Ergonomics Continued from page nine moving 90% of the electronic con- trols (which may only be used once a shift) from the canter station and moving them behind the worker, there can be an elimination of awk- ward body positioning. “The best way we can find out about making modifications is to talk to workers,” says McSheffree. “There’s a lot of stereotyping that has gone on in the past that has to be overcome.” For instance in some work sta- tions it may be better if a worker can sit rather than stand. The company is looking at adjust- ing two jie areas like the edgers and the reman operators. The edger station could be turned sideways from its present position so that the operator is looking at the whole board to make a decision than looking at the board coming straight at him/her. Then the opera- tor would not be looking straight at the edger itself which is less effi- cient and uncomfortable. At the reman operators’ centre, boards are culled out and pressed between two high speed tires (Swede puller) which pull the board out of the production line. The problem is that now if a piece of lumber is fractured it can swing around and swat a worker. To rem- edy this the company is thinking about putting in a drop gate with a conveyor system below to take away the cull lumber. As the reman operators get a lot of back and feet strain, another option may be to put in retractable seats for the employees. “If you can make it easier for a person (to work) they are going to be more productive - they aren’t going to be tired four hours into the shift and aching all day,” says Local 1-405 financial secretary Edith Skiber. “This company is looking at practical ways of making the job better for everyone involved. Cer- tainly by taking the SAFER ergonomic course our people are better able to contribute to deci- sions that can improve the work- place.” Brother Fraser says the SAFER ergonomics course should be main- tained. Me A fittins ° Another area that the company is considering for ergonomic change is the edger where Clark Mousseau works. The work station could be turned sideways to make the jobs more efficient and comfortable. “[’d recommend the course con- tents not only for IWA operations but for any forest industry employ- er, union or not.” The whole philosophy behind SAFER initiatives is to get manage- ment and labour to jointly cooperate to seek out solutions to workplace problems. The subject matter included in the SAFER ergonomics course included looking at equipment design, visibility, seating, location of dials, controls and displays, pos- ture, vibration, noise, back strain, over exertion stress, repetitive hand-arm work, high speed work, and information processing among other areas. Carrot River Continued from page eight plant in Hudson Bay. The oversize peeler logs are shipped from Carrot River to Hudson Bay. In return Hudson Bay sends back the peeler cores to Carrot River where they are made into 2x4’s and are chipped. The chip and saw can go through over 7,000 cores on an 8 hour shift. The chips then go to the Weyerhaeuser pulp mill in Prince Albert. The community of Carrot River, situated about 140 kilometer’s ase 4 _Mes watts e CONVENTION ’93 - In October union delegates, including those from local 1-2693 (above) were in attendance at IWA’s national convention in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Full story in next issue. north west of Hudson Bay, has a opulation of around 1,000 with a ther 1,400 in outlying farm com- munities. Some of the millworkers also dou- ble as farmers. The mill has played an important role in the community for nearly 20 years. The mill was first put up as a sawmill in 1975. Prior to that it had operated under the control of the Saskatchewan Timber Board a crown controlled entity introduced by the Tommy Douglas government in 1947. For decades the crown operation operated solely as a drying and planing facility which bought rough sawn lumber from little gyppo bush mills. The lumber was dry piled, then planed and sold. By 1975 most of the small mills shut down as the major sawmill in Carrot River opened up. Since the beginning the mill has been unionized and remains that way. Today Saskatchewan Forest logging the eastern part of the province to supply its sawmill and (udson Bay plywood plant.