B.C. LUMBER WORKER Page Seven e no division between labor and management. and the boss have the common bond of being factor in all accidents. pclfere of all. have a common interest in the safety and pros- refore... ITE FOR SAFETY ‘AIN A STRONG AND ACTIVE JOINT MANAGEMENT SAFETY COMMITTEE Ways, giving a record of four Mecidents in 50-odd days. Phe accidents for the year 849 were 86, with 55 for day it and 31 for night shift, as mst 89 accizents in 1948. does not look like much ovement for 1949, but with se in hours of expos- and the completion of the Without a fatality, plus one’ major accident, the Fraser Mills Sub-Local is really well on its way to carrying out its endeavor of 100 percent safety. Work safely, play safely, and wear that safety equipment! C. Spooner, Safety Committee Member, Fraser Mills, Sub-Local 1-357, IWA. Trail Of The White Elephant Believed to be something of a record, Mr. Jim Millar, person- nel manager for Victoria Lum- ber Co., Ltd., reports that there were no compensable accidents in the mill between Dec. 30 and Feb. 22. And this was in un- favorable winter weather. The White Elephant, the badge of a current compensable accident, is at present with Mx. Dave King, plant engineer, fol- Towing an accident in the con- struction department. Supportthe Red Cross PLAY IT SAFE, JOE! By Sawdust Sam JANUARY 9 The Union held their annual plant elections last week, and I was elected to represent my part of the plant on the Accident Prevention Committee. The Committee consists of six Union members elected by the Union rhembers on the job, and six people representing the Company. We met today, and I was chosen as Secretary of the Committee. Joe Brown, Per- sonnel Manager is my Chairman. I have never been “het up” over this safety stuff, and thought that this was just a bit more soft soap by the company to keep the Union quiet. Hell, if you are going to get hurt you'll get hurt, and that’s that. However, the first thing that I learned at this meeting was that there is a lot of thought and work put into preventing accidents by both the Union and the company. First of all, there are the minutes of the monthly meetings to be recorded and copies sent to the Workmen’s Compensation Board and the Local Union office. All hazardous and dangerous places or conditions reported must go in the min- utes and the action or recommended correction noted, as well as the name of the person who is responsible for seeing that the action is carried out. We selected*an inspection committee consist- ing of two Union members and a company repre- sentative who are to cover the entire plant, look- ing for unguarded machinery, hazardous condi- tions, and unsafe ways of working, and bring in a report to the next meeting. Ordinary Joes We had a thorough discussion of all accidents oceurring during the preceding month which re- quired a visit to a doctor. It sure opened my eyes to see how Jack Smith, Harry Jones, Ted Saund- ers, Mike O’Conner, and Jock McIntosh asked questions and made suggestions and recommenda- tions. Just ordinary Joes like myself, but they knew the Accident Prevention regulations of the . W.C.B., and if there wasn’t one to fit, they could make one of their own. Of course, we did not al- ways see eye to eye with the company representa- tives, but everything was argued out around the table, till something satisfactory to everyone was arrived at. I did not have much to say, as I was trying to get down on paper what was being said, and found that sometimes there was quite a bit of “speed-up” which was almost too much for my (bunkhouse) shorthand. i Homework After the meeting adjourned we fellows from the Union got together for a few minutes, and Ted Saunders explained the ropes to me. I sure have a lot to learn. He gave me a copy of the Master Contract which sets out the composition of and the duties of the Accident Prevention Com- mittee. Also he gave me a copy of the Accident Prevention Regulations of the Workmen’s Comp- ensation Board, about 600 of them. Then he ended up by telling me that the men looked to me as a member of the committee to improve and main- tain the safety standards in the plant. I don’t just see where I am going to have time in the usual 24-hour day to do all that I am sup- posed to do. Looking over the notes I made to help in writing the minutes, it looks a8 though I will have a small book when I am through. They want them in the office tomorrow, so I guess I won't take the wife to the show tonight as I had promised. (Hope she will understand) and besides that, some midnight oil will have to be burned as well. JANUARY 20 .Well, I got the minutes of our last meeting written out, but I had to buy the wfe a new hat to make up for that show we missed. I have been finding out that this is one job that’ is on all the time, not just at the monthly meetings, Every day one or more of the Commit- tee gets reports of something that is not quite vight. One of the Hyster drivers came to me yester- diary of a safety man day with the complaint that some of the carrier loads did not have enough strips, which made them dangerous to pile. When Jack Smith and I checked up we found that there were several. We spent about a half hour finding out which shift and which green chain they came from and then went to see Ted Saunders. Together we went to see the Safety Supervisor, Bill Black. He listened to our story and said that he would at- tend to it right away. Today here are instructions in writing on all of the green chains, and the foremen are making the rounds to see that everyone understands them. Ted and Jack impressed upon me the need for immediate action on things that are likely to hurt someone, “never wait for the monthly meetin”, he said. “See the Safety Supervisor or a foreman at once. Several people could be hurt before the meeting is held.” JANUARY 25 This plant is quite modern in most parts, but some of it is about the same age as my granddad, and I’m not so young any more. The Union, through the Accident Prevention Committee has done a good job in seeing that the Company has guarded all gears, belts, and moving parts, but in spite of this there still is a bad accident once in a while. * Bad Accident Ted Saunders called the Committee off the job the other day to investigate an accident where a man had stepped on a jump saw. The saw ripped through his heel and up the back of his leg for about six inches, leaving a gash nearly half an inch wide. We went and looked the scene of the accident over, and talked to some of the boys who were around when it happened. This is the story as we got it. The man walked along the roll ease to straighten some lumber and slipped, stepping down onto the saw. It would never have happened had there been a proper guard over the saw. When we had all’the facts, we went to the fore- man of that department and demanded that a guard four feet square be hung from the roof over the saw, low enough that no one could walk over the hole. Also that the sides of the guard be marked to show that there was a saw there. Too bad that a man had to be hurt before any- one noticed that the guard was missing. It just goes to prove that you need to have your eyes open all the time. Also that you can become care- less by constant exposure to danger. The old adage “familiarity breeds contempt” sure is true. The man who was hurt had been on that job for two years. First Aid While we were investigating the accident we also checked up on the First Aid Room and the attendant. Everything was in order there. The company has more than the vequired supplies and equipment. Joe Collins, the attendant knows his stuff. I made note that I must get to know him better, since he gets the first hand dope on all the accidents. He told us that he had noticed that any de- partment with a large number of small accidents will sooner or later come up with a bad one. Looks like it could be the law of averages. In his opin- ion, minor accidents should be investigated as well as the more severe ones, and so prevent some of the bad ones happening. He is strong for proper training of workmen for each job. He says that his records show that a large number of accidents are due to either lack of knowledge or carelessness on the part of the workman, < $64 Question This accident prevention is getting more in: teresting and more important to me daily, One question that no one has been able to answer for me yet, though, is this: Why doesn’t every * Union member take more interest in prevent- ing accidents and in the accident prevention committee? I think I had better bring this up at the next Local meeting under good and wel- are. : (With apologies to Bill Andrews, National Safety News.)