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Plant hirers slam HSE for not understanding ROPS regulations
00:00 30 Sep 1998
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by Keren Sall
The Health and Safety Executive has been slammed by plant hirers for being inept, slow at decision making and having a lack of understanding over the problems of fitting roll-over protection structures (ROPS) to mobile plant.
Last Wednesday, plant hirers met the HSE to discuss the vast expense of the new legislation, which requires hirers to fit ROPS by 5 December 1998.
CPA chief executive Julien Rychlik, believed that prior to the five-hour meeting the HSE "didn't have a clue" of what plant hire was about. "As a result of the meeting, I think the HSE has a greater understanding of the industry and the size of the problem created by EU legislation. We gave the HSE body-blow after body-blow by providing them with statistics and figures to show the scale of the problem for our members."
The CPA pressed for the same exemptions as contractors, who have until 5 December 2002 to comply, and for a relaxation in which plant would be affected, but the HSE made no major concessions. Confusion still reigns over which items of plant will have to be fitted with ROPS. The HSE has given contradictory information about which machines will have to be upgraded.
In one letter to the CPA, Stuart Bullock from the HSE states that rollers will not need to be retro-fitted with ROPs, but in last Wednesday's meeting it appeared that statement was misleading. "What the industry calls rollers are defined by the HSE as small compactors and we have been told these small rollers will need ROPS, large ones will not. But we are still talking about upgrading 70-80 per cent of rollers. We are also finding that a machine may be classified as high risk by one department of the HSE and low risk by another department. It is ludicrous," said John Varcoe, training and technical adviser at the CPA.
The Health and Safety Executive has been slammed by plant hirers for being inept, slow at decision making and having a lack of understanding over the problems of fitting roll-over protection structures (ROPS) to mobile plant.
Last Wednesday, plant hirers met the HSE to discuss the vast expense of the new legislation, which requires hirers to fit ROPS by 5 December 1998.
CPA chief executive Julien Rychlik, believed that prior to the five-hour meeting the HSE "didn't have a clue" of what plant hire was about. "As a result of the meeting, I think the HSE has a greater understanding of the industry and the size of the problem created by EU legislation. We gave the HSE body-blow after body-blow by providing them with statistics and figures to show the scale of the problem for our members."
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The CPA pressed for the same exemptions as contractors, who have until 5 December 2002 to comply, and for a relaxation in which plant would be affected, but the HSE made no major concessions. Confusion still reigns over which items of plant will have to be fitted with ROPS. The HSE has given contradictory information about which machines will have to be upgraded.
In one letter to the CPA, Stuart Bullock from the HSE states that rollers will not need to be retro-fitted with ROPs, but in last Wednesday's meeting it appeared that statement was misleading. "What the industry calls rollers are defined by the HSE as small compactors and we have been told these small rollers will need ROPS, large ones will not. But we are still talking about upgrading 70-80 per cent of rollers. We are also finding that a machine may be classified as high risk by one department of the HSE and low risk by another department. It is ludicrous," said John Varcoe, training and technical adviser at the CPA.
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