B

.C. LUMBER WORK

ER

a 4a Ay hy fy fe fe er fr tr er to te te or ts to,
VUVVVVVIGVVVGVIVVVVIST

PAGE

IWA Victim Blemeless
Management Blamed for Seath

Thomas Power, whose death at Honeymoon Bay was
reported in the last issue of the Lumberworker, was in no
way responsible for the accident which caused his death.
This was the word brought to the District Safety Council
meeting by Bro. J. Atkinson of Local 1-80.

Quoting from the transcript of
evidence at the coroner’s inquest,
Brother Atkinson presented con-
clusive evidence to Safety Coun-
cil members that it was defective
equipment and negligence on the
part of the management which
caused the fatal accident at
Honeymoon Bay on March 3.

Placing of responsibility for
the tragedy hinged upon the con-
dition of the mechanical stacker
from which the piece of lumber
fell which caused Power’s death.

All witnesses at the inquest
agreed that the stacker ran too
fast, and that there was no way
of slowing it down, as a new, and
larger gear, from the rear end
of a speeder had been installed
after the stacker had broken
down on a previous occasion.

Witnesses reported that hither-
to 2x10 Jumber had been the
largest piled by this stacker. In
fact there was on the loading
deck a notice, ee by the man-
agement,; which specifically li-
mited the use of this stacker to
lumber up to 2x10 in size. But
on the morning of the accident
the loading crew had orders to
pile 2x12 with it. A piece of this
2x12 “flipped” over the top of
the machine and fell on Power.

The notice limiting the use of
the stacker to 2x10 was removed
by the management the day after
an Bees

© coroner’s inquest, re-
ported Bro. Atkinson, the jury
‘was composed of two taxi drivers

FUNCTIONS OF SAFETY COUNCIL
EXPLAINED BY SKUZANSKI

By Michael A. Skuzanski
District Safety Director

The District Safety Council is
a committee organized to carry
out the District program for re-
ducing accidents and to act as a
co-ordinating body between the

unions and between the
ot committees in each Local.
't also handles compensation
cases and appeals,

The District Safety Council is
eager to give fullest co-operation
to all those working to prevent
accidents. Likewise, the Council

_ seeks co-operation from all locals,
ty committees and individual
b in carrying out its

ies about hase of
m are cordially invited.

Why Deo Accidents HAappen?

HUMAN and MACHINE
FAILURES NEEDLESS

By F. Hockey
Safety Director, Local 1-357, IWA

We are continually being told that man failure is the cause of

most of the industrial accidents.

man into a fighting mood, partly because of a misunderstanding of
the term. Partly because, as human beings, we hate to admit we
have done something wrong. And partly through the use of the

term to cover up.
——_——————

FOUND, wallet with per-
sonal papers including two
IWA membership books.
Owner to contact Manager
Carlton Hotel, Vancouver,
and identify.

and four storekeepers, who were
so unfamiliar with the operations
of a sawmill that they were able
to ask witnesses only two or
three questions. i

The representatives of the
Compensation Board, said Atkin-
son, seemed to be in the same
difficulty and asked only one or
two questions.

The rest of the evidence in the
2800-word transcript was elicited
by questions from Brother Atkin-
son, who attended the inquest as
representative of the union.

As a result of the evidence
brought out at the inquest, the
management has agreed to meet
the union and the Compensation
Board. At this meeting the union
representatives hope to persuade
the company to make a settle-
ment on the widow and the fa-
mily of the deceased man to sup-
plement the pension from the
Compensation Board.

CERTIFICATIONS
Labor Relations Board

International Woodworkers of
America, Local 1-71, CCL-CIO,
as to employees in the sawmill at
Wilson Greek, employed by Burns
and Jackson. Logging Co, Ltd.,
Vancouver,

International Woodworkers of
America, Local 1-367, CCL-CIO,
as to pole yard on Stave River at
the Lougheed Highway near Rus-
kin, employed by Silver Skagit
Logging Co. Ltd, Hope.

Compensation cases will be
handled when Local unions are
unable to handle them due to geo-
graphical difficulties. Appeals
from Compensation Board deci-
sions will be taken up at the re-
quest of local unions.

Just Remember—The road to
Easy Street does not lie through
first aid stations and hospitals.
If you want to know about acci-
dents, ask the fellow who had
one.

NATIONAL AWARD

The Dominion Rubber Co. at
St. Jerome, Que. has won the
National Safety Council's Dis-
tinguished Service to Safety
Award, the Excellence Shield,
and the Department of Labor To-
phy, for the lowest accident re-
cord among firms operating over
‘5 million man-hours during 1948,

The safety record of this com-
pany since 1946 shows 6.4 million
man-hours without a disabling

injury, indicating what can be
done to make industry safer,

Ontario accidents jumped from
168,00 in ’47 to 179,000 in *48,

thus increasing compensation
benefits

by over $5 million in

‘This statement has put many a

Some figures quoted have
placed human or man failures as
high as 88 per cent, while 10 per
cent‘is due to mechanical failure.
Only 2 percent of all accidents
are what might be termed “acts
of God”, or unpreventable.

Surveys of this kind are based
on the major cause of the acci-
dent. It is sometimes very hard
to point out one specific cause
of an accident, for in most acci-
dents there are a number of
causes.

Some are of a secondary na-
ture, but nevertheless play their
part in an accident. By weighing
one cause against another the
one of most importance can be
determined.

Unsafe Acis

Other surveys which allow a
secondary cause in the final state-
ment, quote the following fig-
ures in approximately 78 per cent
of the cases, there was a me-
chanical cause and 87 per cent
were caused by an unsafe act.
This method allows both types of
cause to be charged to the same
accident.

