Re: H&S Course

Sorry but I really thought that most of you would understood this so perhaps I should explain it again.

I am profoundly deaf and I have extreme difficulty in any group situation hearing what's going on.
Any situation with more than two people for me is very, very hard to cope with, almost impossible in fact.

I need to have people facing me at about 3 feet away from me, speaking clearly so I can lip read too.

Putting me in a group situation in a room full of people to do a highly important H&S Course is pointless because I won't be able to follow things once others start talking, moving chairs, coughing etcetera, etcetera.

To follow a conversation I'd need to see everyone clearly at my optimum distance and that's simply not going to happen.

These things are almost always done with an instructor facing the group using a flip chart and / or OH projector so I won't be facing 4, 5 or 6 people and the instructor in this type of situation.

I take the point about the wellies folks but I forgot to mention in my first post that I have my own Safety Shoe and my employers know this!
I also have my own visor, safety specs, several types of safety gloves and even top-quality ear defenders.

My shoes are called Himalayans and they are far, far better and lighter and they are also heat resistant, penetration resistant, water resistant, solvent resistant, antistatic and metal-free as they are Kevlar-type toe caps and conform to Regulation EN ISO 20345 S1 so, if I really must wear Safety Shoes then I'll wear my own.

I haven't worn them all the time because in the Summer heat even my lightweight safety shoes are a bit much because you have to wear good, thick socks with safety shoes!

I actually showed them to my manager too yet he still bought the wellies!

Anyone ever tried gardening in steel toecap footwear?
Steel Toe Cap Safety Shoes are not comfortable at all in my honest opinion and that's why I paid-out for good quality ones as I had to wear them all day in a warehouse.

I worked in the Heavy industry for many years so I'm pretty well informed and experienced on H&S anyway and particularly Personal Protection Equipment, especially for comfortable working.

I've actually asked my friend at Action On Hearing Loss for advice now as she told me that I am entitled to extra consideration as I'm still working with a level of deafness that is very uncommon for my age. stevmk2

Re: H&S Course

Garden in steel capped shoes? No... but boots? All the time. After 30 years in the power and the steel industry I have a good collection of (supplied) steel capped safety boots and wear them all the time when I am doing any work in the garden. I find them very comfortable.