I have some sympathy. How often do we hear of the generic / blanket imposition of various HSE 'rules' - which are clearly not appropriate in all situations. Poor and lazy HSE management is a big turn off for many

Totally agree - good advice. Treat people how you would like to be treated in return. Build relationships - aim to win their hearts and minds, it will save you having to act like a policeman. Some people might try to take advantage and this is where you have to step to the plate and adopt a firmer approach - discipline will be required from time to time, but always try a non confrontational approach first. I worked on a construction site where the 5 points of protection approach was adopted - one amiable chap, who was the site cleaner, regularly forgot to wear his gloves. Now I know that it was quite unlikely he would damage his hands whilst walking through the site to get to the welfare, but conversely had to tow the line set by our project team's H&S strategy for the site - rather than overreacting I devised a simple game where when I saw the chap in the distance I would hold up both hands, giving him a score e.g. 6 out of 10 if he was missing gloves or glasses at the time. He soon got the point, and looked forward to getting his 10 out of 10. This wouldn't have worked for all, but suited his personality type.

Thanks for the replies all, As stated 12 hours on deck knowingly going on to deck with no gloves, this guy was intending to pick up slings, chins, shackles at some point in his shift & he was trying it on when I had identified he had no gloves on his person. I agree with the 'common sense prevails' even if we do highlight at inductions the PPE policy. thanks again Mr H&S

Hi MrH&S Firstly I empathise, assuming you mention 'on deck' and moving pipe etc I assume you are offshore. I think people must realise that mandatory policies are just that on offshore installations and that there are procedures in place to review and update these,....on deck in middle of shift is not one of them. I've been exactly where you are and persevered to no avail. Eventually I had to go to paper, reporting the situation on board through the STOP card system. The rig management for the company I was working for couldn't care less. If you already offer a choice of gloves appropriate to the task, the guy must comply and the offshore environment is not one where we can pick and choose which rules we follow. I'm not sure if some of people who contribute here, no matter how well intentioned, actually understand the environment you are working in. Mandatory means mandatory and if you have given him a crack of the whip already, then fairs fair. There are ample comedians in this environment who will push their luck in an attempt to look the ticket with their colleagues but they will be the first to decry you if you don't do your duty. Good luck

Nicky & Smurf, Thanks for your comments, I agree with you both, The guy was trying to pull a fast one, thus my title Do they think we are stupid Rgds MrH&S

Ok :-) I'll defend this one. I discovered that my riggers became more supple when they got soaked in engine oil. This made them easier to use but obviously engine oil is no good for your skin so with my next pair I tried applying baby oil first and it worked. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! ;-)

I was called a numpty last week by one of our operatives for telling him the safety boots he bought himself whilst out on site, AND expected to be reimbursed for, did not comply with the company footwear policy regarding ankle support, waterproofness, and anti static capability. In my experience the opinion of a lot of operatives is that H&S is a hindrance, not a help, they want to do things there way, not the safest way, and despite over 40 years working in a variety of industrial sectors, I'm STILL told I don't know what the F*** I'm talking about. You need a thick skin in this game that's for sure;-)

How many riggers did you have to get through to make that discovery and on average what was their size?

Going back to the OP I've experienced similar scenarios and in some cases I've interpreted to response thus: " OK its a fair cop, I know I should be wearing the gloves but I'm now embrassed at being caught out and have given the first excuse that's jumped into my head (and I'm sticking to it!)".