Al,
You know where that board would be if you tried that with a bunch of navvies!!
And when was the last time you saw engineers and crews doing a "FOD PLOD" at a major airport? That is why airports have industrial street/apron sweeping machines. But as the Concorde incident proved, anything can happen.
It becomes second nature, well it did to me and my fellow engineers, to pick up anything on the ramp that may cause damage. When the siren goes off you don't have time for a "FOD PLOD".
3D