Fair enough and that is somewhat correct. A piece of paper by itself won't keep anyone safe. But it's not the paper, it's the details in the process behind it.
It almost sounds like a corny joke--What do Van Halen, M&M's, and Workplace Safety have to do with each other? Once you hear the back story, it will become quite clear.
In the late 70's and early 80's, Van Halen was arguably the most popular performing band in the United States and perhaps even world wide. They were taking their huge shows into the smaller venues, which no one else had done before. Nine semi-trucks with massive amounts of equipment would pull into the venue. The the promoter would wet his pants. In his autobiography, David Lee Roth talks specifically about this situation. There was always the danger of electrical problems, stages not being strong enough, overhead girders unable to support the weight, etc., etc. The contract rider received by the promoter well ahead of the concert contained what was required for the entire show down to the smallest detail. Technical requirements, safety requirements, personal requirements--including a bowl of M&M's. The specific requirement (embedded in an obscure place in the contract) was that a bowl of M&M's be placed in the dressing room with all of the brown M&M's removed. Seriously.
What the line actually stated was, "...there will be no brown M&M's in the backstage area upon pain of forfeiture of the show with full compensation". Harsh. Can you imagine the promoter's face if the manager said,"I know you've spent a ton of money here in marketing, but we've found some brown M&M's in Eddie's dressing room. Oh, and you still have to pay us. And you have to refund all of those ticket sales. And explain why you can't deliver the show you promised. Have a nice day."I never heard of that actually happening. Regardless, the potential was there. Seriously!?! Come to find out, there was a method behind the madness. Actually, ingenious.
The brown M&M's were indicators of potential problems. Mr. Roth, some light, please? "When I would walk backstage, if I saw a brown M&M in that bowl, well, line check the entire production. Guaranteed you're going to arrive at a technical error. They didn't read the contract. Guaranteed you'd run into a problem. Sometimes it would threaten to destroy the whole show. Sometimes, literally, life threatening."
While the brown M&M's request seems like a minor detail with no significance, it was an indicator of whether or not the promoter had read the contract thoroughly and whether or not there were going to be problems. When your workers do not complete a permit, check list, or other required documentation, it is an indicator that they have not adequately prepared for the job.
Same as the crew for Van Halen, if something is not done correctly, then there will most likely be a safety problem. Time to do a thorough check.
Ira Glass and John Flansburgh from the band They Might Be Giants talk about this story on the radio show This American Life. You can listen to it here: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/386/fine-print
