osha, kilts, and construction

[Jerry]

In the chemical plant where I worked, we had a lot of regulations covering everything from beards to acceptable clothing. But most of those only applied to contractors if they were actually out in the plant, not those who just came to the store room or warehouse. However, I'm sure a trucker who was loading ammonium Sulfate would have been required to stay in his truck were he to wear a kilt into the plant. The amount of time spent in operating areas also had some effect on the rules. As an instrument mechanic who spent a lot of time out in areas with large rotating machinery and hazardous chemicals, I could have never worn a kilt at work. But women who worked in some of the office buildinds were allowed to wear open toed shoes, and skirts or dresses even though they had to pass very close to operating areas with very hazardous materials, because they were only passing through, and were in those areas for a very limited time. The only thing about a wool kilt which would have been acceptable would be the wool. Man made fibers (even though we were a manufacturer of raw materials to make nylon) were not allowed. Most of these were plant rules and like some have said, went further than OSHA does. One of the dumbest things that ever happened to me was a moustache check. One of the top dogs in the maintanance department went around with a pocket ruler and a hand drawn picturechecking the length of moustaches against it. I was told to trim mine even though I had just passed a respirator fit test with no problems. We all filed a group grievance, and at the third stage, the head of maintance and the plant manager got involved. A few who did have trouble passing fit tests had to trim a bit, but the idiot had to apologize to everyone for the ruler thing. So, even with stringent rules, enforcement can go too far.