I must hear this at least three times a day. Basically, "health and safety" is kind of like "the man." It/He rules everything, and everyone hates it/him and blames it/him when things don't go their way. But health and safety has more rules than I can count. Don't get me wrong. I love rules. I live for rules. I'm a recovering Pharisee.
For example, one of the cleaning ladies at the college where I work got stuck in an elevator. She radioed the porters from inside and told them to please come get her out. However, no one was a qualified "lift engineer," so they had to make a phone call and wait 45 minutes for one to come out to fix it. When I suggested that they pry the doors open to at least keep her from staying stuck in there, they said, "Can't. There would be an open hole, and someone might fall in, and then we'd be responsible. It's health and safety gone mad."
Another time, there was a light bulb in the ceiling burnt out, but no one was around who had been trained in the updated ladder safety curriculum, so it had to stay as it was. If someone tried to fix it and hurt him/herself without being trained, there would be big trouble. It's health and safety gone mad.
My supervisor at work noted how neat the reception window looked since I purchased a desk tidy to keep the mail supplies in it: pens, tape, a ruler, and a pair of scissors. Then he removed the scissors and told me to keep them at my desk. "We're not allowed to have scissors within two meters of the reception window, because someone might take them and hurt someone. It's health and safety gone mad."
I thought, "I might use them too if I had to deal with all this inefficiency for the sake of health and safety."
These are actual picturs I found when I went to Google images and typed in "health and safety gone mad."
3 comments:
Oh.my.goodness.
That's all I have to say.
I miss the old days of common sense yet I do get a kick out of being entertained by today's lack of common sense and thus really ridiculous rules (can't use a ladder because you didn't take Ladder Safety 101?). Wish I could show you the sigh for DUH! Actually I can explain it to you... spell D... U... and then with your other hand flick the U which falls down to an HHHHH. And for special effects, put on a sarcastic face expression.
Kristen in CO
This reminds us of either the Monty Python skit or the English comedian who died a few years ago (was it Benny Hill?) - it was a skit about a lady who wanted to have her stove changed out, and the hassle she went through with inspectors - it ended with about 20 people lined up outside her door. There are still a few vestiges of freedom living in the South, although the feds are sadly encroaching in all areas of life with their regulations. We should take note of what's going on across the pond b/c we'll be there in 10 years with current trends!
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