At a routine inspection of a cradle prior to it being used as a work platform for painting works, our Health & Safety Manager Mark Pollard (CMIOSH, PIEMA)(SS1) took the opportunity to get the whole team involved and get some on the job insight at the same time. Mark explains: “Often our jobs at Ian Williams see us working from scaffolds or other access equipment but sometimes cradles just make sense for painting some types of buildings. We were there to make sure the cradle was safe to use, installed correctly and had all the right documentation, but because they are used less frequently, it also provided an ideal opportunity to refresh our knowledge and for a couple of newer members of the team, this was their first chance to see a cradle up close. I had the opportunity to go up in the cradle on the day and responded slightly nervously by saying ‘I am a believer that you should never expect people to do something you wouldn’t be willing to do yourself’. I understand though some people have a phobia of heights, and whilst properly installed cradles like this one are perfectly safe, I acknowledge this is not for everyone!”
This project is taking place at well-known Fort Dunlop building in Birmingham, on behalf of our client Carter Synergy and is anticipated to last 3 weeks in total. During the project, headed up by our Contracts Manager James Jordan, we will have to work closely and manage the specialist contractors well to make the job run smoothly and to complete on time. We have 2 cradles in operation and the four operatives trained to use them will aim to complete one drop per day. We then instruct the cradle team to move the cradle around the building and we then repeat the process until we have circled the building twice and achieved the 2-coat specification. This is a prestigious job and we can’t wait to see the end result of this massive achievement that proves here at Ian Williams, we can overcome any challenge and get great results.