Risk awareness
There’s a couple of reasons why I’m “risk aware” these day. One is because I’ve worked with the UK Health and Safety Executive on some investigations into horrible accidents as part of my day job.
And the other is personal history.
I’ve been doing “do it yourself” in one form or another since I was a Boy Scout in my early teens and I took the “handyman” badge. (do they still have that?) Anyway, I’ve been doing it myself for a long time.
And in that time I’ve hurt myself reasonably badly on more than one occasion. My wife is sadly too familiar with a casual question of “do you think we could just nip down to A&E?” I seem to have.... (insert description of damage to self here)
Serious cuts to fingers, hands, arms, legs, head. Broken finger. Burns. Electric shock. Sounds a catalogue of disasters. In truth it’s probably about 7 instances across about 45 years.
Whose fault is it when things go wrong?
The point is this: On every single occasion it was entirely my fault and I could have avoided it if I’d taken a little more time or care. And personally I think I was lucky to get away with some of the injuries so lightly. In the UK and I’m sure in other countries there are TV documentaries that cover real days in the life of hospital emergency departments and it’s striking how often there are badly injured DIYers featured.
So please just remember:
Your house is full of things that can hurt you, electrical cables and pipes full of gas and water in walls, ceilings and floors. Loft spaces with little support to stop you visiting the floor below rapidly.
Hand and power tools that will cut, crush and stab.
Should you even consider DIY if it's so unsafe?
I‘m trying to put you off then?
No, absolutely not. But I am 100% saying think about what you are doing, consider the task you’re taking on.
‘Carrying out a risk assessment’ is a phrase that seems to make people struggle in so many ways but it’s a hugely important thing.
I’ll close with ‘carrying out a risk assessment‘ written in a different way that hopefully will resonate a little better.
Have yourself a "let's be safe" checklist
Next time you prepare for a DIY task, run through this little check list if you would:
I’m about to start working on fill in whatever it is you plan to do
Is there anything I can think of that might go wrong?
Any hidden dangers that might hurt me or cause permanent or irreparable damage to my property or that of others?
Do I know how and where to turn stuff off? Electricity? Water? Gas?
Have I got the right tools and do I know how to use them safely? Given that knowledge will I actually use them safely?
Do I need anything like ladders to access the area I’m going to work in? If I do, have I got the right gear? Can I put it safely in the right location?
Above all is there anything I’m going to do that, if it goes wrong is going to cause danger or damage to me, my home (or where I'm working), my neighbours, the pets, the environment, the planet OR ANYTHING. If there is, take steps to prevent it from happening.
Consider a professional if you need to
As an incidental closing note, all the above precautions and more are what you pay for when you hire in a "professional". Skills, knowledge, qualifications, insurance. You are avoiding those costs and I'm encouraging that you can do so. But I'm not suggesting you take risk or break laws.
Be safe
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