Training & Development “
Our operatives are instructed that grass is not to be mowed during or
immediately after periods of wet weather. So we would like to apologise to the residents for any disruption caused
Muddy madness - a still from a resident’s video of the results of a council worker trying to mow a wet area!
hazardous. Fingers can, all too easily, be lost and all operators should be trained to adjust these important items, correctly and safely.
Understanding the need to assess each site before mowing, especially during a wet season, is also essential. Too many operators just drive on without thinking about surface conditions until it is too late.
A basic site assessment would have stopped this scenario in its tracks
This was highlighted recently when footage emerged of the moment of muddy madness when a council worker took a professional ride-on mower onto a patch of wet greensward and turned it into a churned up mud bath within minutes.
Poor adjustment practices result in grass being chewed and more time required to complete a task
Supervisors and managers need to audit the machinery regularly and ensure that the operators keep up with maintenance and regular cleaning, and ensure that they report all faults
134 I PC AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2016 ”
A large municipal council was left red-faced as local residents filmed the incident and posted it on social media. In a report in a national newspaper the Council’s executive member for neighbourhoods says, “Our operatives are instructed that grass is not to be mowed during or immediately after periods of wet weather. So we would like to apologise to the residents affected for any disruption caused by this mistake. We have investigated the incident and officers have attended the site to determine the best course of remedial action. The worker responsible will be spoken to and reminded of his responsibilities”.
In the example above, a very basic site assessment would have saved an embarrassing phone call, an angry manager, a lot of wasted time and a damaged site.
For the brushcutter operator in the main image, some basic training in site specific risk assessment would be worthwhile, also a review of how far thrown debris can travel from a brushcutter head might be appropriate. Some of you will also note that there is no hearing or face protection being worn either!
Performance
It’s not just the safety of the machine and the operator which is at stake, it’s the overall performance which suffers. Blunt blades on rotary mowers result in a poor cut quality,
meaning that operators have to slow down to get the grass cut, and this burns both fuel and expensive man hours unnecessarily. Blunt blades smash the grass, which causes additional clumping. It leaves a very poor after cut appearance and the mower deck can be clogged with grass mulch. It’s not always possible to keep blades in pristine condition, but they can be kept sharp.
Again, it adds lost time in unnecessary cleaning. Machines with collecting systems are particularly prone to clogging in wet conditions, and blunt blades make this so much worse. It really is a false economy. All operators really should check the condition of their blades every day and report all defects to their line manager.
Blunt or worn out blades and bottom blades can produce an equally poor cut from cylinder mowers as well. Poor adjustment practice results in rounded off blades and grass being chewed and torn off, instead of cut. Many operators this year have had to double cut areas to get a reasonable finish.
The additional cost to a business is huge, with additional time spent on each area, and the resulting backlog of uncut grass elsewhere. It’s the operators responsibility to keep their machinery well-adjusted and to report all faults and defects.
It’s also very much in the business’s interest to keep these machines working at maximum performance through the season, and sharp blades are at the forefront of mowing performance. After all, this is the main part of the mower that actually cuts the grass in the first place!
When faults and defects are reported, it is the line manager’s responsibility to get them fixed. Regular sharpening, or replacement of blunt cutting blades is not a difficult task, it just needs to be done. Operators who report faults, only to see them routinely ignored, will simply stop reporting them, which only causes greater problems and costs further down the line. Supervisors and managers need to audit the machinery regularly and
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156