NOVEMBER, 1970

THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER

SAFETY PAGE

SAFETY DIRECTOR'S REPORT
TO 33rd REGIONAL CONVENTION

1969 again showed an in-
crease both in fatalities and
number of lost time accidents.
While the Council of Forest
Industries showed a marked
improvement over 1968, the
other operations in the forest
industry and particularly the
unorganized operations, in-
ereased the time loss cases
and days lost from work over
the preceding two years. Fig-
ures from the Council of For-
est Industries are as follows
for 1969:

Shingles: Frequency rate

52.03 — no fatals.

Plywood: Frequency rate

27.08 — 1 fatality.
Lumber: Frequency rate

26.37 — 2 fatalities.
Logging: Frequency rate

32.13 — 8 fatalities.

Investigating both serious
accidents and fatalities, it be-
comes apparent that there has
been a general breakdown in
the policing of regulations and
job procedure, which is pri-
marily the responsibility of
management. Violations of
regulations which result in in-
jury means that the workmen
are disregarding some of the
fundamental accident preven-
tion controls set up for their
protection. Supervision in the
operation where this happens
is obviously lacking, and the
supervisor places himself in
the position of condoning this
disregard, and in the eyes of
the law is as guilty as the
worker who breaks the regu-
lation. He also makes it quite
evident to his crew that he
does not consider accident
prevention important. There
can be no defense or justifica-
tion for such an attitude and
if management in general
would insist that the. safety
program in effect be properly
supervised probably a reduc-
tion in accidents would occur.

These statistics from the
W orkmen’s Compensation
Board are figures for 1969.
Though 1970 is at the halfway
mark, it doesn’t mean you
can’t! start now to be safe, on
or off the job.

There have also been many
instances when management
have placed foremen or super-
visors in a department when
they had no knowledge of the
roper work procedure in-
volved in that particular part
of the operation and were not
given a proper training so that
they could recognize unsafe
work procedures. Under these
circumstances accidents occur
to people who have not been
properly trained or to older
employees who are being
transferred to a different job.
There is always a tendency to
blame an accident on a work-
man’s carelessness, when it
should be rightfully termed
lack of training or supervision,
A worthwhile accident pre-
vention program must be a
co-operative effort, which can
make little real progress un-
less everyone is interested. To
this end, the supervisor must

pass on to each individual in
his crew the responsibility for
his own protection. While this
in no way limits the responsi-
bility of the company or the
supervisor to ensure that safe-
ty precautions are taken, such
as proper training and super-
vision of the crew in compli-
ance with accident prevention
regulations, it must however
bring to the individual the
need to follow the regulations
necessary for his own protec-
tion, and if everyone would
assume the responsibility for
his own personal protection I
sincerely believe that a large
number of accidents would be
eliminated.

If we cannot achieve a les-
sening of the high cost in life,
accidents and misery brought
on by unsafe acts through
human failings on someone’s
part after we have investigat-
ed, probed and discussed and
come to understand the cause
of an accident and formulate
a procedure that will elimin-
ate a recurrence, then per-
haps we shall have to take an-
other look at the safety pro-
grams in our industry and ask
ourselves, ‘Can I as a person
stand by and see my brothers
maimed or killed by senseless,
unsafe acts performed by my-
self or someone else. What can
I do to bring pressure to slow
down or halt unsafe acts that
result in a fatality or crippling
accident?

In the past twenty years,
years that have seen fantastic
industrial progress, the re-
cordings of industrial safety in
B.C. have not shown the com-
parative progress. In 1949, 210
industrial workers died from

accidents. In 1968, the figure
was only down to 150. The
forest industry alone account-
ed for 79 deaths in 1949, and
50 in 1968. The compensation
costs on industrial accidents

and fatals was $12% million

in 1949 and $32 million in

1968. These are the figures,

but they do not show the mis-
ery and suffering that the in-
jured workman or next-of-kin
must suffer, or the terrific loss
to the entire economy of the
province.

Too many times our con-
cern has turned to apathy and
then forgetfulness. We must
find better ways of combatting
industrial accidents and fatals.
There is no telling the conse-
quences we will pay in the
years to come. For the inform-
ation of our members I should:
point out that the Criminal

Code of Canada provides as
follows:

Section 1:91 (1) Everyone
is criminally negligent who
(a) in doing anything, or
(b) in omitting to do any-

thing that it is his duty to
do, shows wanton or reck-
less disregard for the lives
or safety of other persons.

(2) For the purpose of this
Section, “duty” means a duty
imposed by law.

Section 1:92: Everyone who
by criminal negilgence causes
death to another person is
guilty of an indictable offense
and is liable to imprisonment
for life.

Section 1:92: Everyone who
by criminal] negligence causes
bodily harm to another person
is guilty of an indictable of-
fense and is liable to impris-
onment for ten years.

Giese]
CAUSE OF INJURY — TIME LOSS CASES

Struck by objects and materials
Falls and slips on the same level

Number of Cases Per Cent

Over-exertion resulting in strains and

sprains

and materials

Falls from one level to another ___
‘Striking against or stepping on objects

Contact with electricity, temperature

extremes and harmful substances ___

Caught in, on or between

Explosions

Vehicle and transportation accidents
Industrial diseases __.....

