All Things LDC

[Tortuga]

Are there any updates about the LDC schedule for major renovations and construction?

[DarinS]

 had a small update last week.....

the ‘Construction phase” of LDC is actually a small component

— all the ‘OFFICE WORK” permitting planning estimating ordering and such were still functioning

 

now the actual Physical building LDC work is dependent on the state you are in and its ‘LEVEL”

 

Level 4 - nothing happening - LOCK down

Level 3 - can contract “necessary work” with outside contractors ( this is now Floridas level - as of October-can change)

Level 2 - can get brotherS to do necessary work

Level 1 - work as normal - no restriction

 

DRC has some slightly different instructions

(we even had to attend training before we could do food disaster relief)

regarding construction/demolition 

(some stabilization and post disaster work can be done...... of course social distancing...bring your own food...small 4 people crews

and many many other instructions to make sure we are as safe as possible regarding the work and exposure to Covid)

 

But this is on a very limited and as needed basis

 

the feeling is that once there is a clearer picture of the virus situation — then we will get direction - so patience is most often mentioned....lol

[Tortuga]

For those that may be affected by this.. It was announced today that the LDC documents that are still residing in Office 365 will be completely migrated to jw.org tomorrow and will not be available on Office 365 after the 18th.

[Tortuga]

The Moodle Safety Orientation training course has been fixed and is now available on Builder Assistant.

[BLEmom]

On 12/24/2020 at 3:24 PM, Tortuga said:

The Moodle Safety Orientation training course has been fixed and is now available on Builder Assistant.

I was able to complete the safety training today. However, the moodle orientation course to learn to navigate the sight was a bust for me. I’ve put in an email to see what is going on. 

[Tortuga]

The DC-80 Safety Outlines is now available in jwpub format. 

 

[AH173]

1 hour ago, Tortuga said:

The DC-80 Safety Outlines is now available in jwpub format. 

 

Seems it's for elders only for now. 

[Tortuga]

5 minutes ago, AH173 said:

Seems it's for elders only for now. 

I'm not sure who has access to it. It's in a separate domain, not the congregation domain.

[AH173]

Maybe there's a group leader domain (LDC)? 

[AH173]

From going over the 6 videos for LDC safety training with my wife and answering the 41 questions afterwards, I understand some of the reasons why there were 98 percent who took the vaccine. 

 

That training plus being on various rbc /LDC projects in the past and 3 week training at my local assembly Hall in the past really helps me see why the amount who took it is that high. 

 

[jwhess]

On 7/22/2021 at 5:20 AM, AH173 said:

From going over the 6 videos for LDC safety training with my wife and answering the 41 questions afterwards, I understand some of the reasons why there were 98 percent who took the vaccine. 

 

That training plus being on various rbc /LDC projects in the past and 3 week training at my local assembly Hall in the past really helps me see why the amount who took it is that high. 

 

Just finished my exam.  It was a wonderful series of videos.  Our spirituality is directly linked to our view of safety, love for our brothers, their health and safety and the sanctity of life.

[Tortuga]

The Branch is committed to an Accident Free Environment. AFE  When you Spirituality to it, then you are SAFE.

[jwhess]

49 minutes ago, Tortuga said:

The Branch is committed to an Accident Free Environment. AFE  When you Spirituality to it, then you are SAFE.

Several years ago, Br. Luccione gave an annual LDC talk about safety and he mentioned the goal of "zero" incidents.  But he said at that time we were still killing publishers on theocratic jobsites.  At the time, I never knew we had any deaths. As he said, "It is simply not acceptable that we seriously injure someone, but we surely shouldn't kill anyone."

 

I hope our deaths are down to zero.  We had no deaths at Warwick.

[M.J.]

1 minute ago, jwhess said:

the goal of "zero" incidents

Is this possible for imperfect people?

[Tortuga]

4 minutes ago, jwhess said:

But he said at that time we were still killing publishers on theocratic jobsites.

I've had the privilege of attending several training classes and I have have heard a few sad stories. You can see the wisdom in using trained tradesmen for most of the work.

[jwhess]

3 minutes ago, M.J. said:

Is this possible for imperfect people?

Humans can make mistakes.  But a very careful human can reduce the number of mistakes in a day or hour. If you are on a Theocratic jobsite or Kingdom Hall cleaning project, you might be there just a few hours.  You will be surrounded by safety-minded fellow believers.  If you work together, keep an eye out for each other, then maybe for those select hours you can be free of some serious incident.

 

Small bumps or bruises, a lost tool, a torn shirt or a flat tire are not serious incidents. Maybe with your prayerful care, remembering your safety and mine are related to our spirituality and love of God will help bring the effort success.

[WilliamChew]

5 minutes ago, Tortuga said:

I've had the privilege of attending several training classes and I have have heard a few sad stories. You can see the wisdom in using trained tradesmen for most of the work.

Are the accidents usually resulting from the use of machinery?

 

Sometimes we don't realize how powerful and dangerous machinery is.

[jwhess]

6 minutes ago, Tortuga said:

I've had the privilege of attending several training classes and I have have heard a few sad stories. You can see the wisdom in using trained tradesmen for most of the work.

My last (and possibly final) LDC project was in February of 2020.  I was the Electrical PTO on that job.  Since it was very cold in February, we had to keep the heat on.  So not all of the electrical system was deactivated. We had approved temporary power for some of the inside projects, but the external HVAC units were still powered.

