This can't be correct

[tsdragon]

Is it just me, or does this sound wrong? There is a sign in my office (it must be an OSHA requirement, since the only injury I might get is a paper cut or carpal tunnel syndrome). It says:

This site has gone <blank> days without a loss time accident.

(Emphasis is mine).

It seems to me that it should be "lost time" or "loss-of-time".


Tracy Dryden

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,
For you are crunchy, and good with mustard.

 

[KempCGDR]

Yes, that is wrong to my knowledge, though it could just be a short-hand specific to your company or something.

 

[CajunCenturion]

I agree that 'loss-of-time', or perhaps 'lost time', would be preferable.

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[columb]

This is all part of an increasingly common tendency for people to adopt a phrase or word without realy understanding it. Once it gets into common usage it grows like a fungus. My personal hate object is 'learning curve'. If people actually knew what the words they are using meant then they might think a bit more about the grammar when they use them, but then they might not!

Columb Healy

 

[SkipVought]

Would it be correct to say...

This site has gone <blank> days without a [/b]time-loss[/b] accident.


Skip,

_{[red]Be advised:[/red] When you ignite a firecracker in a bowl of vanilla, chocolate & strawberry ice cream, you get...
Neopolitan Blownapart!}

 

[KempCGDR]

Skip: Actually yes, a simple swap makes it much better, good point.

 

[vidru]

I've done some work for a company that manages insurance claims for a group of colleges, and I think that "loss time" is a standard term used in that field, specifically relating to Workers Compensation.

-dave

 

[SantaMufasa]

Vidru, granted, it may be an industry-standard term, but if 50,000 people say a silly thing...it's still a silly thing.

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)

http://www.dasages.com

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[sleipnir214]

SantaMufasa:
You're right. But technogeeks talking about the silliness of the jargon of another profession may be a "glass houses and stones" scenario.


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[SantaMufasa]

Spot on, sleipnir, but if we are in the non-techno-geek-speak "Making an Impression" forum, discussing precision-writing techniques, I'll vote for Skip's

This site has gone <blank> days without a time-loss accident.

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)

http://www.dasages.com

Do you use Oracle and live or work in Utah, USA?
Then click here to join Utah Oracle Users Group on Tek-Tips.

 

[tsdragon]

Incidentally, that sign was not something my company made up. It's a standard OSHA poster (they're probably required to post it), about 3ft by 2ft, and that phrase is in letters about 3in high at the top.


Tracy Dryden

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,
For you are crunchy, and good with mustard.

 

[sleipnir214]

<facetious level="half">
What?

We're not talking about professional jargon, we're talking about Bureaucratese! Little wonder it makes no sense.!
</facetious>


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[tsdragon]

Of course we are! I thought I made that clear when I mentioned OSHA in my original post. (For the non-US persons, that's Occupation Safety and Health Administration).

Don't you just love to pick apart the idiocies of bureaucratese?


Tracy Dryden

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,
For you are crunchy, and good with mustard.

 

[chipperMDW]

Perhaps "loss" is a noun being used as an adjective -- much like the word "dog" in "dog house."

So a "loss time" may mean "a time characterized by loss."

An alternate phrase might be "lossy time," though that word may only exist to describe graphics formats...

Note that I do think it's a silly usage; I'm just trying to reason what the heck they were thinking.


This talk of interdisciplinary jargon reminds me of a time I was reading an article called "Recursive Make Consdered Harmful."

(For non-programmers, "make" is a build tool, and is used in this title as a noun.)

I realized that, if I were a non-technical user and came upon that title, I'd probably laugh at it and say, "What were they thinking? That's not even remotely correct grammar!

 

[mrsnrub]

I work for an Australian manufacturing company and we too record the number of accidents - we call them "Lost Time Injuries".

 

[sleipnir214]

chipperMDW:

I'm just trying to reason what the heck they were thinking.

We're talking about bureaucrats. Assumptions of directed though are contraindicated.


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