As to half with and half without ID cards being an issue, it depends upon who is doing the auditing, and what standards they are representing. If you were using a proprietary service company to track ID cards, I'm sure the "issue" would be cause for concern, as this could be a contractual standard. And then there are the "real" standards that operators use no matter what.

It is your own operators with whom I'd be concerned. In these uncertain times, operators are NOT given to complaining out loud to their employers (hear: quietly angry). Yet, privately some will have already considered absurdity #251 as an example of yet another reason to believe that "management" is indecisive, secretive, arrogant...and next week they might find themselves in the wrong half.

For your management's credibility, it might be a good idea to simply let everyone know that the experiment with ID Cards for operators will officially end on a specific date; they will no longer be issued anew; and carrying them is purely optional. If you do this, expect 25 year hence that a few of the old-timers are still carrying their card!

Best wishes,

Joe