6

B.C. LUMBER WORKER

1st Issue December

EUREKA SAW MILL .
HAS 340 SAFE DAYS

The exceptional safety record achieved by the employees of the
Eureka Saw Mills Ltd., Nanalmo, who have to date worked 340 accl-
dent-free days, Is the result of @ well planned safety program, started
last year by the plant Safety Committee. The following article by
Allstalr MacLeod gives the program in detall. :

By ALISTAIR MACLEOD
Local 1-80, I.W.A.

The old adage “It pays to be Careful” has been proven
to the satisfaction of the employees of Eureka Saw Mills.

Three hundred and thirty-five days to date without a
compensable accident is a record that employees and man-
agement can justly be proud of.

It is a clean record. No em-
ployees hobbling around with
splints and casts, suffering the
anguish of pain and discomfort,
in order to win a pennant or
plaque. The Eureka Safety Com-
mittee would never condone such
conditions within any plant.

Brief History

For three consecutive years the
incident rate of compensable ac-
cidents in Eureka Saw Mills had
reached an alarming high, and
to make matters worse employees
were conscious of the fact that
they weren't entirely immune
from the occasional fatality.

November 1952 saw the job
stewards declaring war on acci-
dents and possible fatalities. Ac-
cordingly, a new Safety Commit-
tee was elected that month, and
the representatives of the Com-
pensation Board, along with John
'T. Atkinson and the Company’s
representatives were called in our
first meeting, to assist in giving
the Safety Committee the status
and stability which it appallingly
Jacked on previous occasions.

On that historical date, the
Eureka Safety Committee took
the initiative, and today we are

roud to look back on our record
with glee, and not in. the light
of the former gloom and despair.

Four Points
We believe the following. four
key points are the secret of our
successes. ;
1. Efficient working Safety
Committee.
2. Co-operation with Man-

ination of bottlenecks
and hazards.
4, Rest periods.

An efficient working Safety
Committee is not only desirable,
but essential if the maximum
results in safety work are to be
obtained. Too many safety com-
mittees are prone to wander off
on various tangents instead of

sticking
hand.
A discussion on a workers’
sprained ankle, in some commit-
tees, might terminate in a post-
mortem on Betty Grable’s shapely
legs, unless the members have

with the business at

acquainted themselves with the

fact that irrelevancy adds noth-
ing to the subject matter.

Therefore it is important that
a rigid adherence to the business
on hand be complied with, other-
wise nothing is accomplished,
only useless hours of Committee
work spent in unnecessary yawn-
ing. 5

Our Safety Committee has
acquired the technique of facil-
itating business to obtain the
maximum results in the shortest
possible time. This, we think, is
one of the things conducive to
the record we have established
to date.

All Cooperate

No safety committee can get
results if it is operating with
management in an atmosphere
charged with tension. Too often
workmen overlook the fact that
the Top Brass in any operation
is too preoccupied with more im-
portant work to give the utmost
attention to Safety work details.

However, what may appear as
a detail to the Management on
the one hand, might look like a
multitude of sins to the workman,
on the other. Hence an attitude
of belligerency is cultivated, and

the problem arises to reconcile |

the differences.

Usually the management will
lend an attentive ear to any de-
tail in dispute, if it can be shown
that a hazard is a hindrance to
production. Hazards can mean
a loss in ‘dollars as well as a
loss in lives, and when you have
convinéed the management of
this, you have taken’ the initial
step towards the desired cooper-
ation. 4 .

1953 COAST LOGGING ACCIDENTS

‘Dead...

OCCUPATION — Cat Driver
AGE 23
» DATE — February 27

A tree length log was being skidded with a cat.

Going around a corner the log wedged and the winch cable came

loose.

The line whipped and hit the Cat Driver on the back of the head,

killing him.

The tractor was not guarded and the driver did not wear a

hard hat.

A safety program is useless
without cooperation of the man-
agement. Unfortunately many
employers fail to realize how
numerous safety questions can
seriously impede the production.
On this score, we in the Eureka
have a few complaints.

Many Feet

The philosophy of “Keep her
Rolling” is an inane one, if the
means of keeping her rolling are
not functioning. What is the ob-
ject of having Roll Casings, if
the rolls are not functioning, or
transfer chains, if they fail to
transfer lumber? Yet, some mills
have been known to operate in
that state.

The foreman’s only objective
(regardless of the state of the

'machinery) is “‘so many feet of

lumber per day,” and the head
millwright’s objective “expenses
down to a minimum.” In some
plants, employees become the
Seapegoats of this policy, and the
resulting bottlenecks of accum-
ulated lumber occasionally be-
come the target of many an irate
assault.

