simonsayscode
If you're looking for tips in how to approach, I like to reference http://www.designkit.org/ for practical steps and directions. If you're nervous about finding users still, and want them to come to you, you'll probably have to pay for that privilege but luckily you can use something like (https://www.userinterviews.com/signup/MTI3Ni0x) Full disclosure - if you sign up for that link you'll get 3 free user interview sessions (but you'll still have to pay the users themselves) and I'll get 3 free participants too for referral.
End of the day though, you've got to just suck it up and just walk to someone and put yourself out there. I like to think of it as you're acting like you're a confident, approachable person who's got a really interesting thing to talk to them about. It helps me overcome my shyness that's my "normal" self.
Also, a must do though, is think through beforehand what you want to ask them. Create a script that way you can standardize what you want to cover. You can do some test runs of these scripts with friends who would most resemble your users. That way you can build up confidence in your delivery and content.
Best of luck!
That being said, I could easily imagine some charity that either sells these designs at an extremely (or free) discounted rate to these workers in an effort to relieve back pain and the myriad of other physiological issues the traditional pole yields.
I would argue that a quorum of engineers would generally agree with whatever is justifiably deviating from best practices. If it makes sense to you because of good engineering reasons, then it should probably make sense to other engineers. Reality perhaps dictates otherwise, but that's what it should strive for.
Whenever something deviates from best practices, I would think that that raises a red flag for justification of difference.