Quote:
Originally Posted by TheProfessor
Best to read up on industrial safety.
All delivery people are told not to delivery in unsafe conditions.
Do some deliver with snow. Sure. But some do not if the walking conditions are unknown or potentially unsafe.
They have no idea if there is ice under that snow.
Industrial accidents cost money. An injured employee because of ice or snow is not advantageous to any entity.
Wouldn't it be better for all to keep driveways and walkways cleared of ice and snow ?
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I’ll be sure to read up on that during my off hours from working as a Safety Director. I have my OSHA 10 & 30 certifications which cover the basics of what we’re talking about here. This is about managing acceptable risk. No one is asking the delivery person to venture into a situation requiring any special safety accommodation or equipment to prevent their harm. Using your logic, they can refuse to deliver mail on any given day of the week because their delivery vehicle may have a hidden safety defect much like your ice hidden under snow argument or the chance that they might be involved in a serious motor vehicle crash even during the summer on dry roads. Heck, they can twist their ankle on a step in July. That doesn’t mean the step poses an unacceptable risk that should negate their ability to perform their required job task.
Today, I again received notification that they were not delivering to my home because my driveway is inaccesible. My driveway is plowed and I have personally walked it’s length this morning looking for any ice spots. There is no hazard posed by my driveway other than that which is normal and customary for anyone living in New Hampshire in the winter months. The USPS would not be in violation of the OSH Act of 1970 or its general duty clause by asking a mail delivery person to drive up my driveway and deliver my mail. Nor does my driveway create an unreasonable safety risk any more so than any other roadway in the town. No one wants to see anyone get injured but we also don’t want to see false elevation of risk in order to reduce required and expected productivity. Nothing is worse to Safety culture than having risk misused to cover for other inadequacies. Those inadequacies are often systemic rather than an individual failure. Be well!
P.S. UPS delivered to my home today without difficulty.
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