Stupid work rules

[Dan in MI]

The bank robbery thread got me thinking about stupid work rules based in lawyers or publicity.

As most of you know I worked in automotive. For ages our experimental cars had fire extinguishers, then they were banned. Shortly thereafter atruck caught on fire during a test trip and the engineer got to watch a $200,000 tryck burn to the ground when a small squirt would have stopped it.

Another episode. Again a tiny containable fire had to left alone j ateat cell until the CO system took care of it. Destroying another test car and disabling the test cell for about 3 weeks creating a backlog and delay in a lot of testing.

I understand why they dis it to prevent people getting going too far in trying to save the cars, but there needs to be a balance.

 

[Kevin]

So you are saying they banned the fire extinguishers because they didn't want someone to get hurt trying to put out a fire? That doesn't make sense at all.

 

[eveled]

I can hear the logic now.

They would have to train everyone as a firefighter and have PPE available. Yadayada

Plus they would need to have safety inspections on the extinguishers. Then be liable if anyone got hurt. Pretty typical corporate bs. In today's litigious world

Cheaper to lose a $200k truck, than to pay a settlement to a widow

 

[bobski]

lefty, stupid 101.

 

[Yaworski]

My car bust into flames in my kids' school parking lot. I ran into the school and asked for a fire extinguisher. There were none. The philosophy was it is better to evacuate for a small fire than to try to put it out. No matter that a trash can fire could be contained by a teacher with an extinguisher and that the classroom could be fully involved by the time the FD got there.

 

[Yaworski]

FWIW, the fire marshal inspects us every couple years to make sure that exits are marked and that extinguishers are available.

 

[eveled]

I changed some fluorescent bulbs for a customer. She wrote a beautiful letter to the company about how great I was.

I got written up for it.

 

[Yaworski]

I changed some fluorescent bulbs for a customer. She wrote a beautiful letter to the company about how great I was.

Back in the 90s a friend was a TV salesman at Sears. He had an elderly customer who had bought a small TV but didn't want to pay for delivery. My friend said, "No problem, I pass your house on my way home. I'll drop it off." He was fired.

 

[protoolman]

I got a gas can from my boss's stuff and poured a gallon of gas in a lady's car so she could get to town, as she had run out of gas out on the highway near our airport. He came over and chewed me out. I must have gave him a pretty good " you've got to be kidding me look" because he came back around after he calmed down and decided it might be ok to be charitable once in a while.

 

[Xrayist]

So you are saying they banned the fire extinguishers because they didn't want someone to get hurt trying to put out a fire? That doesn't make sense at all.

Unfortunately, I think that is exactly what he is saying, and even worse, probably true.....

 

[Dan in MI]

So you are saying they banned the fire extinguishers because they didn't want someone to get hurt trying to put out a fire? That doesn't make sense at all.

That is exactly what I’m saying.

On the flip side, that meant of the 200 or so fire extinguishers we had just sitting around gave me three to keep by my desk for active shooter protection. (which is a while new level of corporate stupidity)

 

[Kevin]

That is exactly what I'm saying.

On the flip side, that meant of the 200 or so fire extinguishers we had just sitting around gave me three to keep by my desk for active shooter protection. (which is a while new level of corporate stupidity)

Now in all seriousness, I can actually see a fire extinguisher right to the bad guys face as a pretty effective deterrent.

 

[41Dude]

When you said work rules I thought you were talking about disgruntled employees.
A few years ago I was at lunch listening to a couple of gen z, gen x, gen whatever
complaining about work.
Apparently they were sad about the bosses rules.
He expected them to
SHOW UP ON TIME
and
DO THE WORK.

 

[ex13F]

Years ago I knew a young fellow that worked at a bank and was on the U.S. Olympic Judo team. A guy came into the bank and tried to rob it while the young man was there. He said he could see that the guy didn't have a gun but claimed he did. He took him down hard and fast and had him pinned to the floor when a supervisor ordered him to release him. He said he would hold him until police arrived but was ordered again to release him so he did. The police picked up the wannabe robber at the hospital with a broken bone in his face, broken collarbone and a dislocated shoulder. The young man at the bank had to look for employment elsewhere.

 

[Dan in MI]

Now in all seriousness, I can actually see a fire extinguisher right to the bad guys face as a pretty effective deterrent.

NOPE. At some point we were shown the "official gov't" video on what to do in an active shooter scenario. (essentially surrender and die) The final scene is when you are trapped in a room and the bad guy is trying to get in. They show exactly what you are saying a guy next to the door opening ready to bash the perp with a fire extinguisher. I saw that and said to myself, why not get back from the door and blast him in the eyes with the extinguisher? THEN whack him in the head/face with the empty cylinder. I discussed it with a few of my like minded friends and we all thought distance is better. At that point we took a dozen of the extinguishers outside and practiced spraying on a dumpster. You can get twenty feet or more out of one. After that we each kept a few by our desks. A discreet but useful tool that the company would not complain about.

 

[gnappi]

Hey the morons at my last job removed an OSHA required safety rail on a painted black trip infested upper deck that was some 12+ feet above the floor .
Why? Because the railing was not aesthetically pleasing for the look of the IMAX type of theater! But one of us with splattered brain goo on the floor was pleasing???

I told them it was an OSHA safety rule and they said so what, no railing would go up.

I refused to go up the ladder and said I'd write a letter to OSHA and I got fired just after they installed a safety harness system WITHOUT a hung person retrieval system!

 

[rcs9250]

This is not a stupid safety rule but it is a management losing their mind example.

