Posted By Laurie We recently had someone injure a hand while building a drystone wall. Investigation revealed that the victim had not been wearing gloves "because in traditional craft areas you cannot get the feel of the material". While I have a certain amount of sympathy with this view, I would be interested in other views. The risk assessment which had been carried out (not by me!) had taken account of this view. Would an inspecting/enforcement officer do the same? One is allowed, of course, to pay due regard to the nature of the task, and to the experience and skill of the operator, but if an incident occurs is it a failure of the assessor or the operator? Laurie

Posted By Stuart Nagle Laurie. I tend to agree with Mr Leadbeater in respect of the wearing (or not) of gloves by the artisan. Having undertaken craft work myself, I can state that wearing gloves is better for the hands, and it is simple a matter of getting used to them, as opposed to working without gloves. Obviously this matter was identified as a potential hazard for hand/wrist injuries, however, it seems at the insistance of the artisan, the matter was more or less passed by. In this respect I would assume that both parties are as liable as each other. On the one hand the assessor knew it was a risk to work without gloves, and on the other the artisan knew also, but prefered to ignore the potential for harm and work without gloves. Does he wear eye protection, knee pads for kneeling, an apron? - there are of course these other areas of PPE also to think about. I feel it is merely a matter of education and application. It will be interesting to see if the chap wears gloves from now on, following his injury !! PS: Most dry stone wallers I know do not use chisels a great deal, they tend to use the hammer itself to 'flay' the stone to shape, if required. Stuart Nagle