Posted By Jez Corfield
Folks,

This is a real christmas cracker - on the one hand our very trusted and reliable 'handyman' has been telling people in the office to remove tinsel from around monitors, on the other hand a manager seems to think this is excessive - a view I tend to agree with.

I can find no safety data for tinsel (flashpoint/electrical hazards?) or other salient safety information? (I have info on PET already but no indicator as to what proportion of tinsel is made of PET)


I suppose this boils down to:

1. Is a monitor a potential source of ignition?
2. Is tinsel a source of flammable material for a fire?
(3. Even if it is.... so what?)

Has anybody got any hard information or evidence about tinsel, or related stories to share before I grant a universal tinsel license to the office, or become the Grinch that banned Christmas....

(and yes - before you ask, this is genuine, and yes, I have got better H&S things to be doing)

Jez Corfield

Posted By Jez Corfield
Jim

Thanks for responding - yes I am getting sick of christmas.....

Posted By Jim Walker
Long ago and far away, Santa was getting ready for his annual trip...but there were problems everywhere. Four of his elves got sick, and the trainee elves did not produce the toys as fast as the regular ones so Santa was beginning to feel the pressure of being behind schedule.

Then Mrs. Claus told Santa that her Mum was coming to visit. This stressed Santa even more.

When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three of them were about to give birth and two had jumped the fence and were out, heaven knows where. More Stress.

Then when he began to load the sleigh, one of the boards cracked and the toy bag fell to the ground and scattered the toys.

Totally frustrated, Santa went into the house for a cup of coffee and a shot of whiskey. When he went to the cupboard, he found the elves had hit the liquor and there was nothing to drink.

In his frustration, he dropped the coffee pot and it broke into hundreds of little pieces all over the kitchen floor. He went to get the broom and found that mice had eaten the straw it was made from.

Just then the door bell rang and Santa cussed on his way to the door. He opened the door and there was a little angel with a great big Christmas tree. The angel said: "Where would you like to put this tree fat man?"

And that my friends, is how the little angel came to be on top of the Christmas tree.

Posted By garyh
What about doing a good old risk assessment??

Hazards I can see are:-

- is the tinsel going to block the vent holes on the monitor and make it heat up?
- is the tinsel or bits of it going to get into the monitor and cause a short (if it's conducting)
- ditto and melt / cause a fire?

Hmmmmmmm control measures.......you already have fire risk assessment incorporating control measures...use them.

- Check size and position of vents
- Make sure vents aren't obstructed
- Make sure tinsel is not disintegrating (see above)
- make sure monitors are depowered when office is empty
- if a problem arises chances are if you follow the point above it will be during office hours, just pull the plug, very unlikely that an ATTENDED monitor is going to caues a serious problem to anyone.

etc.

I don't have this issue but would be happy to put my name to such a RA......

Merry Xmas!

Posted By Pad
OK this has nothing to do with Monitors but as a Xmas Story ....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/...reland_christmas_camel_1

Tinsel http://uk.news.yahoo.com...firms-scared-tinsel.html

Hey Ho

Posted By Richie
Jez,

The average monitor is far cooler than it used to be, the flat type even more so. I would hazard a guess they tou probably have bigger fish to fry than this.

I heard an urban myth the other day that a lady set fire to tinsel in her hair by using her mobile phone!!

Lord help us.

Richie.

PS, come to think of it, You do bear a remarkable resemblance to the grinch.

Posted By James Midlake
We don't celebrate Christmas anymore. Father Christmas has simply refused to call on us after I explained the need for a harness when on the roof and a full risk assessment to cover climbing into the confined space of the chimney.

Oh well....

( and no tinsel on the monitors!!!! )


Midlake

Posted By Ryan Ramjit
Jez,

Thanks for starting this thread. Some truly entertaining reading that has expanded my professional knowledge on H&S.

Old Santa violates so many H&S codes and regs that I am surprised that he has not been hit with at least a dozen charges.

It seems that there might be a business opportunity to manufacture and distribute fire proof tinsel and fire proof christmas decorations.


For the record I like Christmas....

Posted By Jez Corfield
Thanks Folks:

Ryan, thanks, good idea for a business!

Others, yes have done the normal risk assessment stuff, and there isnt an issue, monitors are cool, tinsel is generally safe-ish.

Richie, How Very Dare You!
(Does the Grinch have hair...?)

I am going to avoid being the Grinch, and have awarded a universal tinsel license, the damage to my reputation is worth the risk....

Have a cool yule!

Jez

Posted By Jez Corfield
Found this interesting safety guide for office parties:

http://www.worksmart.org...y/officepartyplanner.pdf

Jez