Imagine working with broken machinery like a broken crane. Everyone knows it’s dangerous to use but also knows the work can’t get done without using it. Would you report the broken machinery and deal with the consequences, or would you avoid filling out the safety inspection paperwork?

In this story, one steel mill worker is in this situation. He avoids filling out the paperwork at first, but when a foreman insists that he needs to fill out the paperwork, he complies.

Keep reading to find out the consequences of reporting the broken machinery.

“All cranes must have a safety inspection filled out at the start of every shift!!”

Years ago before it died i worked at a steelmill. The economy was hitting everyone hard so they started to cut back on OT and shifts.

I was the lowest seniority in the lab so i was bumped out to ladel treatment (LT to save time).

Everyone hated LT except the people working there. It was noisy, dirty, and busy…

I loved it because it made the day go by fast and there was always something happening and i hate being bored….it makes me do stupid things.

Their crane was broken, but they used it anyway.

At LT there was a small remote crane that moved supplies around and every inch was accounted for so when you were moving things it had to go over work areas. Everyone had to clear the way so supplies could go through…usually only takes 2-3m….usually.

I was the “New” guy at Lt but while low on the totem pole for the lab i was probably the 4th highest compared to LT people (Everyone hated it so transferred as soon as possible) i didnt have a choice since i was just “on loan” instead of being laid off.

The crane was broke AF. it was missing a wheel. When you have a few tons hanging from a crane it starts a pendulum effect with the load swinging. (i spent a few years in a crane i knew how to run them)

The problem is that a few tons will pull a tiny little crane like this one and when it pulled to the corner with no wheel the crane would jerk to a halt and cause even more swing….and so on and so on…and the crane wouldnt move.

Everyone knew the crane was dangerous.

We had been dealing with it and it was super dangerous swinging tons of aluminum coils over peoples heads.

I had brought it up to the safety team and they agreed and together with management came up with the idea that its ok to be broke AF as long as noones around.

The wheel was ordered but would take months to arrive.

I wasnt filling out these little OSHA checklists because if you marked anything as dangerous you were not allowed to run it by law.

The foreman told him to fill out the paperwork.

My first day shift the foreman i didnt know and who never came up to LT had to get the paperwork since someone was on vacation and noticed i hadn’t filled out my daily required checklist. He starts getting in my face and telling me this and that like he normally would for the “new” guy at LT (fresh hire). He wasnt informed about me he just didnt know who i was.

“All cranes must have a safety inspection filled out at the start of every shift!!” and he stormed out with a smug look and his yellow teeth.

OK Mr. Man…you asked for it.

I filled out the checklist with the “Red flagged” items (do not use by law) and there was a comment section. “OK TO RUN PER 3RD SHIFT FOREMAN!” and i signed it…take that legality with you, i had been around long enough to know if you sign something its on you.

The next day, he found out what happened.

I come in the next shift and the crew going home is just abuzz but wont come clean. “Wait till the foreman gets here”

Ok, i know it was going to do something.

It turns out that the returning foreman just grabbed all the papers off the clipboard and dumped them on the General Foremans desk like everyday.

The GM saw what was on my checklist and knows it has to get turned into OSHA and he tried his best to cover it up but he couldnt make it go away because the checklist had 3 copies….his/OSHAs, the safety teams, and mine. He couldnt make all 3 go away.

The foreman talked to him about the paperwork.

OSHA lost their mind when the safety team turned in their copy.

The regular foreman came up about lunchtime and wanted to talk to me, but we are busy so i cant leave the station and he has to do it in front of the 4 of us on crew.

The wheel will be overnighted and repaired in 2 days, dont put “OK PER FOREMAN” on the checklists, and was i a union lawyer.

Here’s how he responded…

“Well no im no lawyer, but im not stupid, if you force me to run this crane and force me to fill out the checklist you get what you get, You and I both know this place cant run for 4 hours without that crane. i will run this crane as safe as i possibly can but if i have to inspect it, ill fail it. So now what?”

He just walked away and that was the last time i heard about my daily checklist…

I filled them out everyday after that and if it was broke i filled it out that way and let management deal with it.”

Safety is important, and it shouldn’t be a common practice to avoid filling out paperwork in order to keep using unsafe machinery.

Let’s see how Reddit responded to this story.

Safety really is important.

Regulations exist for a reason.

This person has done something similar.

Another person points out why it’s important not to ignore safety regulations.

It’s sad when a company ignores safety rules.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a guy who was forced to sleep on the couch at his wife’s family’s house, so he went to a hotel instead.