Ist Issue September

B.C. LUMBER WORKER

jggests aggressive action ap-
fing area in which controls
determined. It implies the

id forces that can be effec-
to secure conditions that
s to the end in view.

pletely eliminated as haz-

4 always present, and there

tendency to disregard the
pulsive acts.

jmeans the dexterous and

device, method, or tool

sion of risks and the growth

id deed.

© warfare against any con-
to people or damage to

ans ‘‘taking the lead out’,
ng busy with all the brains,
ledge that the good Lord

| into Nanaimo Lake.
| at great personal risk.

RESCUE WORK AT NANAIMO LAKES

| CAMERA GLIMPSES of police-directed efforts to recover the bodies of two loggers who met their death in the crummy which plunged off the road
Members of Local 1-80 IWA were commended for their prompt and courageous action in saving the lives of the survivors,

A review of these reports em-

being done, the social environ-
ment of the worker, his economic
status, his development of skills
and knowledge, his growth of
mature and stable attitudes and
viewpoints, and numerous other
elements that influence and de-
termine the rate of incidence of
accidental injury.

} Valuable Guide

As a result of experience with
thousands of accident reports and
investigations and by review of
|| numerous authoritative studies,
well defined impressions take
shape and lead to a certain in-
| disputable conclusions that can be
|| a valuable guide to more effective
action in preventing accidental
‘occurrences.
It should be obvious that there
is a wide variation in the degree
of hazards to which people are
exposed in any sphere of life, and
it is reasonable to assume that
the incidence of accidents bears a
definite relation to degree of

hazard and length of exposure.

Accident Study

A study of the accident experi-

|

By ARTHUR FRANCIS

Chief Inspector
Workmen’s Compensation Board

The 1954 edition of Accident Facts, published by the
National Safety Council, contains the report of a study |
of injury experience by age of worker. The report shows}
no significant variation in injury frequency rates for the!
various age groups, and the findings are substantiated by |
a similar analysis made by the Board.

phasizes the need for considera-| ence of a group of workmen, a
tion of many other qualifying| group of firms, or a group of
factors such as the type of work| industries over a period of time

reveals that most accidents hap-
pen to persons or units having an
average accident record, In other
words, over a long period of time
the bulk of accidents is composed
of relatively solitary experiences
of large numbers of persons.

It is frequently stated that a
small number of persons, or firms
is responsible for the majority of
accidents in a group. While this
is true, it is not generally under-
stood that over an. extended per-
iod of time the identity of those
accounting for the accidents is
not constant. -

The accident group is ever-
changing with new persons being
included and replacing those who
drop out of the group.

. No One Immune

No one is immune from the
effects of coincidence of accident-
provoking factors. On the con-
trary, accident statistics indicate
such a natural propensity for get-
ting injured that proneness to
accidents could be said to be a
common human characteristic.

But in consideration of the
statements in the previous para-

graph, it can be deduced that ac-
cident proneness in an individual
is not a fixed quantity and there
are varying degrees of proneness
rather than the complete pres-
ence or absence of same.

Accident Proneness

Accident proneness is associat-
ed with the variations in the
ability of individuals to adjust
and adapt themselves to their
environment, and because it is a
| peculiar characteristic of people
| to have different responses under
| different environments, it is not
unusual to find an individual ex-
hibiting an unusual degree of
prudence at work with no regard
for safety at home, while his be-
havior in driving a car could be
that of an extremely accident
prone person.

The psychological aspects of
| an individual, such as irresponsi-
| bility, immaturity, and maladju:
ment, appear to be more signifi-
cant in accident causation than
intellectual capacity, acquired
abilities, skills, or knowledge. The
deeply concentrating intellectual
and the person of low mentality
can be equally oblivious of
threatening conditions.

Traffic Statistics

A study of traffic accident sta-
tistics will prove that an irres-
ponsible attitude is a greater
cause of accidents than the lack
of ability to drive competently,
and that people from all stations
of life have equal susceptibility
to being involved in motor vehicle
mishaps.

From the industrial point of
view, the relatively large num-
ber of accidents to supervisors
and managers would indicate a
higher degree of accident prone-
ness than the men working under
them and who are frequently ac-
cused of stupidity and careless-
ness.

Life Changes

In the normal course of a life
span it could be expected that
anyone might pass through a
stage of temporary accident
proneness as a result of external
changes in environment, internal
changes of physical or mental
health, or because of emotional
strain or conflict.

As conditions improve, prob-
lems are solved or the individual
adjusts himself to conditions or
builds up a physiological or psy-
chological defence, his degree of
proneness changes accordingly.

Mental Ability

Those individuals who are lack-
ing in normal mental ability, phy-
sical dexterity, co-ordination, or
emotional ,stability may contain
a high degree of accident prone-

| Facts Prove Program’s Value

ness throughout life.

This type of individual, how-
ever, accounts. for only a small
percentage of accidents. A pro-
gram aimed only at this type of
person would be wholly inade-
quate and most likely ineffective.

Safety Programme

A safety program, to be effec-
tive, must be based on the as-
sumption that all people are acci-
dent prone, The man who is
safety conscious today might be
the accident victim of tomorrow.

The task of the safety move-
ment is to condition the minds
and attitudes of those who will be
candidates for tomorrow’s’ acci-
dents so that they can build up,
not an immunity, but an intelli-
gent and informed awareness of
the threats to health and happi-
ness.

They sped over a railroad
crossing, inches ahead of an on-
rushing train.

“Boy! was that close,” gasped
a passenger in the auto. “But
why were you blowing your
horn? Didn't you know it would-
n't do any good?”

“That wasn’t my horn. It was
Gabriel’s.”

SAFETY
Is
ALWAYS
IN
STYLE