DAYS LOST FROM WORK

Forest Products

Construction industry and allied trades ._ 256,354
General Manufacturing —...
Trade and service industries _...

Transportation

Operations of the Federal, Provincial

and Municipal Governments

Mining and smelting — _...

Navigation and wharf operations.
Fishing and fish packing industry
Tightand power

Renata 10,365 32,6

ee eae 5,960 18.7

coer es, 4,276 13.4

eS Ewa 04 12.6

sce, A 3,534 11.1

1,292 4.0

smi, ian 1,271 4.0

nae 628 2.0

cpio nis 2 447 1.4

ath = 63 2
TOTAL 31,840

Number of Cases Per Cent

ba eet ceeti 366,178 27.3

19.1

see ee BOO TOT: 15.0

peat as 8. 192847 14.4

Oe eee ae 95,148 fbal

83,979 6.3

65,133 4,9

54,962 4.1

per Ay Cay (7 1.3

RE ae Bt AS 7,509 9)

TOTAL 1,340,444

(These figures represent the actual number of days lost by
injured workmen disabled more than three working days.)

FOR HUNTERS —
WATER SURVIVAL

Recent statistics show that
hunters and fishermen account
for 36 percent of boating
fatalities. They often get in
trouble because they think of a
boat as just a means of tran-
sportation — or a platform.
They have no intention of
getting wet and pay little at-
tention to legal requirements
for life preservers.

If a heavily garbed hunter
unexpectedly finds himself in
deep water, can he survive?
Yes, if he keeps his head, uses
the tendency of his garments to
trap air, keeps the air from
escaping boots and jackets by
not thrashing about, and
doesn’t wear himself out by
trying to swim the wrong way.

The simple technique of
surviving under cumbersome
circumstances are demon-
strated by Charles W. Russell,
Deputy National Director of
Red Cross Safety Programs.
Garbed in duck hunter’s gear
that weighed 19 pounds dry —
long thermal underwear, wool
socks and shirt, insulated outer
pants and an outer jacket, belt,

hip boots hooked to the belt,’

gloves and cap — he stepped
into a small boat, lost his
footing in a ‘‘typical accident,”’
and plunged into the water.
The ‘‘victim’’ didn’t sink,
although his wet clothing
added about 70 pounds to his
normal body weight. Bobbing
to the surface, he called out,
“You see? Most people think
that clothes will weigh you
down in the water. But they
don’t — they trap air.’’ He then
proved that it’s not just a
question of sink or swim.
There’s an alternative: float.
Vital tip — Don’t hunt over
water wearing a shell vest or
carrying pocketsful of am-
munition. The extra weight can
drag you down.
—Courtesy Family Safety

LIGHTER SIDE

“Waitress, I don’t like to
complain, but there are no
oysters in this oyster stew.”

“So? There aren’t any dogs
in dog biscuits, either.”

Keigk a ky

Kamloops Kate says that a
honeymoon is just a vacation
a man takes before going to
work for a new boss.

Kin Kile ke

_ An Interior logger friend
who was laid up in the hospi-
tal recently told us that his
nurse was so conceited that
every time she took a patient’s
pulse she subtracted ten beats
for her personality.

FOLK OK,

Doctor: “You must avoid all
forms of excitement.” Logger:
“Ts it OK if I just look at them
on the street?”

Ke Kc

Hollywood: the only place
in the world where they rent
wedding rings.

* * *

Kamloops Katie says that
she gets her kicks in a place
where the music is so bad that
when a waiter drops a tray
everybody gets up and starts
dancing.

Ko Riek

Bartender Bob says that
water is OK if it’s taken with
the right spirit.

RELAX. Let the air in your
clothes bring you to the surface.
Don’t thrash about in panic from
the surprise and shock of hitting
cold water. Here the hunter as-
sumes the prone float position.
Air in boots holds up the legs,
knees are bent and feet buoyed
upward. By raising his head to
take a breath when needed, he
can continue the “dead man’s
float” effortlessly.

ROLLING OVER to a back float
position, keeping his knees bent
to hold air in boots, the hunter \
can drive air into the outer jacket
by rapid sweeps of his cupped
palm down and into the neck
‘opening. This also can be done in
the face down float. The jacket
will billow again and again.

TO PREVENT air from bubbling
out of boots and losing buoy-
ancy for the lower part of the
body, knees should be bent and
hips should be kept low in the
water for adequate support of
the back float.

FROM THE “dead man’s float”

. position, the hunter can also move

toward safety in a modified breast
stroke. Don’t use the crawl stroke.
Emphasis is on easy arm and leg
movement to retain trapped air.
Stroke with arms and legs below
the surface. The more body above
the surface, the more difficult it
is to float and you will tire rapid-

ly. :

ONCE FLOATING, you can move
toward boat or shore with sweep-
ing arm strokes. If at hand, other
flotation devices can be used, such
as stuffing a-duck decoy into the
jacket or hooking the knees over
a boat paddle for extra buoyancy,