Nothing slows a job down faster than a safety rule made by someone who’s never worked a day in the field.

So, what would you do if your safety manager demanded that you wear heavy flame-resistant gear in 110-degree heat, with no active well, fire, or real danger in sight?

Would you try to reason with him? Or would you show him what “safety first” really looks like?

In the following story, an oilfield worker finds himself dealing with this exact situation.

Here’s what happened.

Sometimes it’s not really smart to be safe

I used to work in the oilfield, where safety is enforced heavily. But sometimes, people are too zealous.

We were working in South Texas near the border. In the summer, it’s 100°+ with raging humidity. Heat index can hit 110°+. You had to wear flame-resistant gear, pants, and a long-sleeve shirt that was really thick if you were near a well.

We were working on a location before they drilled and brought the rig in. Nothing is out there. That means regular clothes.

Thanks to the safety manager, they were forced to take frequent breaks.

The company we’re working for safety manager pulls up on us and demands we put on our FRs (flame resistant clothing from earlier).

Mind you were in the middle of nowhere, with nothing around us, just land. I explained that, but he wasn’t having it.

So, due to safety concerns, we take a 15-minute break every 5 minutes of work.

He tried to see how far he could push the safety manager.

What was a couple of hours’ job took a couple of days.

I made sure and got the safety guy’s signature, but after the second day, he got really nervous and asked what was taking so long.

I told him we couldn’t be too safe. I then asked him to monitor our urine to make sure we were hydrated, because I didn’t want to get dehydrated.

Due to his own decisions, the safety manager found himself in trouble.

He balked at that lol.

When the company man got the bill for the setup, he lost his mind.

I got to see the safety guy get berated, and they explained how dumb he was. The rules were then changed to include FRs only around well sites.

Wow! It was probably nice to see him get put in his place.

Let’s check out how the folks over at Reddit feel about this whole thing.

Here’s a reader who used to deal with oil and chemical plants.

This person can definitely relate.

Titan was a very sad tragedy.

According to this comment, they’re not built for that life.

What a ridiculous rule!

If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.