Hot Potatoes

Pickaroons and peevies, at the
command of “keep her rolling”
would fly in all directions, while
employees passed lumber to one
another like hot potatoes. And
the aftermath of these reckless
encounters was generally a visit
to the doctor for the required
number of stitches, and both the
employer ‘and employee became
the victims of lost time.

The Eureka Safety Committee
is fully conscious of the nature of
these bottlenecks and the dan-
gers involved. Our foreman and
millwrights put special emphasis
on the smooth and efficient oper-
ation of all moving parts of ma-
chinery, and the maximum degree
of cooperation is given the Safety
Committee in this respect.

Stop accidents before they |

stop you.

Any accident, ever so slight,
can upset plans and spoil fun.
Accidents nearly always’ happen
to people who let them happen.

“Good morning, ma’am. I’m
from the gas company. I under-
stand there’s something in the
house that won’t work.”

“Yes, he’s upstairs.”

eewanr

Barber, looking at young man's
sleek hair: “Do you want it cut
or shall I just change the oil?”

ee ie

Many a small boy is the kind
of a kid his, mother tells him not
to play with,

Safer
Walk

In Use |

At sawmills where lumber is
loaded on to scows, easy access
for workmen is often a problem.
The scows must be moored to
allow for the rise and fall of the
tide and the slackness of the|
mooring often allows it to drift
a number of feet from the dock.

Further, at high tide the floon|
of the scow may be above or
nearly level with the dock while!
at low tide’ it may be consider-
ably below dock level.

Usually before the first lumber
is loaded on the scow, workmen
have to clean up debris, place
strips and prepare for loading.
When the scow is ‘against the
dock, a properly built and equip-
ped ladder may be used by the
workmen to get aboard.

However, if it has drifted a
number of feet away from the
dock, a ladder may not be used
safely and other means of access
must be found. One method is
for workmen to ride the spreader
bar of the crane on to the scow.

This is considered a safe prac-
tice if the worker has adequate
hand holds, (The riding of loads
of lumber should NOT be per-
mitted). In.some instances planks
are used to bridge the distance
to the scow, but these are often
difficult to handle and may result
in workers injuring themselves
by over-exertion.

Again, the dimension of the
plank used is not always ade-
quate and the slope often necessi-
tates cleats for safe travel, even
in the absence of frost and snow.

To overcome the many prob-
lems mentioned above, one com-
pany has installed a retractable,
easy - to- handle walkway made
from a piece of 4”x 16” straight
grained Douglas fir, 30 feet long,

One set of rollers between
which the walkway passes can be
seen, another set of identical roll-
ers is under the deck, eight feet
back from those shown. A hand
vail is attached and extends to
within four feet of the end of the
walk.

When the walkway, with its
handrail, is not in use, the whole
assembly is rolled back under the
dock, Thus there is no obstruc-
tion by the handrail across the
permanent walk. ‘The painted
end of the plank warns pedes-
trians of the. hazard at floor level.

This walkway can be easily
rolled out to the desired distance
by a workman on the dock, or it
may be pulled out over the scow
by means of the rope fastened to

Keep Your

In spite of the fact that Se
ing is to keep the hands in 2
experienced boxer has been,
guard and thus exposed hifu

Our records show a largé
who were fortunate enough, ail
the dangers of war, only to ret
injured by some simple hax™

&

Almost any driver of a, m
after safely negotiating some
difficult condition of traffic he’
relax physically and mentally-
able for accidents. we
&

On the new Granville Stre
girders were set in place {0
False Creek, there must havt!
thankfulness by the hundrdf
skillfully and prudently guarc
risks of this dangerous tasks)
plunged to his death when he
being completed. %

The expression ‘‘Eternal vi
is a truth that has been quoted
so often that there are few yb
are few, too, who would a9

As we enter the last lap &
a tendency to forget vigilare
proaching festive season off
tion. Unfortunately these ‘i
many people into dropping,
tracted, chances are riskeda
results.

You are urged in all seri
constantly on guard againsti
dangers of traffic and the %
Christmas season may be a
versary of unforgetable hearia

oH

Workmen's Con

ADAM BELL, Char
F. P, ARCHIBALD,
CHRIS. W. PRITC/
E: V. ABLETT, CB

the end of the plank.

ao

“id id bia aire

CWE US YOUR IDEAS OM SAFETY