THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER a SAFETY PAGE UNGUARDED MACHINE SHAFT — UNSAFE WORK PROCEDURES KILL MEN By ANDY SMITH Regional Safety Director I have recently attended three inquests into fatalities in our industry — one, a con- struction worker fell some 25 feet and was killed; the other two involved hog machines. In one instance, the workman’s coat was caught by an unguarded revolving shaft and upon investigation it was discovered that both management and workers knew that the shaft was unguarded, which clearly -jndicates a lack of proper in- spection and action to safeguard these situations. Management is both legally and morally responsible to see that such conditions do not exist, but the Safety Com- mittee and the workmen themselves also have a responsibility to see that the worker is not exposed to such types of hazards as lack of guarding, proper safe work procedure, and enforcement of that procedure, and safe conditions. The other fatality, of a chipper operator, showed very clearly that there was a total lack of safe work procedure in the manner in which the work was being performed. In this instance, while the chipper: operator had a safety belt and rope that was in use while feeding the chipper, when he had to leave that station the procedure was to unsnap his rope from the ring on the chipper and feed conveyor and snap the snap into the ring of his belt, thus forming a loop that extended down his side for a distance of 2!4 feet. In at- tempting to reconstruct the accident, it appears that the chipper operator had left his station as chipper feeder and proceeded to the chip surge bin that was equipped with a spiked roller device to keep the chips from plugging up in the surge bin, and in order for him to reach that position he had to proceed up a set of stairs to the platform and from there were three more steps that they were in the habit of using to try and dislodge plugged chips in the surge bin. It is assumed that in the process of at- tempting to remove the hang- up, the safety belt broke, slipped over one of the spikes on the roller that was unguarded, and threw the operator into the mechanism. A check on all safety belts should be made to make sure that if the employee wearing a safety belt has to leave his stations, the rope should be permanently attached to his place of work so that when he leaves there he will unsnap the rope from his belt and will not have a loose appendage that may become entangled in any revolving equipment. A review of all job procedures should be carried out periodically to see that the proper methods are being used, or perhaps’_ im- provements may be made. One of the contributing factors to incidents and ac- cidents is the disregard to lockout procedure. A multiple lockout system should be used by all personnel who normally prepare machinery. Workers in this category should be issued with locks and multiple lock attachments. It will then be that worker’s individual responsibility to lockout the switch boxes of any equipment that must be worked on and . only they can unlock it when they have completed the job. Where more than one person must work on a machine or part of it, he will lockout the switch box and remove his individual lock as he com- pletes the part of the work he is doing. This will leave the person’s safety in his own hands. Machines must be stopped and locked out by any work- man when he is required to work in a location where the starting of that machine could constitute a hazard to himself. Procedure to follow should be as follows: 1. Shut off the power at the switch box. 2. Place your multiple lock attachment to the switch. 3. Lock the attachment into position with your lock. 4. Test the control buttons at the machine to make cer- tain the power is off. When more than one work- man is working on _ the machine, each shall place his lock on the multiple lock at- tachment and not depend on someone else for his safety. He may complete his work before you, and under no cir- cumstances are locks to be loaned or borrowed. As each workman who works on a machine places his lock to ensure his own safety it is up to that individual to remove his own lock when he completes a job or goes home. Local Unions should give careful consideration to in- formation about Search ’71 so that they may have as many -members attend as possible, because I am convinced that out of this exercise new avenues of communication in safety will be developed. ~ without of Brinsh Cotumba's workmens ComPensaTion BOARD Sams CENTENNIAL '71 SAFETY AWARD for having surpassed a target ct fost time wijury, during a period ending in 197) the hundredth year contegerancn with the Prowincea of Canada TES SAFETY PERFORMANCE DOES HONOUR TO ALL THOSE WHO CONTRIBUTED TO (TS ACHIEVEMENT SSuBes Ne “SEARCH 71" UNDERWAY Plans are well underway for the Workmen’s Compensa- tion Board sponsored “Search 71”, the largest joint manage- ment-labour safety conference ever held in British Columbia. More than 600 