Really?

One of my jobs is dangerous. People that are stupid, incompetent, physically unable to do it or are afraid of heights should not do this job. It's rigging. I walk on I-beams 100 feet in the air and pull up chain motors for rock concerts and events. It takes skill and a bit of fearlessness. Or rather it takes an awareness of fear and the danger and the ability to still do the job without freaking out. It takes common sense, strength and the awareness that if I fuck up and drop even the smallest thing like a shackle pin, it can kill someone.

One of the places I work is the Anaheim Convention Center in the Arena. Or used to. There's going to be a lot less work for riggers now. OSHA came in and said it was not safe. Hmmmm.... Not safe for whom? Your average person who doesn't even know what I do for work?  Not safe for some incompetent fuckhead who can barely walk on the ground without getting hurt? It's safe for riggers. Every building is unique in it's challenges. The arena was built back in the 1960's with a Jetson like aesthetic. Weird angles, false tile ceiling covering the beams of the building.

Since the building was built there was never a death nor serious injury. The roof was safe because of the people rigging in it. OSHA came in an saw the way things were done and levied a fine and said everything must change. So a massive reworking of the building was done. It's safer? I don't know. But I do know that a ton of work has now gone away for riggers because of this retro fit. Everything is now done from 100 foot boom lifts. It's slow and ponderous and load ins will now take a day or more for the rigging before anything else loads in. The floor cannot have anything in the way of the huge lifts; you can't drive over a truss.

If you had a large show you would have 12-16 riggers. 3 man teams in the air and a ground rigger. The rig could be done in a day. The motors could hang virtually anywhere they needed to. Now the arena has fixed places to hang the motors, so you are screwed if you need variations it can't do. How long would it take 2 lifts to rig 100 points? Who knows. But it's safe.

So basically OSHA makes the world safe for the lowest common idiot to do any job. Well, some jobs are not safe. How does OSHA make fire fighters safe? They run into burning buildings. Would OSHA just say let the building burn? It's not safe? Many places are not safe. Coal mines, diamond mines, outer-fucking space. Being an astronaut would be cool, but probably one of  the most dangerous occupations. You are sitting on top of a controlled directed explosion. How do you make that safe?

Life is not safe. You're going to die. The idiots die, the smart people die, the careful people die.

I do wonder what a n OSHA inspector's house looks like. All smooth round corners? Bubble wrap clothes? Dull knives and cold food?

They put a lot of skilled labor out of work. The key word: Skilled. Skilled. Skilled. Just saying...