In our office when I was very junior, the attendance book was ruled off by a clerical assistant (women weren't allowed to be clerks in those days) who ruled the place, including the technical staff, with a rod of iron. One day, she was a couple of minutes late, and there was almost a queue to rule off the book before she arrived.
Re RSMs shouting, most can and do when necessary, but beware when they engage negative shouting mode, i.e. they speak so softly that you can barely hear them. That's when you know they are really serious.