 

When the controls brother needed to remove a lot of conduit, he power-sawed his way through my thermostat lines.  It was only 24 volts but it shorted out my outside HVAC units.  We did not know that until we were getting ready to leave and the inside temperature was dropping.  This did not make the drywall crew very happy.

 

I spent an hour or two after closing time to figure out the problem.  But I couldn't fix it on site.  It required a new circuit board to be installed.  So the brothers living onsite contacted a local brother  (professional in the business).  He was able to take a circuit board from a similar unit and get out there an fix one of the HVAC units and get some heat in the building overnight.  

 

A lot of pros working overtime to save the day (or night).  By the time I got back to my motel room, I just wanted a hot, soaking shower...💗

 

[jwhess]

10 minutes ago, WilliamChew said:

Are the accidents usually resulting from the use of machinery?

 

Sometimes we don't realize how powerful and dangerous machinery is.

One death I heard of was falling off a ladder inside a Kingdom Hall and the publisher fell backwards and hit a row of chairs.  The head & neck injury was fatal.  We had a near-miss on a simple electrical service.  The electricity was turned off, it was locked out and tagged.  The brother was deep inside a unit to repair when someone came along and unlocked the disconnect and turned it on.  Why there was two keys to the same lock, no one knows.  The brother was not seriously injured but it could have been fatal.

 

 

[WilliamChew]

2 minutes ago, jwhess said:

One death I heard of was falling off a ladder inside a Kingdom Hall and the publisher fell backwards and hit a row of chairs.  The head & neck injury was fatal.  We had a near-miss on a simple electrical service.  The electricity was turned off, it was locked out and tagged.  The brother was deep inside a unit to repair when someone came along and unlocked the disconnect and turned it on.  Why there was two keys to the same lock, no one knows.  The brother was not seriously injured but it could have been fatal.

 

 

No wonder this weeks video talked about ladder safety for the job.

 

[M.J.]

I believe it was at a training, the brother explained that a tarp placed over the roof covered over the sunroof, so the brother didn't know it was there, stepped on it, fell through and died 😞

 

[jwhess]

I know that the video for this week's meeting is not about LDC or maintenance, but I wonder how many publishers do the "safe" things at home?  Our Watchtower had an article several years ago talking about assisting older ones or publishers in need.  the picture showed a younger publisher in an older one's kitchen.  You could see the coffee cups on the table but the sister had a battery screw driver in her hand and was tightening some screws on the cupboard door.  It was floor level, and she was dressed for visiting (not construction) but she was wearing her safety glasses.  It impressed me.

 

If we don't do the safety things at home (24 hours a day), why would we believe that we all would suddenly change our habits on the next Kingdom Hall maintenance day?  Our love for ourself, fellow brother or the sanctity of life should be all the time.  Not just when a site overseer watches.

 

The new Bethel in Chelmsford had a sign...Are you safe when NO one watches?

 

Edited July 27, 2021 by jwhess

[jwhess]

40 minutes ago, jwhess said:

My last (and possibly final) LDC project was in February of 2020.  I was the Electrical PTO on that job.  Since it was very cold in February, we had to keep the heat on.  So not all of the electrical system was deactivated. We had approved temporary power for some of the inside projects, but the external HVAC units were still powered.

 

When the controls brother needed to remove a lot of conduit, he power-sawed his way through my thermostat lines.  It was only 24 volts but it shorted out my outside HVAC units.  We did not know that until we were getting ready to leave and the inside temperature was dropping.  This did not make the drywall crew very happy.

 

I spent an hour or two after closing time to figure out the problem.  But I couldn't fix it on site.  It required a new circuit board to be installed.  So the brothers living onsite contacted a local brother  (professional in the business).  He was able to take a circuit board from a similar unit and get out there an fix one of the HVAC units and get some heat in the building overnight.  

 

A lot of pros working overtime to save the day (or night).  By the time I got back to my motel room, I just wanted a hot, soaking shower...💗

 

All of this remembering reminded me that this project was the only time in my career with the LDC that all my family (except my wife who was watching the grandkids) were on the project at the same time.  It is a wonderful theocratic memory.  I am on the left, my two daughters are in the front right and their husbands are behind them.  It was cold...🙂

 

We all used to go to the "quick-build" projects together in the 1980s

[Joey]

3 hours ago, jwhess said:

One death I heard of was falling off a ladder inside a Kingdom Hall and the publisher fell backwards and hit a row of chairs. 

I was up on a ladder doing insulation at a site and a brother fell through the ceiling and knocked me off.The brother broke his leg and my knees swelled up like grapefruits , I still have knee trouble.

The worst though was my husband was working alone on a scaffolding with a brother , he was the overseer who had invited my husband to come help him on the project , he had a massive heart attack and died in my husbands arms. There were so many people at the site,  the ambulance took an hour to get to him.
I think it gave my husband PTSD.
At the same site a brother fell from the roof , he had minor injuries. I know of two brothers falling off roofs. Now they put up a safety railing of some kind I believe. 

 

[AH173]

34 minutes ago, Littlecat said:

Now they put up a safety railing of some kind I believe. 

This image was from 2011 in Massillon, Ohio.