Aug 14 2007
A North East museum has proved you don't need to use Edwardian cleaning equipment to maintain the upkeep of one of the region's period attractions.
Beamish, The North of England Open Air Museum in County Durham, prides itself on the authentic look and feel of its Town, Farm and Colliery Village set in 1913. So when it comes to carrying out maintenance work, it's usually done behind closed doors when the museum is empty so as not to spoil the Edwardian charm.
However a recent spot of decorating proved a bit of a dilemma because it had to be carried out during the day when the attraction was open. Ingenious staff had a worker don period overalls and use a modern wooden ladder to blend in with the surroundings, which has attracted praise from the Health and Safety Executive.
The HSE is busy promoting its "Ladder Exchange" programme which is aiming to take 4,000 dodgy ladders out of the workplace around the country in a bid to prevent North East workers suffering a fall, or worse, a fatality, as a result of unsafe access equipment.
Between 2001 and 2005, three North East workers were killed and 463 were injured after falling from ladders.
HSE Inspector Michael Bone said:
"The Health and Safety Executive is not against using ladders, provided they are the right ladder for the job in hand. Beamish is an excellent example of how a business has found the right kind of ladder to use safely. Instead of using an old unsafe ladder they have found a new one which meets their safety requirements but also looks the part.
"We would urge all painters and decorators and other maintenance workers to make sure they have the right ladder for the work they are doing."
David Wear, Estates Manager at Beamish, said: "The maintenance programme at Beamish is ongoing, some tasks can be undertaken outside our opening hours but others must be done when we are open. The use of a wooden ladder, which is period in appearance but fully complies with HSE guidelines, is a perfect solution for us. It has, in fact, transformed some of our Estates Team into attractions themselves - everyone enjoys watching someone else at work!"
The Estates Team at Beamish will be able to carry out even more period-style work after tool and equipment hire provider Speedy Hire kindly donated three additional pairs of wooden ladders to the museum.
Mark Turnbull, Safety, Health, Environmental and Quality Director at Speedy Hire, said: "People need to ensure their ladders are in proper working order. Statistics from the HSE demonstrate the need for more safety awareness when working at height.
"If customers bring in their old ladders to our depot we will conduct a full inspection to see if it meets HSE requirements. With our knowledge we can then advise customers on whether it is the best product to be using for the intended job. From past experience we know that most people should be using other forms of access equipment when working at height."
HSE has received industry-wide support to tackle this issue. The Ladder Association together with companies such as HSS Hire, SGB Taskmaster, Speedy Hire and Ladderstore.com are all promoting HSE's messages around ladder safety.
During the "ladder exchange" programme, Speedy Hire is offering a 50 per cent discount on hiring a ladder or access equipment when a "dodgy" old ladder is traded in for a safe one until the end of December and SGB Taskmaster has the same offer running until the end of September.