"Those Minds" wrote in
:

OSHA showed up at work the other day.
Oh joy, oh joy, another reason to get the boss paranoid.
After the grand tour and filling out reams of papers and causing the
boss to look sadder than Droopy the cartoon dog, the bottom line was
that we have to change out all the air lines (explosive hazard) and
get trained on how to put on safety glasses and how to insert earplugs
into our ears. In addition, we have to put up "exit" signs.

If the air lines are PVC, I agree with OSHA. Plastic can become brittle
in the presence of certian oils and other chemicals. You are possibly
looking at hundreds of little shards of very sharp plastic being shot out
much like a anti-personnel round should the line rupture.



This brought up a few questions in my mind:
1. If I don't know how to put my glasses on, how are they going to
train me? They can't give me written instructions because I can't read
(blind or visually impaired; take your pick) without glasses. They
can't give me verbal instructions because I obviously don't know how
to wear earplugs and after 12 years of working there I must be deaf
(hearing impaired for the politically correct crowd) .

I realize the fun you are poking here, but honestly, you would be
suprised at the number of folks who don't understand proper eye
protection. This includes side shields. I've had eye damage from chips
before, not fun....at all....I work with a fella who lost an eye from
improperly wearing his safety glasses.
Unfortunately, I've seen several people hurt in an industrial
environment, as probably many people here have. Fortunately, i've kept
all my important body parts out of danger, only minor accidents, but some
people aren't so lucky.
*MOST* of the time, the employee was doing something unsafe at the time
of the accident (operator disabled safety device, bypassed safety device,
climbing without a ladder, reaching into moving machinery, etc)
There have been instances where equipment failed, causing injury, but
those are very rare compared to the previous reason. It can not only cost
you some body part...it can cost you your life, I've see one of those in
my lifetime, and I hope I never see another. (Operator disabled one
safety device and bypassed another - it cost him his life.)



2. How are they going to tell me how to put my earplugs in if I can't
hear? 3. What good are the EXIT signs if I can't read them because I
don't know how to put my glasses on?
4. How the hell have I been managing to get out of the building all
these years without a sign to tell me.

Those are lighted, battery backup emergency lights. Should the power
fail, a fire where smoke is thick, or other emergency arise, those lights
stay on.







--
Anthony

You can't 'idiot proof' anything....every time you try, they just make
better idiots.

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