Working at height..........

[Gavin John Hyde]

Got a customer who wants a ev charger fitted. Only issue he is on 3rd floor, fuse box at front of house.Wants cable taken out then along under window ledges before going down to his parking space below at the rear.
Planning have approved it so long as cable painted to match stone afterwards as its grade 1 listed.
He thought I was being too risk averse by saying i would require a tower or scaffold as the cable when clipped horizontally would be 29+feet up in air. The ground below is uneven cobbles and stones.slippery, with no even surfaces. Ladder would not be stable.
Dont fancy being up a ladder that high and have to handle 25m of 6mm 3core cable aswell.
What are peoples thoughts on working at height.. he says another electrician thought it was okay to just use a ladder!.

 

[Rpa07]

It’s a tower or MEWP or you walk with both your ankles intact to work another day! It’s not his life he is risking.
Tell him you’ll hold the ladder whilst he carries out the install!
Customers! Tusk!

 

[Deleted member 26818]

Who’s going to paint the cable?

 

[Charlie_]

Install the charging socket at high level.
Order a super duper long lead to plug into the car

 

[Pete999]

Got a customer who wants a ev charger fitted. Only issue he is on 3rd floor, fuse box at front of house.Wants cable taken out then along under window ledges before going down to his parking space below at the rear.
Planning have approved it so long as cable painted to match stone afterwards as its grade 1 listed.
He thought I was being too risk averse by saying i would require a tower or scaffold as the cable when clipped horizontally would be 29+feet up in air. The ground below is uneven cobbles and stones.slippery, with no even surfaces. Ladder would not be stable.
Dont fancy being up a ladder that high and have to handle 25m of 6mm 3core cable aswell.
What are peoples thoughts on working at height.. he says another electrician thought it was okay to just use a ladder!.

Hi Gavin, the first question I would ask would be why didn't "The other Electrician" do the job? Answer is there was no "other electrician" the customer is being a Twit and a tight A--e. Just remember if you fell off of the ladder and crippled yourself, who would support your Family? Tell matey to do one, politely of course.

 

[Baddegg]

Nothing to do with him how you do the job, price it with everything you need to do it safely if he don’t like......on to the next one

 

[Marcus Vaughan]

I agree with everyone else. My background is in working at height, so I’ve had a lot of training and the statistics are frightening, especially when it comes to ladders.

Ladders are for light work and short durations only, and you definitely need a good and level ground surface.

We probably all know someone who’s fallen off a ladder, can be life changing injuries or worse.

Tower or MEWP.

Let’s not let customers try to compromise our safety by trying to cut costs.

Gravity is unforgiving.

Take care!

 

[Wilko]

Hi Gavin - You are right to insist on suitable equipment for the job. There is no minimum height specified to think about safety. From what you’ve said, the consequences of a fall would likely be an injury and possibly a very serious one. In my view if there’s resistance to hiring a platform you’re better off out of it.

 

[KEV 1 N]

Who’s going to paint the cable?

He’d be better off using bare MICC.....Just the job for a listed building. It wouldn’t need painting and re-painting in the future.
SWA Painted or not will look horrendous on a listed building.

 

[Octopus]

Slightly off topic, but where is the TT earth spike going?

 

[littlespark]

Slightly off topic, but where is the TT earth spike going?

In the ground?


Swa on outside of high building?
What’s the derating factor if someone later comes along and clads the outside of the building in insulating panels

I concur with others here. If it can’t be done safely, then it can’t be done

 

[snowhead]

I'd say it's an impossible job for 1 person to do off a ladder.
You'll never get the horizontal run straight and bear in mind it has to please Planning, who WILL be back to inspect.

You might do it with 2 people and 2 ladders, 1 to take the weight (with the roll on the ground) and 1 to fix but in any case you'll need 2 people to get 1 ladder up that'll reach 29ft +.

All terrian, self levelling Mewp would be good but for that height it would weigh 5tons, you'd need to prove the ground will hold it.
JLG 3369 LE Scissor Lift - https://www.rapidplatforms.co.uk/viewproduct/41/118/jlg_3369_le_scissor_lift

Tower scaffold is possibly the best option, but you'll need to dismantle and rebuilt (or reduce it's height) each time you move due to the ground.

And as above post somewhere, SWA won't work, the paint will peel off pretty quick.

 

[Robson689]

I think 30ft is an unacceptable risk for working off ladders. I would suggest a MEWP vs scaffold tower because of ground conditions.

Your safety is number one and far more important than a car charger.

 

[mattg4321]

Agree with all of the above. In reality it's probably a job that's more hassle than its worth.

 

[ferg]

Slightly off topic, but where is the TT earth spike going?

In the ground?