osha

Physical work can place us in some compromising positions. It's probably not worth it to straddle two ladders in the wind or pull some OSHA-defying boldness just so you can finish a job 20 minutes faster, but it's everyone's personal choice to risk your life for a few dollars. What really sucks is when you are aware of basic safety standards and your boss says "listen buddy, we've been storing oily rags next to the fritzy boiler for years, so quit being a pansy. Now grease up your hands and plunge them into the crusher." So here's to misguided safety failures that OSHA would disapprove of. 

It should occur to everyone that letting your dog pilot your scooter is a bad idea, yet some of us choose to trudge further on life's metaphorical (or literal) tightrope. Is it that we have too much blind faith in our ability to complete these unsafe maneuvers? Is it the belief that we're invincible? Is it self-confidence? Is it frugality? Whatever the reason for the many safety failures out there, it doesn't make them any less of a spectacle.

People are often given a choice to do things the convenient way or the right way. Sometimes the convenient way involves dudes using their bodies as counterweights while one guy dangles over a ledge on a rickety ladder. These OSHA-Unapproved moments of safety failure remind us that the spectacle of doing something the wrong way isn't exactly worth it. While safety failures of OSHA-defying boldness might get things done quick, they also make you rethink risking your life just so your boss doesn't have to pay you for an extra two hours of set-up.

Sure, the get 'er done mentality is an effective way to motivate yourself to complete tough jobs and long hours, but when it's used by your boss to justify lowering you on a backhoe over the side of a cliff, you're entering safety failure territory. Anyone with a physical job is regularly tempted or ordered to take scary shortcuts in the form of safety failures that would make OSHA faint. Gotta admit, jacking a car up with a plastic chair doesn't really seem worth it.

Work in any physical job for a day or two and you'll likely see some OSHA-unapproved moments of safety failure that you may wish you hadn't. Extremely high ladders, improperly handled safety harnesses, unsafe tools and long-past-due fire extinguishers are just a few things one might see lurking around. And that's not even counting the unsafe maneuvers so many people try to pull off daily. Safety first.

A whole lot of people brag about the unsafe crap they do and hold it as a point of pride. Sometimes it seems like the whole world is in a contest to see how precarious they get get their ladders and how spectacularly they can fail at safety. If you've ever had a boss that's made you do OSHA nightmare crap like this, welcome to the stupid club, and I guess congrats on being here to read this sentence.

When a job needs to get done, sometimes that need gives way to a wonderfully unprofessional "not my job" moment. And other times, a lack of critical thinking or need to get that job done quick results in a spectacular display of brash dudes engaging in risky maneuvers. Either way, you see some questionable stuff.

If you've ever worked in any kind of physical job, not matter how small, you've probably been told to do some spectacularly unsafe garbage. Awkward ladder use, unorthodox building materials, and improper machinery use are the tip of the iceberg for safety fails that would make OSHA faint.

Some OSHA regulations seem sort of strict and ridiculous, but some really bad safety fails make you concede the point that some rules are there for a reason. It's non an enviable situation to be in to have a boss who wants you to do some sketchy-ass moves just so you can replace a light bulb, but we've been there.

It's bold moves like these that convince people why women live longer than men. A shout-out to all the bosses who have told us "just do it it'll be fine" or "we've always done it like that" and made us climb backwards up a ladder balancing on piles of oily rags. Anyway here's safety failures that would give OSHA nightmares.

Gotta risk it for the biscuit. Well, you don't necessarily HAVE to risk it. Sometimes putting on a safety harness would take an extra 5 minutes and that doesn't seem worth it. Anyway, here are some non-OSHA approved dudes in precariously hazardous situations. And here's some more safety fails if you're interested.

Ever had a boss that wanted to do something you knew was stupid, like standing on a ladder supported by a second ladder, supported by something on wheels? And you're like "I think this is unsafe" and he's all "this is how we've done it for years and nothing bad has happened, I mean except that one time." Man, screw that noise.

You are probably not immune to asbestos. But you wouldn't imagine how many people think they are.

Don't let OSHA find out.