The PUWER of LOLER
The government launched a campaign a couple of weeks ago to get rid of what is perceived to be unnecessary legislation. Along with many other people, there was a sigh of relief from Rawlings Towers at the thought that, at least, some of the red tape burden would be lifted. It shouldbe remembered, thought, that some of the legislation has a purpose.
A repeating Client of mine is a central London hotel, which has a ballroom, complete with stage and lighting bar. As something that holds up stage lights, this piece of kit falls under the Performance and Use of Working Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER98). Recently, there was an aspiration for an event that involved silk artists; scantily clad young things who interpret the complete works of Mozart in a meaningful fashion by folding themselves up in swathes of silk suspended from the ceiling. This then brings the same piece of kit under the Lift Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER98).
Under this second lot of regulations there is a requirement to publish a Safe Working Load (SWL) and this has to be determined by testing rather than calculation. The testing is relatively straightforward; simply attach a bracket to the threaded rod and jack against the roof and measure using strain gauges. This requires the removal of the ceiling, as to jack against the ceiling would cause the finish to compress and register a false reading. Except that the room in question is Listed, and so there was an investigation into whether or not Listed Building Consent was required for such testing work. Apparently not, we found out some time later.
And so the great day arrives when the ceiling is to be removed. It was found that the plaster is attached to expanded metal lathing, which in turn spans between small steel channels that are fixed to the soffit of the slab, creating a small gap between the structure and the ceiling. We also discovered that the bar was screwed to a piece of plywood that was simply resting on the expanded metal lathing; not attached to anything.
No doubt the safe working load test would have revealed a fault in the construction anyway, but if it had not been for the requirements of the regulations there is a distinct possibility that the silk artist would have ended up as someone’s table decoration. I am no great fan of over regulation, but on this occasion they did exactly what they were designed to do.