B.C. LUMBER WORKER

CITY PLANT |
CELEBRATES
2nd AWARD

To celebrate the remarkable
progress made in the reduction
of accidents at this mill, the
management of Robertson &
kett Mills, Ltd, held a
Safety Committee dinner at
Peter Pan Cafe in Vancouver
on April 27th.

Those present were: Mr. Reg
A. Fry, Assistant. General Man-
ager; W. M. Allison, Safety
Director of B.C, Lumber Manv-|
facturers Association; members
of the plant safety committee in-
cluded John H. Peterson, Super-
intendent; Hugh L. Playfair,
Safety Director; Bob Sutherland,
Assistant Safety Director and
First: Aid Attendant; Al Han-
more, Head Millwright; F. E.|
Clarke, Planermill Foreman; F.|
M. Webber, Mill Foreman; A. E.
Browne, Kiln Foreman; Richard |
Carlson, Head Shop Steward, and
James Burns. Others represent-
ing the Union were Alec Mintie,
Bert Turner, G. Ardron, R. Ken-|
nedy, R. Farnlow and G. A.
Smith. Also present were Elmer
Kennedy, sawyer, and W. C.
Stréeter, filer.

Mr. Fry, chairman, highly com-
plimented the work of the Safety
Committee and asked them to re-
double their efforts to maintain
the high standard of safety at-
tained during the past two years.
He then introduced Safety Direc-
tor Hugh Playfair, who pointed
out that in 1948 there were 58
compensable accidents. But as
the result of the safety education,
publicity and whole-hearted co-
operation compensables dropped
sharply to 12 in 1949, and in 1950
there were only six

Said Mr. Playfair: “It is an in-
teresting commentary on the
efficacy of a program where
management, labor and the Union
collaborate to achieve a common
objective. In just two years of
constant endeavor, the mill has
established an enviable safety
record, and you, as members of
the Safety Committee, have help-
ed to make this possible by your
vigilance, your leadership, your
unselfish co-operation and by
your own good example.”
“Scotty” Allison spoke on the
duties of a Safety Committee,
and réminded those present of
the forthcoming Safety Week,

May 14 to 18. Following which |

he told an anecdote in a typical
Allisonian manner. Chairman Reg
Fry then opened the meeting to
a profitable hour and a half
group discussion on safety at the
mill.

Their fine record has won for |
Robertson & Hackett Mills the
Workmen's Compensation
Board’s Meritorious Safety Per-
formance Award for Group “C”

Cash prizes are awarded by
the safety committee, Youbou
Mill, B.C.F.P., for suggestions
submitted by employees and
considered worthy of attention.
Four such prizes were awarded
by decision of the committee
at the January meeting.

Suggestions which await the
attention of the committee and
which are of general interest are:

Slab Re-Saw

With reference to the above
machine, I would like to make the
following suggestions:

That the control buttons for
the out-feed rolls be moved for
the following reasons:

(a) When ,the machine is in mo-
tion and lumber being fed
through the operator has to
stand with this switch behind
his back.

(b) Lumber is guided ‘through
with the left hand and should
the left sleeve or glove be
caught in a sliver or piece of
bark dragging the operator’s
sleeve or hand to the rolls
and saw, it is almost impos-
sible to get at the stop but-
ton, as he is pulled away
from it and would also mean
a complete turn about to
reach it in time, if he was
lucky.

ACCIDENTS

never take
@ vacation

PLANT. LIGHTING

Many manufacturers who sup-
ply their employees with the best
of tools and equipment fail. to
consider the importance of the
worker’s eyes anid the handicap of
poor lighting.

Workers in poorly lighted
plants are, in effect, partially
blind-folded.

Good lighting, on the other
hand, sharpens a worker’s eye-
sight; increases production, bet-
ters workmanship, and a redue-

both in 1949 and in 1950.

tion of accidents are the results.

1950 Coast log

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YARDING & LOADING

Dead...

Age:

Occupation:
Experience:
Date:

5 |
The returning rigging, moving slowly, fouled the corner block

which failed. Gee
The line snapped free, siwashi
a sapling which struck one of two

31

Chokerman
Several Years
February 5, 1951

ing a stump down hill and striking
chokermen who were standing in

the bight of the line. The chokerman was not wearing a hard hat.

He was killed instantly.

‘i

| as regards safety in the industry

|. Owing to my foresight in wear-
ing gloves a little too large for
me, so far I have got away with |
it by being able to quickly with-
draw my hand from the glove
but maybe I won’t always be as
lucky; secondly, two or three
weeks ago, a sliver caught in my
jacket which grabbed and flung
me against the machine, I could
not get back to the buttons, and
had to stand there until half my
jacket was torn from me and left
me free to switch off the rolls.

