IWA THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER SAFETY PAGE FAILURE TO RECOGNIZE HAZARDS CAUSES INCREASE IN FATALITIES By ANDY SMITH Regional Safety Director A tragic increase in fatal accidents has occurred re- cently in the forest indus- try in IWA Regional Council No. 1 and all those concerned in the prevention of accidents are worried by this situation. Past experience and recent investigation would appear to indicate that some of the in- crease is due to failure of the foremen and workmen to recognize hazards and take the necessary action to avoid them. The foreman and work- er must look to management to lead the way — an uncon- cerned management means an unconcerned foreman and worker. Faced with the progressive- ly increasing accident tolls in recent weeks, much must be done in accident prevention to reverse this trend. A con- stant analysis of methods must be maintained, and we should all be reminded that accidents can very definitely be prevented by a careful analysis of causes and appli-. cation of proven corrective methods. Every employer should ex- amine his own company rec- ords, and if his frequency is not well below the average for the industry, he should get all accident prevention people together to organize an attack on the problem. The Pictures and diagrams ap- pearing on this page are of two fallers who met with fatal accidents on October 16. In the case of the faller kill- ed by the windfall, investiga- tion shows that no criticism can be advanced as to the work method used by him. He was a man of many years’ falling experience and known to be a safe workman. The consensus of opinion amongst other fallers was that, if con- fronted by the same situa- tion, they would have pro- ceeded in the same manner as apparently used by the victim. Lhe other fatality of that day was a faller of many year’s experience who had been working on the stand improvement .. . for the past fourteen months. Investiga- tion of this accident would appear to indicate that for the first time to anyone’s knowl- edge he had violated a work procedure in regard to hang- ups, that procedure being that in stand improvement falling no attempt should be made to knock down any hang-up with another tree, but that all hang-ups must be cleared with the cat. Investigation of the area would indicate that he had a number of hang-ups while at- tempting to knock down the first one. Apparently some movement caused him to leave the area, and he moved back under the original hang- up, which came down and killed him. The most recent figures available show that there have been 35 fatalities in the forest industry of British Co- lumbia so far this year — 30 in logging and six in manu- facturing plants. CAMP WOSS FATALITY DIAGRAM ss — 30° Soke eee IN SNS flv (00 FEE or Q) ay Downttthk rovidraeni an) CET oF ve ie OPM Ppardnenté AT BoTT Down 7? Wh Sora Den Nel Lrev€ ; ae Seo j~- 0 BUCKLE UP —SAVE MONEY ‘jure to buckle seat belts Sotves _—— a widespread prac- in Cen Canada and the United tice = —— may prove to be a Status legal mistake as well are vy reports of where damage awards were either lost or considerably re- duced when injuries could have been prevented or made less severe had seat belts been law are beginning to show ju- dicial recognition of the fact that an individual, driver or passenger, should be held re- sponsible for taking due pre- cautions against injury in ac- cidents by using available safety devices. CAMP WOSS Safety Committee investigating falling fatality seated at table, left to’ right, F. W. Portman, Safety Committee Secretary and First Aid Attendant, Camp Woss; W. Hawryluk, chairman, Safety Committee. INVESTIGATORS at scene of Camp “A” fatality, C.F.P., Englewood Division. ON THE LIGHTER SIDE In one of the college his- tory classes, the professor il- lustrated the chivalry of the Middle Ages this way: On his way to the tragic Third Cru- sade, the knight told his best friend, “I locked my young wife in a chastity belt in preparation for my trip to the Holy War. I want to keep her faithful and untouched, so I will leave the key with you. Promise not to release her until I return. If I don’t return after five years, you may release her.” As the knight rode out of the village, a horse approach- ‘ed him from behind at full gallop. It was his old friend calling, “Come back, you gave me the wrong key!” ke *k At Lackland AFB, Texas, all newly enlisted male per- sonnel are issued their mili- tary clothing from one cen- tral supply building. All en- trances to this particular building display large signs reading, “Male Clothing Issue Center — Off Limits to All Female Personnel.” At the bottom of one such sign had been neatly added in pencil: “All Trespassers Will Be Violated!” ho ke k On the Toronto-to-Mont- real overnight train recently, the sleeping-car patrons boarded and went their sep- arate ways. A slightly inebri- ated man was prevented from getting into his “upper” by a woman who had the reserved space below him. Swaying slightly, he waited until she got in, then clambered into his berth overhead. Soon, he was snoring loudly, where. upon the woman below pounded on her “ceiling.” “Won’t do you any good lady,” was his reply. “I say you when you got on!”