SAFETY
correctly trained up. Although it really shouldn’t be the case that an accident needs to occur before people decide to get the proper training for their staff.” Some view much of health and safety policy as commonsense practice, both by those that enforce it and those that carry it out - a belief that it is based on the safety practices we would enforce on ourselves regardless. Ian though doesn’t subscribe to this belief. “One usually finds a distinct absence of basic commonsense when an accident occurs, so there’s little point in saying health and safety is all based on a commonsense approach,” he argues. “I find that, in most cases, accidents occur most frequently in either the young and inexperienced age group or the older worker who has become complacent with the job. Therefore, it is vital not only to train the new operators but also to ensure the older workers are up to speed with the correct ways to operate machines and, crucially, don’t become jaded with their work to the
point where accidents might occur.” This issue ties in to one of the most risk-conscious areas of grasscare safety - mowing on banks: the cause of death in one of the most documented fatalities in the industry in recent years. “This is the most potentially dangerous
area in the industry and one that hasn’t really got a foolproof solution,” declares Ian. “The machine that we offer, the Toro Sidewinder, can mow at 25 degree angles on banks and distributes the weight of the machine up the hill as opposed to down - the safer option.” This machine, as well as the Ransomes Spider remotely controlled mower are, arguably, the two that probably do the best job and are the most safety-aware machines, Ian adds. “Still though, there is risk attached and it is really about management rather than delivering a solution. For example using a growth retardant on grass banks means fewer cuts are needed - one approach to the problem,” he says.
It is with such issues in mind that
councils across the UK are increasingly specifying the Sidewinder and Spider because of their ability to confront the practical problems involved with hill cutting.
Leeds City Council is one local authority that has seen the benefits of remotely controlled machinery in difficult areas, on banking for example, where traditionally equipment such as ride-on machinery and strimmers, were used, raising the risk of repetitive strain and vibrational injuries to operators. In Britain, Leeds was one of the first to switch to so-called robotic equipment for handling hard-to-access grass on highway verges, in parks and sports sites, purchasing a fleet of five Spider rough turf mowers over three years ago. Chris Simpson, operations services manager for the council’s parks and countryside services, led the team that introduced it into the maintenance programme after seeing a demonstration at a trade show in 2004. “I could see that the machine’s versatility might have 31
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