delegates are expected to attend the two day session which will be held at the Hotel Vancouver June 10 and 11, 1971. * Main Aim The main aim of the con- ference is to reduce work in- juries and deaths in B.C., through ever increasing co- operation between labour, management and other inter- ested groups. “Search 71” will confine its activities to on-the-job safety, and is unique in that it will be broken down into major industrial groups. The industries to be studied are broken down into nine sections: Coast Logging and Sawmills; Pulp and Paper; In- terior Logging and Sawmills; General Manufacturing; Trade & Service Industries; Construction and Allied Trades; Municipal, Provincial and Federal Governments; Transportation; and Mining & Smelting. Productive Discussion Within each section, “A Search Group,” compromised equally of both labour and management representatives will discuss and seek solutions to hazards and problems pecu- liar to that particular section. : Each Search Group will be led in their deliberations by an experienced discussi leader not associated with th industry concerned who will act as a catalyst to stimulate productive discussion. The “Search Groups” will deal with simulated incidents, hazards or situations applic- able to their industrial area of interest. Policy and plans for “Search 71” are being developed and directed by a steering com- mittee of 50 representatives of labour and management under the chairmanship of W.C.B. Commissioner R.B. Carpenter. Hazards Corrected “The conference is not de- signed to be an arena to air labour management differ- ences, but rather a forum to discuss mutually how safety hazards may best be correct- ed,” said Mr. Carpenter. Persons wishing to register for the Conference shoul write to the Workmen’s Com- pensation Board, 707 West ae Avenue, Vancouver 13, _ CAR SAFETY CONTROL "STABILIZERS" FOUND WORTHLESS. By SIDNEY MARGOLIUS Readers concerned over high gasoline prices this sum- mer are now wondering whether some of the gadgets. claimed to cut gas consump- tion actually can. One man asks about the G. T. Energy Chamber, a fuel- line device widely advertised as providing “30 days of driv- ing on a single tank of gas.” “With gas nearly 41 cents a gallon I sure could use some- thing like this,” he says. Been Debunked He probably can’t. Many devices claiming big gas sav- ings have been debunked over the years. In the case of the G. T. Energy Chamber, the National Better Business Bu- reau advised us: “There is no evidence that the G. T. Energy Chamber provides any useful function in an auto engine which is not already provided by a properly working fuel pump and carburetor. The de- vice is designed to save on gas under certain narrow con- ditions such as deceleration and gunning. It does not, as has been claimed, have any booster functions, and does not extract more piston driv- ing power.” Another gadget for which fabulous claims were made, which has been shown to be wholly useless, is Unitron. In fact, the three promoters of Unitron who did business as Sperry Dynamics Corporation and Penn Owens, Incorporat- ed, have been found guilty of mail fraud. They sold over a million dollars worth of these gadgets, the Post Office De- partment reports. One of the men, Monroe Caine, now also has been indicted on mail fraud charges for selling a “gas-saver” under the name of Reynolds Republic. Auto Stabilizers But even paying $6 for a purported gas - saving attach- ment with little or no useful- ness is not as serious as the recurring promotions for auto “stabilizers” or “safety con- trols” which cost several hun- dred dollars. One of the most persistent promotions has been for the “Gyro-Matic Safety Control.” This is a metal bar weighing about 50 pounds which is sus- pended in the trunk of a car so that it has a slight end-to- ned motion. It is promoted by a Texas company, Allstates Safety Control. : Distributors sell the “Gyro- Matic” for $298-$400. But auto ° accessory specialists consulted by the St. Louis Better Busi- ness Bureau estimate that it costs about $40 to make. No Improvement The Missouri Assistant At- torney General stated that claims made for the device’s use of gyroscopic principles were not correct. The National Safety Council, which tested the device, found no circum- stances in which it significant- ly improved car performance. In California, a consent judg- ment was entered in the Su- perior Court enjoining the dis- tributor from making f claims in that state. Working people seeking to earn extra money also can get involved in the stabilized pro- motions in another serious way. Stabilizers are one of a number of products and ser- vices (cosmetics, discount- house. “founderships,” Hong- Kong suits, etc.) being pro- moted by often ill-fated multi- distributor plans. In these plans, the promot- ers seek investors at several levels who buy a certain num- ber of units and then are sup- _ posed to get a percentage of the profit on sales made lower-level distributors ¥ they recruit.