On New Years Eve before Y2K occurred my boss, the retired owners daughter, at the contract machine shop I ran told me that everybody in the shop, about 10 guys, were to cover all our CNC machines, CMM, Bridgeport mills and other miscellaneous machines with blue plastic tarps. I of course asked why. Her husband had her convinced that he was the smartest guy in the world and also had her brainwashed that she couldn't think for herself. His logic was, if the power went out like he believed it would, that the tarps would prevent melting/dripping water from damaging the machines. I said . I explained that if there was no heat in the building there would not be anything that would warm the snow to melt and come in the building. And in any case, why wasn't the roof already leaking from the heat in the building melting the snow, or when it rained? In so many words I was advised that her husband was WAY WAY smarter than me.

Two weeks before Y2K she asked me if I wanted to cash in a bunch of my PTO for "the crash". I declined, I told her I was going to be backpacking in PA New Years Eve and two days after.

The secretary in the office quoted a bible verse to me saying it's a mans duty to provide for his family, she meant food and wondered if I was stocking food in my basement. I told her 60% of the human body is edible and I have plenty of neighbors to keep me in protein. She never asked again.

 

[Yaworski]

SHOW UP ON TIME
and
DO THE WORK.

I haven't been on time in about 20 years.

 

[vito]

How many retail employees have been fired because they were armed, and use their gun to stop a robbery or worse in their workplace? I'm sure the lawyers have decided that if a criminal enters the workplace and shoots some people that the company is not liable for that, but if an employee is armed and that causes anyone to be injured, the company is on the hook. Its all part of risk management and to hell with the safety of the employees, or customers.

 

[el caminero]

Years ago, 7-11 started firing anybody who tried to stop a theft or robbery, including going to the door to read the plate. Rumour had it southland corp was owned by the yakuza.
In another life we were suggested to help the client. This included shovelling and salting the steps, jumpstarting cars, technical re-entry (were even issued slim jims and cables per site), and checking fire extenguishers for dates. Eventually all this went away...liability...you will NOT touch these...

 

[Danjet500]

I was working in a large metals producing facility when a heater caught some improperly stored cardboard boxes on fire. I grabbed the nearest fire extinguisher and put out the fire. Health and Safety came out, performed their investigation and promptly advised me that I used the wrong extinguisher to put out the fire. I used a CO2 instead of a Class A. I vowed if the situation ever arose again that I was running the opposite direction.

 

[cutlassguy1976]

Typical Health and Safety people. Some of the dumbest book smart people I've ever known have been in the safety business.
That's like saying you used the wrong water hose to put out the fire.
Maybe they should have been reprimanded for not having the "correct" extinghuisher nearby.
I like your rebuttal

 

[Jeepnik]

Long story, but I once left a facility without completing emergency work because a Safety girl told me I couldn't have a control panel energized with the cabinet open. Now you couldn't access the parts to test them with the cabinet closed, and you couldn't test the equipment without it being energized. I was about half way when all sorts of folks were crying for me to come back.

 

[MaxMan]

Lawyers, they don't make the rules, they just scare everybody else into making them.

 

[Dan in MI]

Ah health and safety, yet another fine group.

I was leaving work and a big storm was blowing in. I forgot something and went back in to the office. I almost got to my desk when the take shelter alarms went off. Before I could turn and high tail it out of there, I was told by a safety guy to go into the shelter. (there's like 1/2 dozen volunteers) I head towards the shelter, Only it is too small for the number of people and there's already 30 people outside the door way. My desk was 30 feet from the door way so I just went to my desk. Mr safety comes and tells me I can't be there. I point and say, what's different here than in the hall over there? You can't be here. I said, Well I am that's tough. Two days later my boss comes over to tell me I upset the safety guy. He also said, I was in the sardine can I know there wasn't room, just lay low for a while please. --Oh, and the shelter alarm? It cleared while safety guy was harassing me. I think it lasted a whole 10-15 minutes.

 

[southernbuck101]

Now in all seriousness, I can actually see a fire extinguisher right to the bad guys face as a pretty effective deterrent.

But then he is alive to take you to civil court when he should have been extinguished at birth..
But how you gonna know?
And I'm not a proponent of abortion.
In 99% of the cases.

 

[Jeepnik]

But then he is alive to take you to civil court when he should have been extinguished at birth..
But how you gonna know?
And I'm not a proponent of abortion.
In 99% of the cases.

Who says you can't give him a smack after a good squirt?

 

[M118LR]

Remember when you could walk into a big box hardware store and ask an associate to watch the thousands of dollars worth of tools/ equipment that you had on the back of your truck until you could return with a couple of bucks worth of weed whacker strong to finish a job. Now all they can do is watch a thief drive away with your truck and equipment, and they can't even give the police your license plate number. Me thinks things have gone to far?

 

[roarindan51]

"WORK RULE #24.....know where your fellow employees are, make a periodic check".

 

[AJGUNNER]

Remember when you could walk into a big box hardware store and ask an associate to watch the thousands of dollars worth of tools/ equipment that you had on the back of your truck until you could return with a couple of bucks worth of weed whacker strong to finish a job. Now all they can do is watch a thief drive away with your truck and equipment, and they can't even give the police your license plate number. Me thinks things have gone to far?

A friend parked his work pickup up close in the covered "contractor" loading area at home depot to run in and grab a box of screws. He had a canopy on the truck with piles of tools, but also his pair of snarling doberman/rottweiler mix dogs in there also. Figured no problem. 5-10 minutes later he comes out to find a pile of tools missing and his dogs were just finishing off a package of hot dogs.