This will make you woozie

[mowlas]

Seriously, if you have Acrophobia, do not look at these pictures...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/1063...Shanghai-Tower-in-pictures.html?frame=2821292

 

[2b1ask1]

That makes your stomach tingle a bit! Strange urge to jump even looking at the photos! Maybe I'm a base jumper in another life!

 

[Felonious Crud]

That made me feel dizzy.

 

[TridentTested]

I once walked out on one of the two diagonal cantilever I-beams supporting the projecting rooftop restaurant on the Burj Al Arab. The building is 300 metres tall (including the mast) so the restaurant must be something around ±250 metres.

The feeling of exposure wasn't too bad because the sea below was so far away it just became abstract, and the I-beam is quite wide so it was comfortable to walk on.

What was funny was WS Atkins, the construction managers, were most concerned that I wasn't wearing the right safety boots (it was 45°c) - I'm sure they would have helped in a 250 metre fall.

 

[2b1ask1]

TT, Yep totally agree, as daft as a hard hat, gloves, goggles etc. when you are stood at the foot of such a construction; like they are going to help except to keep your DNA together for identification purposes!

 

[Contigo]

Link to Video.

[video=youtube;gLDYtH1RH-U]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLDYtH1RH-U[/video]

 

[TridentTested]

TT, Yep totally agree, as daft as a hard hat, gloves, goggles etc. when you are stood at the foot of such a construction; like they are going to help except to keep your DNA together for identification purposes!

I'd love to see some hard data on how the Working at Heights Directive has changed accident numbers. I watch in bemusement as scaffold erectors go about their business encumbered with heavy harnesses (required) but not actually clipped into to anything (because they are the boys building it, it's not there to clip into yet). These harnesses must cause accidents; they reduce mobility and must snag on half-built scaffolding like nobody's business.

On our building the management company did a risk assessment and decided we should have a fixed safety line system (for safety line read trip hazard) installed on the flat roof. Now nobody ever goes on the flat roof, nobody. A while ago I was disturbed by the sound of people running around on it so I went out to investigate. It turned out to be two safety line inspectors - the thing has to be certified every year - and they were having a whale of a time walking all over enjoying the view. And the joke being: of course they weren't clipped in. When I asked them about clipping in they just laughed. So now this so-called safety line has brought traffic to our roof which is in danger of tripping on the trip hazard and falling four floors. Great.

 

[2b1ask1]

The lunatics governing the asylum again...

My consultancy is basically undertaking risk assessments to various available standards but to be honest about four years ago I completely changed my tack and basically tell all my customers that all assessments are now on a 'fit for purpose' basis and I no longer apply standards to the letter as they are generally so wooly by the time the CEN committees have finished with them they have no teeth anyway; result is we end up with goggles, gloves and designated areas for kids playing conkers!

 

[Contigo]

It's two fearless punks climbing until they can climb no more. Doesn't need that much analysis!