We had an arc flash incident here and everyone was shocked. My first question was why a guy was working hot in a 1600a switchboard without PPE and people just look me like "What do you mean"?
There are lots of cowboys around here who do not have a clue about safety.
I used to work for a big company that made safety a condition of employment and my wife carried that on to the big company she built houses for. (no PPE, get off the job site until you get it, sort of thing)
She used to condemn bad extension cords, stop people from making home built ladders and scaffolding on drywall buckets. Everyone wears real footwear, hardhats as soon as the walls are up and safety glasses.
I have safety glasses with me all the time (my sunglasses) and to this day I wear no metal. (I saw a ring melt on a guys finger once).
It seems to be the little shops and sole proprietors who don't care. I guess they are not attracting enough attention from the insurance company or they think they are supposed to pay out the nose. In a big company, there is money to be saved if you can demonstrate an effective safety program. I guess the OSHA fines may be higher too.
