A comment made in another thread has me reflecting on how we apply codes to our work.
“An inspector will never see this” is something I often hear. “We’re in the County and there are no permits or inspections” is a slightly less objectionable version. Possible the worst form of this is “I’m the boss and I tell you what to do.” (The latter is almost routine in industrial maintenance work.)
To simply say “Always follow code” isn’t an answer. We’ve all encountered situations where different rules conflict, where circumstances demand something not specified by any code, where a “code compliant” installation creates a hazard, or where following a particular code requirement is plainly absurd.
Your task gets ugly when you lack confidence in the information provided by the customer. I, for one, have had customers answer questions with what they “thought I wanted to hear,” with plainly dishonest answers the customer thought served his interests, and customers resist answering simply because they felt I had no need for the information. (Back when I drove taxi, I actually had customers assert it was not my business to know where they were going!)
I’ve witnessed several situations where code compliant solutions were either absurd — or even introduced hazards. As a rule, folks seem far more willing to “play the authority card” than to think things through. “Critical thinking” simply isn’t taught. Decision making is influenced by all manner of considerations that often interfere with doing a good job.
I’d like to hear some of your stories where you were confronted by these issues — and how things developed. Of particular interest are any situations where the best solution went “outside” the Code.
