!.