I regularly go into a big freezer in work to get the freezer boxes ,the company don,t give the drivers any jackets or thermals and there,s a big sign outside the deep freeze DO NOT ENTER WITHOUT PROPER P.P.E.
So when i was gasing up the freezer box i asked the superviser what,s the point of that sign.HE TOLD ME HE,S BEEN WORKING HERE NEARLY 16 YEARS AND NOBODY PAYS ANY ATTENTION TO IT.
I guess everybodys afraid of losing their job ,so nobody stands up for themselves these days!!! 
Elf & Safety.
Elves are used to the cold, so your Safety does’nt matter ! Lol
This wont sound remarkable to regular reefer drivers, but I found it funny that the temperature dropped too low in the wagon I was driving when the doors were opened at 2am on Wednesday.
My mate had to warm up the fridge (I’m a tipper driver so technical stuff like temperature settings, Isotrak and tail lifts are a world apart from hitting a tailgate pin with a hammer)
In a previous life, I worked for Wiseman. Quite often it was warmer in the fridge than outside
By the time you’ve unloaded 26 pallets by hand, it usually is. 
I remember going to paddock wood in the winter of 2010 for the first time when it was really snowy and freezing outside… I then went into the warehouse and have never experienced cold like that before, I think it was -25 and I remember my nose hair freezing and when I didn’t blink for a while the water in my eyes froze
Haven’t done fridge work since!!
maestegboy, a quick call to health and safety will sort that one out, there are regulations that stipulate the use of proper equipment when entering minus degree situations.
i delivered to a chinese company a while ago in barking, so took the notes into the office, they said open the doors and a forkie will be out shortly, so after 10 minutes, a knock on the door and the forkie says, were ready drive, so i said, ready for what, he said for you to get in the back, so i said, mate its minus 25, i dont have the proper equipment to get in the back, so he says, well take it back then, so as i was closing the doors, he re-appeared, with a helper, and swiftly unloaded it, well, except for one pallet, which came out the back at 25mph, with the pump up swiftly following, the floor as you can imagine was like a skating rink, another reason i dont get in the back with frozen loasds.
CHEERS mate .it,s -20 in there and it,s pi$$in me off a bit,as the company turns over millions. i have forgot the freezer boxes a couple of times on purpose.
the sign is the cover then on insurance in case you freeze to death they can say well he had a sign telling him not to go in with out ppe
as above complain to elf and safety or just buy some warm clothes
Worked at a dairy for a while and big chill room warehouse its normally quicker and easier to get your own as the uniform is normally crap lets all the cold in and takes months to arrive (it took me 4 month to get a hat out of them let alone a jacket )
If the company stipulate that you HAVE to wear PPE then they must supply it at no charge (they can charge for damaged due to neglect) and at our place the freezer kit is cleaned by an outside contractor as the ordinary domestic washing machine will either not cope or wreck the kit. How long do you spend in the freezer at any time? The freezer people at our place have an entitlement to 5 minutes every hour warm up, that said there are some who would stay and chase the bonus and to hell with frostbite.
Don’t have a problem with trailers though as once the engine is off and the doors open the cold air drops out the back. Floor can still be slippery though, especially in the rain when the water freezes on the sole of the boots. If it’s pallets running away just drop the thing, that stops em. Getting started is the usual problem slip-sliding or pallets frozen onto the floor. Many a time bits of pallet have stayed put when the stock lifts.
Wiretwister:
If the company stipulate that you HAVE to wear PPE then they must supply it at no charge.The freezer people at our place have an entitlement to 5 minutes every hour warm up,
that said there are some who would stay and chase the bonus and to hell with frostbite.
They must supply PPE or you can refuse to go in the freezer.
As for breaks, at my place of work (Iceland RDC, worked in the freezer for over 7 years), there was uproar not long after Iceland took over the warehouse from Safeway as Iceland told us we were entitled to 15 minutes every 2 hours. The Union got involved and it turned out that the law was 10 minutes every hour. Our union agreed to 20 minutes every 2 hours (which is better). We do 1 hour 40 and have 20 minutes (up to half an hour 
). There are bonus chasers (mainly foreign) who without word of a lie will quite happily stay in there working their nuts off all day and have 20 minutes break in an 8 hour day, although everyone does have to come out for labels/paperwork etc throughout the day.
We used to drive open cab reach FLT’s before they got the heated cab variants, now that was so cold it could very easily give you frostbite if you ignored the signs.
Just my tuppence worth 
Let,s just say somebody contacted hse on thier website Don,t have to go into freezer anymore yard foreman has to arrange all freezer boxes ready for drivers.
And to top it off a new set of jacket and trousers…think they might have had a kick in the crown jewels And new gloves ooooooooooouuuuuu lucky or what 
SWEDISH BLUE:
In a previous life, I worked for Wiseman. Quite often it was warmer in the fridge than outside
+1
People look shocked when you tell them that it’s -1 outside and warmer in the back of the lorry, but as long as the Milks fine then it’s ok
just a quick point here, but, how often do you have to go in to the big freezer?
the sign regarding the wearing of the correct PPE is for those who ‘work’ in there most of the day, NOT for someone who just goes in to collect a couple of boxes
i would presume that you are a driver for the company, and, as such, only go in there at the start of your shift to collect the boxes
also, from your last post, i take it, it was you that posted on the HSE website?
The week after being made redundant from Fed Ex in 94 I did a very short spell on Faccenda chicken and by ‘short spell’ I mean 2 days before telling them to stick their job
The first day the sent me to Sainsbury’s freezer centre, I think it was down near Newbury area or somewhere near that area. I sat on the dock and refused to go inside much to the annoyanc of the shift manager who told me that just this once he would have his staff unload and break down the pallets, but I should bring protective clothng next time I come. … Next time turned out to be the very next day and once again I refused to enter the cold building. They took the stuff byt gave me one more warning, they didnt need to really as I took the nice new FH12 back to Faccenda and told them to find another mug.
I then went on a trip to Fuertaventura to spend a bit of redundancy money and enjoy myself