Is YouTube damaging Health and Safety?

We've all seen them: the hints and tips from experienced (and often inexperienced) people that let ordinary people learn and understand the tricks of the trade. With the continued popularity of the "maker" movement, machinery that was once the preserve of industry is now finding its way into consumer hands: hobbyists making etched glass windows with abrasive blasting, cutting plywood with CNC laser cutters or making resin-set tabletops. But many of these online sources are not showing best practice, the health and safety lessons that would be taught in the workplace.

For instance, in one YouTube video, someone making a Victorian-style etched mirror uses compressed air to clean the residual abrasive from the glass, and is not wearing protective gloves. In another, we see someone setting beer bottle caps into a table with a two-part epoxy without wearing any respiratory protective equipment (RPE) or emphasising the need to work in a well-ventilated space when using reactive chemical processes. Videos will often have links to equipment underneath, to which the video makers get a cut, taking viewers to products that aren't always compliant with the relevant standards for their sector or location. At the recent AirUser Live conference, organised by IP&E's parent company, 

Are bad habits learned from social media making their way into the workplace? We have posted a YouTube video on our LinkedIn channel in which a "maker" (who actually has a degree in mechanical engineering) unloads a 180kg saw from the back of an MPV, without a forklift, whilst wearing open-toed sandals. As observers of the industry rather than active participants and, admittedly, having some admiration for the ingenuity of the maker's solution, there are a number of moments in the video where we were shocked by the potential dangers. So what do you think? Have you found people in the workplace bringing "life hacks" into the workplace? What do you think is wrong with the handling method described? Take a look at the video on our LinkedIn channel and leave your thoughts …

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