The Lamp Room

Just to show different views on lighting maintenance.
#1 At the hotel my mum used to work in they were perfectly happy for me to change failed light bulbs (mainly BC caped CFLs) that I could reach with no aids without supervision, she left that job when I was 12.
#2 Her new job was a bookshop which was lit in 6' poppacks and a few 8' fittings where again I was allowed to change tubes and starters as they failed but after a few months they decided that it was no longer allowed so the hole place was soon full of dead tubes and stuck starters. Even my attempts at initiating re-lamping by rearranging two dead tubes and starter into the same twin fitting would only result in one new tube which was fitted by the manager who has no interest in electrics and lighting at all.
#3 My mum's other shop job alongside the other two asked my to design and install new lighting for the re-fit which I gladly did, though only the existing wiring was used and not modified.
#4 My first and still current job had a Philips Genie go EOL a few weeks ago. This is just bog standard pendant fitting. I work for a small company that rent a room in a large visitor attraction owned by a big organisation who do the maintenance. This CFL has been off for 3 weeks while they get an electrician to come and do it because I can't for H&S, its only a cafe with a dark corner and people with small children and hot drinks.
#5 My other and still current job at a sign making company with 5 employees had some failed lights in the office last week (2001 6' Stratus surface twin fittings (those wotsits with reflective grids)). Anyway I had a spare 10 minutes before lunch and I asked the boss if he'd like me to service the 4 dead tubes. He was pleased with the offer and now has all his office lights working with 3 new tubes and 2 new starters. Also those didn't take much sorting as they remove the tubes when they go EOL, due to the very low ceiling meaning they can be reached with no ladder, so even the starters were still good.
Oh how company policies differ.

Tend to find its the big national companies with contracts with just one nationwide maintenance company that always seem to have te worst lighting. Big garden centre near me, but it's part of a chain and despite repeated attempts I can't get in there. Sales area there is lit with 5' twin switch-start battens and not one of them has 2 working lamps, in fact at least 50% of the fittings have both tubes on stuck starter, glowing nicely at the ends. Despite pointing out what this will do to the fittings and the control gear and that in a severe case (as they're mounted on wood) this could cause a fire, or maybe when one of the lampholders melts, the tube to drop on a customer, they don't seem to care. Not due a visit from their 'nationwide contractor' who likes to fit 'Edison' tubes and equally shit starters for another 6 months. Still, probably just use that as an excuse to 'upgrade' to LED.....

I visited a local fishery a couple of years back and the lighting in there was of the lowest maintenance standard I've ever seen. The main shop had a solitary surface mounted twin Stratus Louvre fitting with two stuck starters (doing the assumed VS ballasts some good). The other building featured many weather packs with stuck starters so entire rooms were in darkness. And to finish it all off all the lights were fixed to wood.

Its not so much H+S, but `employers liability insurance`, (which they HAVE to have by law), their scared of massive payouts.
We`re insured fully at our place to carry out maintenance on the buildings and gardens, albeit general maintenance.
Any major work, (electrical, plumbing or building), we have contractors in, like the two guys re-fitting the fire alarm system at the minute.

It's all very well having tradesman in doing wiring jobs such as refitting the fire alarm system but when it gets to trivial jobs that you do in your own home it does start to get somewhat tedious.

True, but again it comes down to the employers insurance, if your working at home, and theres a mishap, your unlikely to put a claim in against yourself!
And its also what your employers preference is, for instance, we have to ware a harness and restraint lanyard when in our scissor lift, (although not required by the HSE on a scissor lift, only on a boom lift), but that is what our employer requires, so we have to do it.

Do they make you do it on a scaffold tower too rich?

No, but saying that, I don`t think we even have a scaffold tower?, we have some mega steps for the showroom, but I`ve not seen them erected yet.