Take for example, a man using
a ladder which has a split rail.
He has been previously instructed
to inspect the ladder before us-
ing it, and not to use an unsafe
ladder. While in use, the split
rail breaks, throwing the man to
the ground and breaking his leg.

Using the second method of de-
termining causes we find an un-
safe act, he used an unsafe lad-
der against instructions. And an
unsafe mechanical condition, the
split rail.

Going back to the first method,
we find that an unsafe act was
the main cause of the accident
and the condition of the ladder
was a secondary cause which in
itself did not cause the accident.

Man failure is broken down in-
to two categories. The unsafe
act of persons and the unsafe
mechanical or physical conditions.
Both categories come under the
contol of man, because both are
produced by man.

The worker can control a great
deal by correcting these unsafe
acts:

1, Operating equipment
without authority.
Operating or working at
an unsafe speed.

Using unsafe equipment
or using equipment un-
safely.

. Making safety devices in-
operative.

Unsafe loading, piling or
mixing.

Taking unsafe position or
posture.

Working on moving or
dangerous equipment.
Distracting, teasing or
startling other workers.
Failure to use safe attire
or personal protective de-
vices.

Employers’ Duties

In the control of unsafe me-
chanical and physical conditions,
the workman can also perform a
service by reporting and remain-
ing on the scene until the con
tion is corrected. But the main
responsibility rests on manage-
ment, Some of the duties of man-
agement concern:

1, Improper guarding.

2, Defective, rough, sharp
and decayed equipment.
Unsafely designed ma-
chines or tools.
Hazardous arrangements
or procedure. <
Inadequate lighting and
ventilation.

Accidents are caused, they do
not just happen. The human be-
ing through his actions is respon-
sible for most accidents, There-
fore, through his actions, it is

to eliminate

2.

8.

9.

3.
4,
5.

DISTRICT COUNCIL

Inadequate Equipment Rapped

Moving into ee gear as the
logging camps begin to open up,
the BC, District Gouneil TWA
met on April ist at the District
Office to map their plans for the
coming season. :] z

Under the chairmanship of
Brother M. Skuzanski of Local
1-217, safety delegates from
seven local unions gathered to
discuss the problems of accident
prevention.

After a short address of wel-
come by District President Als-
bury, and the adoption of the
minutes of the January meeting,
read by Bro. Bill Gray, Secre-
tary, the council settled down to
a discussion of specific problems,
and dealt with a number of reso-
Tutions submitted by local safety
councils and committees.

It was decided to approach the
Compensation Board for stricter
regulations covering ventilation
of premises where welding is car-
ried on,

Considerable discussion took
place with regard to the provi-
sion of first aid kits. Brother
Gray pointed out that there are
regulations under the Compensa-
tion Act which set out in detail
the requirements and that each
safety committee should know
what they are.

Most delegates agreed that in
the larger camps and mills, ade-
quate first aid equipment is usu-
ally available, but in many smaller
operations there is often hardly
a bandage to be found. It was
decided to send copies of the
regulations to shop stewards in
operations where there are no
safety committees.

Provision of telephones in op-
erations located at a distance
from hospital and medical service
is another matter the Compensa-
tion Board will be asked to con-
sider.

The Board will also be ap-
proached by the Safety Council
to have the carriage of tins of
gasoline prohibited in crummies
which carry men to and from
work, .

A discussion on the provision
of hard hats resulted in a motion
instructing the secretary to pre-
pare a resolution for the wages
conference calling on the nego-
tiating committee to demand that
the free provision of hard hats
be included in the new agree-
ment.

Arising out of the report of
Bro. Atkinson on the recent fa~
tality at Honeymoon Bay, the
Council went on record as favor-
ing an amendment to the Juries
Act to provide in the case of an
industrial accident that the jury
should be drawn from workers in

the industry

LRB DECISION

Provisions of the Industrial
Conciliation and Arbitration Act
cannot be altered by Supreme
Court order.

This fact emerges from an
IWA action against the Board to
prohibit it from dealing with, or
certifying, any agents of the so-
called “WIUC”. ‘,

Mr, Justice Whittaker rejected
the application on the grounds
that he could not prevent the
board from exercising powers
conferred on it by the ICA Act.

At the same time, the judge
turned down a “WIUC” applica-
tion.

Because their applications for
certification did not specify op-
erations where the union mem-
bers work, he would not make
an order to the board to certify
any locals, nor would he make a
“blanket” order.

SEE,
1489 241>Vd
Joanoouey — sBuyseyy 450g Gy

OF OHA,

IVA Aa
syuowosinboy je2ipoyy snok ty
Ajddng uep

isioonuG

saliddns
alv suid
Sassnul
$1138 AdOa
sonua

S.AOLTMONN

That’s How We Wanted it, Boys!

J

COMPACT — RUGGED — PORTABLE
U.S. Army Field Telephones

LOGGERS, MINERS,

RANCHERS, CAMP

OWNERS, CONSTRUCTION MEN

The same as the Dominion Government Forestry
Branch have bought from me and are using from,

Coast-to-Coast.

© 2 ordinary flash-light batteries operate it;
© Each telephone has generator and bell;
© Range up to 17 miles;

e
°
gether.

SPECIAL PRICE FOR THIS

Connect to any existing lin
Isolated neighbors can easily hook up fo-

ISSUE: $16.50 per Phone

Mail Orders Accepted:

Apply H. CAMPBELL, c/o

Public Research Bureau

422 Richards Street, Vancouver, B.C.

WOODWARD’S
HAND MADE

LOGGING
BOOTS

=.) No. 1 Chrome Leather Uppers
@ Highest Grade Leather Soles
© Non-Rush Eyelets.

8-inch Tops.
Price Delivered _ $21.95