Math \eured’

STE sete

B.C. LUMBER WORKER : :

7

That emotional stress and
worry are factors which
may easily contribute to
Serious accidents was illus-
trated in a recent accident,
when a New Westminster
trailer - truck, loaded with
lumber overturned.

‘The illustrations on Page 5 de-
Pict the results,

On-the-spot investigation re-
vealed that the truck had been
properly loaded with 16,000 FBM
of dressed lumber, although with
a vated capacity of 20,000 FBM.

The load was well-balanced and j cal condition.

properly stripped. It was made
secure with four binder chains,
two on the front section and two
on the rear.

The roadway was level, and the
weather conditions favorable. The
driver lost truck balance, when
turning too sharply from the mill
yard, as the tire marks later in-
dicated.

Worried Driver

The human factor in the acci-
dent was faulty judgment on the
part of the driver. Only a short
time previously he had become a
father, and his wife was in a
Fraser Valley hospital in a criti-
His anxiety to

Worry Upset Truck

reach the hospital was reflected
in his driving.

Safety men who offered com-
ment on the circumstances,
stressed the necessity of guard-
ing against warped judgment
when under emotional stress, al-
though most sympathetic with
the driver’s understandable men-
tal attitude at the time of the
accident.

The period when a worker is
subject to anxiety regarding per-
sonal matters, is the period when
a worker should exercise the
highest degree of caution, or ask
to be relieved of hazardous work,
they said.

FEBRUARY

“s 195s

ACCIDENT
= TOLL —

1953 TOTAL

DEAD 8
INJURED 682

DEAD 13
INJURED 1,251

Eight more fatal accidents in
the month of February have been
reported by the Workmen’s Com-
pensation Board for the B.C.
Lumber industry, one occurring

February.

Time -loss accidents reported
for the same period were 682.

|
Total fatalities for 1953 are 13, |
in January and seven occuring in| with.1,251 injuries.

Recommendation of a Board
of Medical Specialists has been
accepted by the Workmen’s
Compensation Board regarding
the use of oxygen: therapy for
injured or suffocated workmen,
and steps are now being taken
to train First Aid Attendants

in the use of approved equip-
ment.

This information was conveyed
to a meeting of labor and man-
agement representatives sum-
moned to discuss the matter with
the Board on March 30th. IWA
District Safety Director John T.
Atkinson, and International
Board Member, William Gray,
were the sole representatives of
labor on the occasion.

The action was hailed by IWA
representatives as a vindication

of their repeated representations
on the subject.

W.C.B. Orders
‘Oxygen Use

On the grounds of simplicity, |

portability, and safety, the Board
has selected the inhalator type of
equipment. The medical men
present stated that such equip-
ment could be used with perfect
safety in dealing with all types
of injuries,

Group instructors will shortly
be trained, and they will in turn
undertake the instruction of First
Aid Attendants in the various
areas.

Era
THINK SAFE...
ACT SAFE...

BE SAFE

Minister
Advises
Caution

Hon. Milton F. Gregg, Min-
ister of Labor, has urged all
government employees to be
more careful and to take no
unnecessary chances of acci-
dent regardless of what their
occupation in the federal ser-
vice might be.

“This appeal to federal workers
was prompted by the Minister's

review of figures concerning ac-
cidents among government em-
ployees which required workmen's
compensation.

“A Little More Care”

“There is need among govern-
ment workers for more safety
consciousness,” Mr. Gregg con-
tinued. “Most accidents could
have been prevented by a little
forethought, a little more care, a
little greater safety consciousness
on the part. of someone.”

The Minister pointed out that
the government, as Canada’s
largest employer, like all good
employers, was concerned with
the ‘safety of its employees.
Therefore, accident statistics
were kept by the Government
Employees’ Compensation Branch
of the Federal Department. of
Labor in order that a close watch
could be maintained on the acci-
dent rate within the fedéral ser-
vice, and steps taken to encour-
age safety measures.

Safety Campaign

An intensive safety campaign,
sponsored by the Government
Employees’ Branch of the Labor
Department, had been undertaken
throughout government depart-
ments, stated Mr. Gregg.

A recent report on compensable
accidents among federal employ-
ees indicates that the accident
rate runs from eight to nine per-
cent, That is, the number of
compensable accidents is from
eight to nine percent of the total
number of federal employees
covered by workmen’s compensa-
tion.

AGE: 30

OCCUPATION: HEAD FALLER
EXPERIENCE: 4 or 5 YEARS

DATE: NOVEMBER 13, 1952.

The head faller was killed by the top of a felled tree which had
hung up after breaking off in the branches of a standing tree.

The faller chanced to be bucking a log below. when the top fell.