On 5/6/2010 11:05 AM, Chris Hoogendyk wrote: > > > sky...@cs.earlham.edu wrote: >> On Thu, May 6, 2010 07:09, Brian Mathis wrote: >> >>> On Thu, May 6, 2010 at 12:04 AM, <sky...@cs.earlham.edu> wrote: >>> >>> >>>> On Wed, May 5, 2010 20:57, Matt Lawrence wrote: >>>> >>>> >>>>> I keep a set of hearing protectors in the glovebox of my car and >>>>> several sets of foam earplugs in my notebook bag. >>>>> >>>>> Yeah, a bit off topic, but still important. I recommend stocking up >>>>> on EAR brand earplugs whenever Harbor Freight has them on sale. >>>>> Protect your >>>>> hearing while you are young, tintinnitus at my age is annoying. >>>>> >>>> OSHA and likely your state's labor department regulate the maximum >>>> noise level a worker can be exposed to without protection. You >>>> ought to >>>> be able to get your employer to provide you either ear plugs or >>>> something more permanent. >>>> >>>> >>> This is true, but it doesn't help you if you are colocating at a data >>> center. Also, you need to decide if it's politically wise to throw >>> around >>> OSHA regulations at work when a box of ear plugs at the drug >>> store is $3 (hint: it's not wise. If you really care just go buy >>> some ear >>> plugs). Those regulations are meant for people who are in such an >>> environment all day long (like if you work at an airport). You need to >>> know how to pick your battles. >>> >> >> While it is trivial to buy protection of your own for the job, I would >> argue that it's better to remind your employer that it is legally >> obligated to protect its workers, and that you're aware that you have >> those protections. That way you'll be on better footing to resist even >> more serious hazards like lifting and confined space work. Even if the >> employer doesn't do it for you, the incentive of not having a bunch of >> worker's comp claims on its record ought to be enough. > > > As has been said already, it's best to save adversarial relationships > in your workplace for when it really matters. Adversarial attitudes > cut both ways. Start making legalistic statements at your employers, > and they could start laying down legal restrictions on your behavior > and cutting back on your discretion. They may come around with a > document saying that employees at this level cannot do any of the > following things (long list) without prior approval from higher up. > etc. And, it could end up affecting subsequent evaluations and pay > raises. > > Seen it happen more than once. Happily, not to me. Once it became so > uncomfortable that it ended in a layoff. Union and company lawyers > were both involved, but the employee was out the door. > > If you really want to bring it up, I would bring it up in a more > friendly manner. Express your concern about the level of noise and ask > if it is possible to get some hearing protection. Keep it congenial > and cooperative, not confrontational. (Quoting OSHA regs is > confrontational unless it just happens to come up in the course of > conversation.)
Indeed - I wrote unclearly as I was presenting legal confrontation as a last resort. At the same time, I've always felt comfortable bringing up work condition requirements and have always managed to do so in a cooperative way. After all, we as sysadmins have an obligation to make management aware of legal computing requirements (records retention, disaster requirements, etc.), and I think this carries over to a responsibility to inform people of non-computing regulatory requirements of our jobs. In my experience management often isn't even aware of the unsafe work conditions and is glad that the information is brought to their attention. In this case, they might not be aware of the noise in the server room (I know I spend more time in the server room than my boss), or even that they have an obligation to protect their workers in the room (fortunately my boss does, but I know not all do). You can point out that by spending a few bucks and passing out ear plugs or muffs they can save on insurance and legal costs, and increase worker comfort at the same time. > > The job ads for network people in the local OIT (not my department) > list physical requirements for the job, such as "needs to be able to > lift 70lbs and carry it . . .", etc., so that it's clear whoever is > hired is expected to be able to lift equipment. I'm making up the > specific number, because I don't happen to have one of their ads > handy. As far as lifting is concerned, every server box I have ever > seen gives warnings and has pictures of two people lifting the box > together, bent from the knees, with backs straight. Again, if it comes > up, ask for help. Present a friendly, cooperative attitude, and it is > more likely to be reciprocated. The diagrams are helpful, but I've seen some diagrams that seem to assume that humans are two-dimensional creatures... They might also not be tailored to specific workplace requirements. For example, at $WORK we're not permitted to lift individually more than 40lbs and I've seen two-person diagrams go up to 150lbs units. After a few months of struggling with heavy storage nodes and blade chassis, we made a case to buy a mechanical lift, using workplace safety as a justification. -- -- Skylar Thompson (sky...@cs.earlham.edu) -- http://www.cs.earlham.edu/~skylar/
signature.asc
Description: OpenPGP digital signature
_______________________________________________ Tech mailing list Tech@lopsa.org http://lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tech This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators http://lopsa.org/
