DAB Site Radio

[Woodmonkey]

Wow what a bunch of miserable sods! Gotta have some music playing in the workshop, if background music causes you to lose concentration that easily you probably shouldn't be using power tools in the first place!

I've used the makita one and it's great, loud enough not to feel lost in a decent size unit and fairly indestructible.

 

[Selwyn]

They are as cheap as £75 now. Although I'm a milwaukee man its actually going to be cheaper to buy a makita dab, charger and battery than it will be a bare milwaukee dab. Same goes for SDS drill - can get a Makita one fair cheaper than a Milwaukee. And whilst I love Milwaukee for most things I thing Makita make a good drill

I used to think one should stick to one brand but having looked today rapid chargers are cheap enough (£30 or so) its basically £50 worth of battery that is the difference,

 

[Woodmonkey]

That's pretty good I'm sure mine was well over £100 around 3 years ago.

 

[sunnybob]

I hate site radios.
One time I was working in a new supermarket building. You have no idea how big those places are before all the shelves get put in. Right next to where I had to work was a site radio on full.
Couldnt hear myself cough. No one near by so i turned it down low.
A voice yelled out about his radio. he was AT LEAST 200 yards away!
So I turned it off and it stayed off untill i finished and left.

 

[Paddy Roxburgh]

Site radio's are to be discouraged in all work place's, the distraction can be very dangerous, no responsible site manager will ever allow any radios on site.

Mike

I've done a quick search and I cannot find anything from HSE that says this. There is some mention of PAT testing and general noise levels, but the suggestion that the distraction is a danger is never stated. Is this something that you have actually seen from HSE or just your own opinion? Of course just because something is not mentioned by HSE does not mean it is not a danger, I'm just curious as to where you got this idea from.

 

[owen]

I don't think I've worked on a site without a radio, every tradesperson I know owns one, I wouldn't be without mine. The makita is a decent radio, also runs off bosch batteries too which is handy.

 

[Brandlin]

Site radio's are to be discouraged in all work place's, the distraction can be very dangerous, no responsible site manager will ever allow any radios on site.

Mike

I've done a quick search and I cannot find anything from HSE that says this. There is some mention of PAT testing and general noise levels, but the suggestion that the distraction is a danger is never stated. Is this something that you have actually seen from HSE or just your own opinion? Of course just because something is not mentioned by HSE does not mean it is not a danger, I'm just curious as to where you got this idea from.

An employers duty of care requires that they do whatever is "reasonably practicable" to prevent harm. It's the employers duty to identify risks and manage/eliminate them. For many years the HSE has been stepping away from setting 'rules' and instead providing 'guidance'. They do not explicitly list everything you must and must not do.

Every organisation I have worked in has had policy about not having workplace/site radios or personal radios/music players in any situation where there are audible alarms or communication between workers is required. Even a shouted warning can be lost on a noisy site.

As an example, I had to investigate a death where a sub contractor had been crushed by a piece of plant reversing. The conversation with the HSE went something like this... "So, you pride yourselves on the fact that you buy good equipment with reversing alarms and proximity sensors, but you took no steps to ensure that those alarms could be heard and allowed workplace music to be played."

I have also unfortunately seen instances where control signals between workers could not be heard or were misheard. In one instance resulting in a temporary electricity tower (pylon) collapsing onto a road in scotland.

 

[Selwyn]

But what about two boys doing a bit of skimming indoors wanting a bit of Heart radio? Talksport wouldnt get any advertising revenue if these radios were banned!

 

[Brandlin]

But what about two boys doing a bit of skimming indoors wanting a bit of Heart radio? Talksport wouldnt get any advertising revenue if these radios were banned!

In that instance then you'd argue there is no risk, so therefore no problem.

This is exactly the reason why the HSE shies away from outright rules - because you can always argue a very reasonable exception.

 

[MikeJhn]

Site radio's are to be discouraged in all work place's, the distraction can be very dangerous, no responsible site manager will ever allow any radios on site.

Mike

I've done a quick search and I cannot find anything from HSE that says this. There is some mention of PAT testing and general noise levels, but the suggestion that the distraction is a danger is never stated. Is this something that you have actually seen from HSE or just your own opinion? Of course just because something is not mentioned by HSE does not mean it is not a danger, I'm just curious as to where you got this idea from.

Answered adequately by Brandlin.

Mike

 

[Paddy Roxburgh]

I must say I once had a lad working for me that wanted to wear earphones and much to his dismay I said no. TBH it was the irritation at trying to get his attention rather than safety that motivated my decision. I would however argue that radio 4 at reasonable volume is not a safety risk.
Paddy

 

[Tasky]

if background music causes you to lose concentration that easily you probably shouldn't be using power tools in the first place!

If you can hear your background music over your power tools and through the ear protection you're no doubt using, then it's way too loud for sanity and presents a stupidly high risk of losing your hearing!! :lol:

 

[MikeJhn]

I must say I once had a lad working for me that wanted to wear earphones and much to his dismay I said no. TBH it was the irritation at trying to get his attention rather than safety that motivated my decision. I would however argue that radio 4 at reasonable volume is not a safety risk.
Paddy

Not being able to get his attention, hmm is not that a safety risk if you have to shout a warning?

Mike

 

[mbartlett99]

Radio 4 at a reasonable volume is a huge health risk - falling asleep while operating machinery

 

[Tasky]

Not being able to get his attention, hmm is not that a safety risk if you have to shout a warning?

Depends if you like the guy, or not...

 

[Woodmonkey]

if background music causes you to lose concentration that easily you probably shouldn't be using power tools in the first place!

If you can hear your background music over your power tools and through the ear protection you're no doubt using, then it's way too loud for sanity and presents a stupidly high risk of losing your hearing!! :lol:

That's true, but in our workshop the powertool use is intermittent so you can hear it in between. And I've got Bluetooth ear defenders for extended periods of powertool use.

 

[TFrench]

From someone who works on site (and a workshop for that matter) I'd say the makita is fantastic. Very rarely doesn't get signal - mainly if we're actually in a factory, lasts ages on a battery. Before I had my new van with DAB built in I used to have it strapped on the passenger seat and use it as the radio! The dewalt T-stak one is good but cripplingly expensive.

 

[Paddy Roxburgh]

I must say I once had a lad working for me that wanted to wear earphones and much to his dismay I said no. TBH it was the irritation at trying to get his attention rather than safety that motivated my decision. I would however argue that radio 4 at reasonable volume is not a safety risk.
Paddy

Not being able to get his attention, hmm is not that a safety risk if you have to shout a warning?

Mike

For sure, I even used the safety thing as part of my reason for not letting him use them, just being honest here about my primary motivation. I'm not arguing with you Mike, I'm considering the validity of what you're saying with an open mind

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Site radio's are to be discouraged in all work place's, the distraction can be very dangerous, no responsible site manager will ever allow any radios on site.

Mike

I've done a quick search and I cannot find anything from HSE that says this. There is some mention of PAT testing and general noise levels, but the suggestion that the distraction is a danger is never stated. Is this something that you have actually seen from HSE or just your own opinion? Of course just because something is not mentioned by HSE does not mean it is not a danger, I'm just curious as to where you got this idea from.

An acquaintance a few years was a H&S inspector for a very large civil engineering firm - he said that they were a definite no no on all their sites.