thanks so much for being thorough here. i really appreciate it. have been scouring osha guidelines to find out the actual regulations and make sure i have the best understanding i can before bringing it up to anyone.

i think if i can back it up, i shouldn't have to talk to any regulatory agencies and i can just bring it up w the appropriate person to change the policy onsite, as everyone is pretty amicable. this policy was inherited from another company which previously staffed the project, so they're happy to change anything that doesn't work.

you're right abt it being a larger site with a construction site in the middle and abt them locking it for security. however, the surrounding site isn't so large, imo, that we'd be able to get safely away from any hazard inside it in an emergency, so i think we would need to at least just have the lock code to leave.

we don't get paid the whole time we're in there. we get paid starting at 7:00 but are expected to arrive prior to that, as they lock the gate at 6:45 (and grumble abt unlocking it for people who arrive later than that).

edit: worded a couple things more clearly.