If it is not practicable to move
these buttons, maybe a switch
bar as is fitted to the edger in
“B” mill could be installed.

Flares

| As a safety suggestion I’d like
to point out why a precaution
should be taken by men working
night shift on the boom. .

If a slip was made by a boom-
|man in the dark chances are he
| would strike his head on a nearby
jlog thus knocking him uncon-
|scious. He would have no way
|of notifying anyone and there-
| fore be destined to droywn.

| Whereas if a small lifebelt with
| 20 to 30 feet of fine cord attached
|to it with a chemical that ignites
|when it hits the water, his
| chances of being saved would be
| increased.

| I think this is a very logical
|idea because it is that used by
the Canadian Navy. As I do not
know the name of the chemical
right off hand it could be found

out from any marine dealer.
Boom-Men

In view of the definite discip-
linary steps being taken by the
Workmen’s Compensation Board

—and as by now sufficient time
has elapsed since the issue of the
existing safety equipment in the
boom department of this opera-
tion I would like to venture a
suggestion.

As the “Life Guard” equipment
|does not seem practical in. this
particular operation because
(a) All boom hands are required
| to swim and whatever a
| worker falls off of is still
| there within easy reach when

he comes up.
| (b) Many of the crew have fal-
| len in several times since the
issue of the “Life Guards”
but have never bothered to
use them.

|

|
|
|

HEY! KEEP
1T CLEAN:

A woman came into a Wichita,

coat on a dress rumpled around
her head.

She wasn’t headed for the
mental ward. She simply had
her eyelid caught in her dress
zipper. They unzipped her.

aoe

One young thing to another:
“He tried candy, flowers, jewels,
moonlight cruises—and they all
worked.”

ry

The manager and one of his
salesmen stood before a map on
which colored pins indicated the
representative in each area. “I’m
not going to fire you, Cart-
wright,” the manager said, “but
just to emphasize the insecurity
of your position I’m loosening
your pin a little.”

“Tye got a lot of things I want
to’ talk to you about,” tle wife
announced.

“That’s nice,” sighed the hus-
band. “Usually you want to talk
to me about a lot of things you

haven’t got.”

ee *

“It’s a good joke, isn’t it?” said
the cartoonist to the editor.

“4 very good joke,” replied the
editor, “the first time I heard it
I laughed till the tears ran down
my bib.”

Kansas, hospital with a house- |.

_CASH PRIZES AT YOUBOU
STIMULATE SAFETY IDEAS

There is one real danger on
this boom as regards safety—and
that is the danger of a sudden
slip and knocking oneself un-
conscious. Just to be stunned
would be disastrous if not seen
by other boommen. Three years
ago Dick Barnes had this experi-
ence at the dolphin nearest the
main mill—by slipping and strik-
ing his head on a piling. Luckily
the boomman on the steam winch
saw him fall, to drape over a
boom stick — his head’ under
water.

This accident could have easily

been fatal had he been out. on|

the long pocket or on the split
saw at the time.

With this view, I suggest that
it should be incorporated into the
plant safety rules that no boom
worker should proceed or work
at any place on the booming
ground which is not at the same
time within easy reach of a fel-
low worker.

Cost Of -
Mishaps

“Safety First” on. the Job is
the only insurance for beating

the high price of industrial acci-\

dents with its hidden cost, is re-
vealed in the new Safety Pam-
phlet, “Estimating Accident
Costs in Industry.”

Reliable cost information is an
essential basis for decisions upon
which efficiency and profit de-
pend. Safety engineers frequently
find that annual reports express-
ed in terms of dollar savings are
as meaningful to higher manage-
ment as those which use fre-
quency and severity figures. Most
large companies now issue Acci-
dent Report Cards to their super-
visors for use in compiling data
at scene of all accidents.

Questions asked in the Super-
visor’s Accident Report which

show hidden costs not covered by |

insurance
these:

i,

or compensation. are
How many workers (not in-
jured) lost time because
they were talking, watch-
ing, helping at accident?

How many workers lost
time through equipment
damaged in accident or be-
cause they needed the out-
put or aid of the injured
worker?

How much time did injured
worker lose on day of in-
jury for which he was paid ?

Will overtime work be
necessary to make up lost
production?

How much of supervisor's
time was used assisting, in-

vestigating, reporting, as- -

signing work, training or
instructing a substitute, or
making other adjustments?
A company having 120 acci-
dents for the year was able by
this method of checking, compute
their losses at $35,000. With
losses like these it is small won-
der that management is growing
more Safety Conscious every day.

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IT CAN HAPPEN HE
worker takes needless risk, :

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NEVER OIL MACHINERY
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GET FIRST AID PROMP
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