Hot take: The new safety rules at the Philly yard are making us slower, not safer.

Six months ago we could prep a 36-inch flange in under an hour, now the extra lockout steps add 20 minutes every time. I watched a guy miss a full shift waiting for a second sign-off on a cold boiler. Are we just trading real skill for paperwork now?

3 comments

3 Comments

avery_nelson1mo ago

Heard about a buddy over at the chemical plant. They had a new rule where two guys had to watch a tank drain before any line work. Last week, his whole crew stood there for three hours on a Friday afternoon because the second watch guy got pulled to a different job. They just leaned on their shovels staring at an empty pipe. Felt like the rule forgot about the actual work getting done.

the_kim1d ago

Oh man @avery_nelson that's exactly the kind of crap that drives me crazy. I've seen it happen at the dog grooming shop too. We had a rule about having two people in the drying room at all times in case a dog slipped its collar. Management meant well but one time my girl called in sick and I spent forty minutes just sitting there watching a half dry poodle because nobody could come relieve me. The job was right there waiting but the rule said no moving forward without the extra set of eyes. It's like common sense takes a back seat to liability worries. Your buddy's crew must have felt ridiculous just leaning on shovels while the clock ticked on a Friday. That's the kind of thing that makes people hate coming to work because the system treats them like they can't be trusted to use their own judgment.

lopez.mason1mo ago

Man, that's peak safety culture right there. They're so busy making sure nothing happens that the actual job never gets started. Guess staring at empty pipes is the new skilled trade.