Used to scale 80' towers with no safety gear at all and thought nothing about it as it was part of the job. Always figured my head was harder than any hat so wore a ball cap to use my skull to open the trap door on floors of the work platforms when doing cable runs or antenna maintenance routines on the same. That is until a com padre fell to his death from the 45' level changing a clearance lamp from a tower on an airfield. Why he didn't swing the arm this lamp head mounted to into the tower is not known, but the fallout from that changed the whole safety culture almost overnight. We already had the fall protection rail up the middle of the ladder, and the waist belt arrestor devices but they were so damned uncomfortable to wear, nobody did. With this incident came contractor supplied tower climbing training, confined space training, etc., and several million dollars of newest safety gear and training programs implemented agency wide. The whole safety culture changed near overnight with the immediate ban on tower climbing over a certain height. IIRC it was 40ft and then the two man rule went into effect immediately.
I'm no "Safety Sam" and that's for damned sure; but I am human. I've seen a guy fall out of a manlift and get hurt after that first step from their own stupidity and try to blame others. In the cited case, one is not supposed to climb the safety cage for additional reach. Had the mandated harness been worn, and attached, his ass wouldn't have impacted the ground and he'd in all likelihood only suffered some bruising to both body and pride. Contractor verbiage for their personnel compliance with established safety rules was incorporated into contracts as it is/was a learning curve for everyone. Being the union steward for many years I've been tied up in claimed injury cases several times and although of no legal authority, had to cover the union side of things and sometimes be combative with my own brethren when established parameters were not complied with.
Jobsite safety is a culture, make no mistake about it. Although OSHA can be a real pain in the ass, there is a reason for their existence and establishment. Although you seldom hear of the good work they do, they are there to help you; if you ask. Just call and request an evaluation and they come for free but don't have grotesque safety violations present, as they will be looking for them. Several times on our jobsites we would have the local OSHA reps out to look over things. Several good recommendations for your own safety program can easily come from one of these evaluations. Some good friendships too which can pay handsomely if something goes awry.
I guess the moral of the story is we all want to go home to our family and friends. Neglect common and established safety practices and one significantly reduces chances of that happening.
Thanks,