ee Oe B.C. LUMBER WORKER January 17. 1952 Entered For National Award IWA District Officers have entered the safety pages of the B.C. Lumber Worker. in the contest for the interna- tional award of the National Safety Council for the best Presentation of safety ma- terial in, an employee publi- cation. It has been the prevailing opinion among safety engi- neers that these safety pages, which have been made possible by labor- manage- ment - government co-opera- tion, lead the field in labor publications, ACCIDENT RATE DOWN Proof that a safety program which achieves a reduction of the accident frequency rate in any one year, can be relied upon for still further reduc- tions in succeeding years, is found in the safety reports of MacMillan & Bloedel Ltd. op- erations and those of B.C. Forest Products Ltd., safety engineers maintain. For the first eleven months of 1951, the ayerage accident fre- quency rate for the MacMillan & Bloedel plywood operations de- clined from 20.60 to 17.48. The rate in sawmill operations went down from 26.62 to 21.49. Logging operations revealed a wide variation, but the average accident rate was reduced from 90.80 to 73.83, Low figure in log- ging was 53.01, and the highest was 171.29. Sawmills of B.C. Forest Pro- ducts report a reduction in the accident frequency rate to 17.51 for the group, with Youbou mill leading with a rate of only 9.41 for the period. Logging operations of this company reduced the rate to 76.21, with a variation of from 109.75 to 38.29, The accident frequency vate for the whole industry during the first nine months was, in logging, 134.21; for sawmills, 57.32; and for plywood plants, 42.39. In the 11 months, mills in the B.C. Lumber Manufacturers’ As- sociation recorded a rate of 33. Safety Belt Saves Feeder A hog feéder working in one of the Vancouver mills had a nar- ow escape from a horrible death. While feeding lumber into the hog, his picaroon slipped from a piece of lumber causing him to over-balance and end up suspend- ed head-first in the throat of the hog. But for the fact that this man had the good sense to believe in Safety and was wearing his Safety belt, he would have land- ed into the cutting machines. which chip the lumber passing through, and have been hacked to death before help could reach him. This man, you can be sure, will always remember this experience and his Safety belt will always be worn. Perhaps it would be a good thing if other hog feeders who kick at wearing their Safety belts went through this same ex- perience, it might show them the error of their ways. WORE RING; LOST FINGER he MISSUS wanted her ring husband to keep his wedding ring on all the time. He did—until he caught the finger on a drill préss. Now he can’t wear his wedding ring on the proper finger, because that fin- ger was torn off, INDIFFERENCE SINDUSTRYS ‘THE official report that 93 lumber:work- ers were killed and 11,272 injured during 1951 should explode into furious thinking about safety among the survivors in the B. C. lumber industry. If all the victims had been killed and injured in fhe same accident, the news report would have been headlined around the world as a calamity of the first magnitude. Five or six deaths a month cause little com- ment. Except for those immediately concerned, these deaths are for the most part shrugged off as an inevitable feature of an industry notorious for man-killing. Too many are too ready to accept death and crippling .accident as working partners, and be- lieve that such is the natural order of things for those who work with logs or lumber. Anyone who believes that death or crip- pling accident is just a happenstance “when your number is up” is writing an invitation to death. Self-preservation is the first law for lumber workers as, it is for other human beings. OUR first thought about the 1951 casualty list should be to recognize that men in the prime of life were cruelly snuffed out. Homes were bereaved, and sorrow scarred the lives of those who weep in silence. Among the injured, men are crawling on the scrap heap, who should be able to walk upright, and with usefulness. Our next thought should be to note well that the most of the fatal and serious accidents could have been pre- vented. Investigation proves this point. Vague generaliza- tions provide no satisfactory alibi. We get at the truth when we face the established facts, accident by accident. Too often the victim took a needless visk. Occasion- ally equipment was defective. Sometimes supervision was inadequate. Inexperienced and young “eager beavers” got caught, because they were never prop- erly trained. In some instances, subordinate product- tion men were in too much of a hurry to remember that “the safe way is the efficient way”. The factors which caused the majority of the tragic deaths are capable of control. It is this truth that must be driven into the minds of every man in every operation, whatever position he holds. ANOTHER fact about the 1951 experience is that where safety has been adequately promoted the accident rate has been reduced and the reduction maintained. This proves that safety can be made a reality through effective cooperation on the job. It must be so complete as to occupy the thoughts of every man on the job, boss and worker, during every hour of ihe day’s work. The Union wants safety, and has written this large in the contract. The Workmen’s Compensation Board wants safe conditions, and has accepted suggested safety measures of proven practicability. Top manage- ment wants safety as promoting efficiency as well as humane labor-management relations. The weak links in the chain are those who, whether they are in a supervisory position or not, are, for various reasons, indifferent to considerations of safety. The all-important question is what to do now to over- come this weakness of indifference to safety, wherever it appears. The only satisfactory answer to the question for the workers is to be found in the right kind of organization on the job, as provided for in the contract. little thought will show every lumber worker what can be done to protect life and limb if every worker on the job actively assists in the work of a well-organized job safety committee. A job safety committee has the right and the power under the law and the contract to stop unsafe practices. No man subject to penalty under the law can be forced to work in violation of the law. Better still, the job safety committee can systemati- cally work to eliminate hazards, and forestall accidents. Still better, the job safety committee can make safety the tradition of the operation, against which no worker or supervisory official dare offend, if all are united in the de- termination to work safely. Enthusiasm for safety is com- municable. From every side, an honest and well-informed job safety committee will get ample backing. This effort might be tough for a while, but the final results will surely pay off. It’s through the job safety committees that the IWA will eventually banish this dreadful shadow of death. INJURIES - - 11,272 Dec. - 1951 PPAIHS------ 12 INJURIES - - - - - - 927 YOULL WORK SAFER BY FAC. Uf YOUR HEALTHS UPTO PAR...