In the North Sea, you're not allowed to lift anything heavier than 40 lbs by hand (you need lifting equipment/machinery). These rules are there to ensure that w

In the North Sea, you're not allowed to lift anything heavier than 40 lbs by hand (you need lifting equipment/machinery). These rules are there to ensure that workers can't be forced to do dangerous work. You said it yourself; having strict safety procedures leads to fewer deaths. And climbing a ladder can be more dangerous than you'd think. Imagine it's a 10-meter ladder on top of some tall-ish structure. Falling down could easily cripple or kill you. The only reason this seems like a stupid safety measure is because people do it in civilian life all the time, without thinking about the (small but serious) risk. Such risks are things you see all the time when operating at scale.