I didn't realize what a pervasive force the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was until I got to Thailand. In the past, I always considered OSHA to be silly, and their rules, standards, and recommendations to be insanely cautious.
But I didn't realize how ingrained all of that stuff is in me! There's a certain amount of common-sense safety that we grow up with, and I see things here that make me squeamish all the time. Whether it's guys at work using a precariously-balanced stepladder, bricklayers working high atop bamboo scaffolds, or people using huge cleavers to debone chickens in the market, I can't help but think about what will inevitably go terribly wrong. I've been amazed in the past that so many people here still have all of their fingers and toes.
But nothing beats what I saw this morning: there was a construction crew ripping up the road that I take to work every day. It was nothing too unusual, just a typical road-resurfacing job like what you'd see in the States. And then I saw a guy operating a JACKHAMMER in bare feet.
I really almost stopped to take a photo, but I was on my motorbike in the middle of three lanes of traffic. I'm planning on going back this afternoon to see if he's still at it.
The Un-Veiling
6 years ago
Makes you wonder how much that guy gets paid. He can't have chosen to work barefoot. Or could he?
ReplyDelete-dad
I remember coming across some similar things while in China. I saw someone jackhammering without those massive ear-covers that construction workers here wear. Maybe he was wearing smaller, internal earplugs that I couldn't see, but I wouldn't be surprised if that weren't the case either. Also, we were walking down the street one time (in an area that wasn't very well lit) and came across an uncovered man-hole with absolutely nothing around it to indicate the potential danger. In some ways I have a lot of respect for people that go about their jobs without some of the excessive safety concerns that we have here, but then again there's also a reason we pay such close attention to those things. One mistake might not only cause an irreversible injury, but might even disable that worker from performing his job.
ReplyDeleteLike you said, we think so unconsciously about these things that it's hard to fathom that in some places that's not the case.