'Conservatiocnandamage yourhealth' Inspectinhgazardousbuildings Ian Hume describes some of the hazards found on site and ,suggest ways of avoiding them. ( Those of us who are involved in conservation will sometimes be called upon to inspect hazardous buildings. The purpose of this article is to suggest ways of reducing the risk of an accident when we go about our business of persuading others that this decaying and dilapidated building is important and how it can be conserved. The assistance of Alan Williams, Health and SafetyAdvisor to English Heritage, in the preparation of this article is gratefully acknowledged. Beforeyou go Assess the risks, so far as is possible, before you set out. Does the site visit involve a long walk or a long time out in the open? Is the weather likely to turn nasty?If you have not met before, are the people you are to meet, trustworthy? Perhaps you could call them back on the pretence of double checking the time of the meeting to ensure that they are who they say they are. If your visit is to a lonely site or to a site in a dubious area of town, time your arrival so as to avoid waiting around alone. Have you allowed enough time for the visit?Will you have to rush off to another appointment or will it get dark before you have finished? Working under pressure encourages us to take risks and to work without sufficient care and attention to our safety. Gettingthere Arecent risk analysis carried out within English Heritage came to the conclusion that the most hazardous activity related to inspecting historic buildings was not walking on dubious floors or climbing scaffolding but actually driving to and from the site. Firstof all then, drive carefully and take care not to get overtired, risking fallingasleep at the wheel. Give yourself Roomwith rubbish- "Takecare when entering hazardousbuildings". Contex5t 4 June 1997 enough time to get to the site allowing for a break and, if necessary, a short nap if the journey is long. Rushing to a site and driving when you ought to stop for a break is dangerous but I must admit to having done it and I am sure that I am not alone in this. Do you need a short updating driving course? If you think that you don't, you probably do! The AA, RAC, IAM and other organisations run such courses. Employers should consider providing short advanced driving courses for those staff who have to drive significant distances on business. Such courses are not cheap but therecould easily be financial advantages as well as safety benefits. You only have one life; don't waste it. Be alert Following very much from safe driving is being alert. Wandering around a hazardous building, feeling tired, under pressure to get to the next visit or having to finish the survey before it gets dark, is dangerous. When you need to look at something, stop and look, don't carry on walking, there may be something to trip over or a hole to fall down. Keep a constant look out for holes in floors, wells and open manholes in overgrown gardens and other hazards which might cause you to trip. Clothing Wear a hard hat when there is the slightest risk of hitting your head or of something falling on you. I can assure you from several personal experiences that hard knocks to the head are not much fun. I have almost knocked myself out on one occasion and have gone home more than once with a bump on the head. Stout shoes are always the order of the day. Many building sites demand proper safety shoes with protected toe caps and soles. Trainers, plimsolls or open toe sandals should never be worn on site. Dress appropriately. I am always a little doubtful when I meet other engineers on site who are wearing smart suits. I somehow doubt that they are prepared to inspect mucky roof spaces or muddy excavations. If the weather is cold or wet ensure that you 17
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