Ist Issue, October

B.C. LUMBER WORKER

January 17, 1956, to July 1, 1958, without an accident.
Sheppard; Clair Potter; Roy Barnes, Committee Chairman; J. S. Halls. Back row, left, Ron Shrive; Jim Warr;

Scheske, Committee Secretary; Roland LaPointe; Frank Laursen; Andy. Carrie;

B.C. FOREST PRODUCTS PLYWOOD SAFETY COMMITTEE, whose Division at B.C.F.P., had a man hour exposure of 1,300,920 hours from
The Plant has won Safety Awards for four consecutive years. Group from left, Al.

Wally Barclay.

See ies

Daryis Cook; Marc Close; Elsie

e

I SAFETY DIRECTOR

While WCB accident preven-
tion regulations require that a
safety committee must function in
most operations where more than
20 men are employed, it doesn’t
mean that accidents will auto-
matically decline because there is
a committee. The only way a
safety committee can curb acci-
dents is by wholehearted cooper-
ation of both labour and manage-
ment to make the committee an
effective tool in the accident pre-
vention effort.

Reducing Accidents

Active safety committees have
been instrumental in reducing ac-
cidents in most. operations, But
not all safety committees are do-
ing the job that was intended of
them.

FOREMAN

To be successful the safety com-
mittee must arouse an intense de-
sire on the part of the workmen
they represent to make safety a
way of life. They must see to it
that thorough inspections of the
plant or operation are carried out
with recommendations going to
management on unsafe conditions

All safety programmes
need good committees

How can we reduce accidents on the job? This question is in the minds of workmen
and employers everywhere. One of the most satisfactory answers is an active, hard-work-
ing safety committee made up of equal representation from labour and management. A
good safety committee is an essential factor in a sound safety program.

which can be corrected.

Only through constant vigilance
and perserverance can a safety
committee accomplish its object-
ive and what better objective could
there be than saving lives and
limbs.

Let’s take a look at a good
safety committee operating ‘in
B.C’s logging industry, the Har-
rison Mills Logging Division of
Canadian rest Products Lim-
ited.

Less Accidents

For the past several years the
excellent work done by this com-
mittee has been responsible for
a steady decline in the accident
frequency rate. More important,
the camp has achieved a great
reduction in the more serious
types of accident:

Chairman of this committee is
Assistant Camp Superintendent,
Wes Davis. Secretary is Harry
Beamer, First Aid attendant.

The 12-man membership is
made up of a broad cross-section
of occupations — fallers, buckers,
riggers, boom men, truck drivers,
etc. They represent about 185

lilt, LEMVE tly
OO A THUATE
WoRST-hbf,

men working at the camp. And
they do it in a very convincing

way.
Air Their Beefs

Their meetings are lively affairs
with everyone having an oppor-
tunity to air their beefs and sug-
gest improvements in the general
safety standards of the operation.
Highlight of the committee’s ac-
tivities is the monthly inspection
program carried out by a labour-
management team appointed by
the committee. They leave no
stone unturned in the search for
hazards.

Accompanying them on their
|inspections is Tom Hollas Assist-
ant Safety Coordinator for Cana-
dian Forest Products. He records
every step of the inspection and
double checks later to make sure
that practical recommendatibns
are carried out. Tom who works
under the direction of C. R.
“Rusty” Rustemeyer, well-known
Safety and Training Coordinator
for Canadian Forest Products,
has been associated with the com-
pany for many years. He has the
respect of the loggers because
they know his prime interest is
to keep the camp as safe as hu-
manly possible.

Major Problems

One of the major problems the
committee has to face in inculcat-
ing into the men the danger of
slips and falls because of the dif-
ficult terrain the loggers work in.

.| Some of the logging is done above

the 3,000 foot level.

“Keep in the clear” and “ex-
pect the unexpected” are the basic
safety principles every experi-
enced logger works by. The Safety
Committee constantly hammers
home these points at regular
safety rallys where all the men
congregate.

Another outstanding safety
feature of this camp is the fact
that, nearly 50 per cent of the log-
gers are trained in first aid.

When a new logger is hired he
undergoes a complete indoctrin-
ation from the safety angle before
he actually goes to work. Safety
caulk boots are supplied at cost.
Hard hats are a must at all times
and boom men must wear life

jackets. All these regulations are
PE ie, ee

and fully supported by the Safety
Committee.
Teamwork Results

Secret to the success of this
committee, according to Tom
Hollas is the excellent coopera-
tion between labour and manage-
ment. “Without it the committee
could never get so many things
done,” says Tom, Lorne Johnson,
manager of Fraser Valley logging
operations for C.F.P. is adamant
that every man has a part to play.
He is proud of the camp’s record
but says it could be better,

Some of the activities of the
Safety Committee include weekly
film showings, safety rallies where
door prizes are presented and
safety quizzes are held. The Camp
boasts a Toastmasters Club which
helps the loggers to express them-
selves easily and forcibly on mat-
ters pertaining to safety.

If every safety committee was
as active and productive as the
Harrison Mills group the accident
rate in B.C. industry would be far
less than it is now.

Real Enthusiasm

It is true that there are loggiig
camps with better safety records
but none with more enthusiasm
and get-up-and-go qualities.

Every industrial operation, no
matter what their hazard might
be, can find their safety committee
the key to solving the industrial

accident problem.
—Reprinted W.C.B. News Bulletin

Spring
Creek

awards

Spring Creek Logging Camp
of the Canadian Forest Prod-
ucts Limited, were recently pre-
sented with the Bronze and Sil-
ver Award of Merit by the B.C.
Safety Council, in a ceremony
held at the Operation.

The proud crew were presented
with the Bronze Award for their
record performance of going from
August 1, 1957, to December 31,
1957, a total of 51,277 consecutive
man hours without a compensable
accident. The Silver Award was
won for working from August 1,
1957, to June 30, 1958, with 59,927
consecutive man hours without a
compensable accident.

The Operation’s excellent safety
record is the result of the coopera-
tive spirit between Management
and Union, and the Safety Com-
mittee under the leadership of
Eric Strom, who is also the IWA