2nd Issue, August B.C. LUMBER WORKER f dividuality, independence of ‘on can be a commendable t of place in group under- dence of members makes ent for success. is a necessary component of the individual to con- the fundamental principle . of individual efforts Any the group or a detachment rt will decrease group effec- an associated group must nm the members of the group. if the safety movement. The w and the personal safety of the degree of teamwork ember of the crew. f the total effort. It is co- t treet that makes work easier ke man that does his share full praticipation by the in- ito be enjoyed by the group. fring of responsibility and ice and time. It is the co- justment of abilities. It re- Wvarying viewpoints and al- llow workers. 1 g of individual skills, know- rganized and concentrated the group, ‘ vantage for yourself, be a ie safety movement. , ie ensation Board — leretary ARD, Commissioner issioner B.C. COUNCIL WINS OFFICERS’ PRAISE Delegates attending the tional Convention in Milwaukee heard the Internationa] Officers state that District Council No. 1 has set an out- standing example in the field of safety. The Officers’ Reports on this subject stated: “The safety reports that are available to us from the indus- try and the Federal Government indicate that there has been some improvement in the reduc- ing of the accident frequency and fatality rates in lumber and related products so far this year. However, we have to point out that the records submitted to the government, covering much of our industry, are woefully in- adequate. A In this latter connection, we are very much interested in a bill (H.R. 4877) submitted to this last session of Congress by Representative Bailey from West Virginia calling for greater fed- eral assistance to state agencies administering laws in their ef- forts to promote, establish and maintain safe working places and practices in industry, thereby | reducing human suffering and/ financial loss and increasing pro- duction through safeguarding available manpower. . Survey Made In a survey that we conducted several years ago with each state wherein we -have Woodworker membership, it was found that in two-thirds of them no ade- quate records were being kept for the sole reason that not enough money was being ap- propriated at the state level to enable the Industrial Safety Commissioner in those states to properly administer safety or de- yelop statistical data. Time and time again we have called this to the attention of the U.S. Department of Labor, Bur- eau of Standards, which is di- rectly concerned with safety statistics, but they have stated ‘that they are powerless to do anything unless the states would ask them to assist. Representa- tive Bailey’s bill would provide the Department of Labor with the funds und the tools to help the states properly administer their safety regulations. We strongly endorse this measure as a step in the right direciton. The B.C. District Council No. 1 continues to set an out- standing example of what can be accomplished when the Union is accepted by manage- ment as a partner in the safety programs so vitally necessary in our industry. The Interna- tional Woodworkers have been complimented on all sides for the récord and contribution that it has made toward safety in British Columbia. The B.C. Lumber’ Worker was given a National Safety Council award for its outstand- by OLE YOU CAN OVERDO . MOST ANYTHING... IWA 18th and 19th Interna- ing job. in featuring safety publicity in every one of its issues. Atkinson at Chicago Further recognition was given the International Woodworkers of America by the National Safety Council who have invited B.C. District Council No. 1 Safe- ty Director John Atkinson to address the Wood Products Sec- tion of the next National Safety Council Convention to be held in October of this year in Chicago. Incidentally, Brother Atkinson will be the first representative of labor to ever address this sec- tion of the Council. While safety is primarily a management responsibility — it is also'a Union and an indivi- dual responsibility. The more we study the problem the more we see that success in safety is the product of an environment which | emphasizes individual responsi- | bility—exercised at all times and at all levels. The feeling for safety must permeate our orga- nization from top to bottom for no one man, no one group, how- ever dedicated, can assure a good overall performance. Cooperation, | mutual recognition of necessity, mutual respect, mutual confi- dence—these are the components | of a successful safety program. | Our industry, despite its year-| to-year improvement, is still the | most hazardous of any in the/ | world. Safety, therefore, is| is} something that everyone of us} should live every minute of our | lives. We are pleased with the progress to date, but too many lives are still being snuffed out in our industry, and as long as such a condition exists, we can never relax our efforts to im- prove and maintain safe work- ing conditions.” SAFETY MEET | SEPT. 10 | The District Safety Con- ference, representative of the Local Uni will be held in Vancouver on Sep- tember 10, it was announced last week by the District |] Secretary-Treasurer | As the conference has been requested by a number of || Local Unions, a fully repre- || sentative gathering is antici- pated. Many urgent safety problems are scheduled for discussio1 S Keep it under | Yooe HARD HAT STRAINS and SPRAINS By ARTHUR FRANCIS ports are the following: back.” sharp pain in lower back.” “Man operating brake back.” Each of these reports reflects some measure of discomfort to someone. Each reflects an expen- diture of money which may be from a few dollars to several thousands in amount. Each of these reports provides a totally inadequate picture of what hap- pened, where it happened, how it happened and why it happened. Preventive Action Setting aside entirely the ade- quacy of these reports in en- abling intelligent consideration of a claim which might arise, con- sider the reports as a basis for preventive action in correction of hazards. To the man himself or to a witness who saw the incident, the terse report in each case might recall a picture of the pose of the victim, the bulk of the machinery, the effort exerted, the sequence of events. Even this picture will fade or change drastically with the passage of time. The oppor- tunity to take precautionary ac- tion is much reduced because no one can really say from the des- cription exactly what happened. Following any case of injury, the essence of protective action is immediate and complete inves- tigation and immediate and com- plete reporting of all factors which have or might have a bear- ing on the matter. . Strain or Sprain Where a strain or sprain is the subject of an accident report, sufficient detail should be given— and supported with sketches, if possible — to enable a complete stranger to visualize what hap- pened and to consider what should be done to prevent repe- tition, These are some of the factors: (1) The physique of the vie- Chief Inxpeetor, Workmen'x Compeunntion Bourd Typical of reports of injury entered on accident re- “Man felt pain in region below left shoulder blade while pushing up lever to open grinder pocket.” “Millwright taking gland off stock chest strained “Attempting to lift gate from decker, workman felt on 10 gauge metal strained tim: was he heavy or light, well muscled or fat, had he any physical handicaps? (2) The type of lift: what was to be lifted, through what path? Was the object to be lifted hinged or free? (3) Where was the lift? (4) Motion to be made: was it a moyement at foot level, waist level or shoulder level or between two levels? Was the motion a lift or a carry? + () How was the footing, how easy the object to grip; was there any restriction in the stance for the motion, imposed by surrounding objects? (6) What had the victim been doing previously? Was he “warmed up” or was this an isolated action? (7) Was the weight moved constant or did it vary in the course of motion? What was the weight of effort? Enumeration of the factors takes much longer than the ac- tual report itself. Last Man It may be said that a strain or sprain is minor, that the time and money involved in investiga- tion is not an economic expendi- ture. The victim of the strain or sprain will probably be the last man to agree to this point of view when he compares the pain he suffers against reasonable pre- ventive action that could be taken. On straight basis of cost, there are excellent arguments that in- vestigation, reporting and pre- ventive action in each case of a strain or sprain is very sound economics und a good practice for management and workmen alike.