I had serious doubts that a company who could have easily clammed up and refused comment or even gone on the offensive (irrespective of the final outcome) would have had the moxie to confront his accuser and reply in a honest and open way.
But I was wrong.
I have received a full and frank description of the problem that has recently occurred with a particular brand of frost fan and the description of the steps taken to identify the problem, mitigate the risk and implement a resolution are both commendable and verifiable.
I have no doubt that the resolution is being implemented in a method that mitigates risk and this mitigation has involved co-ordination with another independent group that specializes in safety.
I am not a friend to this company and I have little reason to expect them to regard me as benign. Yet I will tell you that they have acted responsibly in this matter.
Their product and those of other frost fan companies are still being used recklessly and where this occurs they will anticipate having unwelcome attention.
There is little doubt I will receive grief for not outing the company publicly, but to put it bluntly, that's tough. Some will not accept that there is a larger picture that requires industry and affected persons to interact to try and improve the situation for all. Bad luck.
There is a chance... A good chance... that this situation will provide an impetus for real improvement.
The likelihood of any of the frost fan manufacturing companies launching into a song and dance about the safety of one of their competitors blades is relatively slim on the grounds that those in glasshouses should not throw stones.
There is a strong case to suggest from this incident and from those that have affected all manufacturers of frost fans, that a suitable stand off distance should apply to the machines from residential properties.
If statistics teaches us anything it is that given enough opportunity, stuff happens.
Remove the opportunity (remove the fans from nearby residential properties) and you remove the problem.
2 comments:
Your last 3 sentences are spot-on. You have hit the nail on the head, Jack. If only the compliance section of the Resource Management department at the MDC can see the light, with your clarity. If they choose not to, then that light for them, will turn into an oncoming train.
All we want is to live in our homes, without the rural equivalent of an urban boy racer zooming around our neighbourhood at night.
Thanks for the comment. There are many aspects to the issue of frost fans. It's not that the question of whether safety has been correctly addressed. It's more a case of it not being addressed at all.
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