ist Issue January, 1963 ' y WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER 5 Safety Editorial ACCIDENT PRONE? By BOB ROSS, Regional Safety Director It is vital that Safety Committee members do not fall into the trap built into the words, “accident prone”. ; We are familiar with those few workers who have been injured more frequently than their fellows. It is easy to look only on the surface and apply the “accident prone” label or perhaps to allow management to fire him “for his own good”. There are two dangers inherent in this convenient tag — the Joint Committee tends to stop there, and does not properly investi- gate the underlying causes of such accidents. All of this can develop into an excuse for inaction in the development of a sound Safety Programme. @ All of us are “accident prone” for short periods of time. @ Trouble at home, emotional problems, anger, all produce responses that act against safe work practice. @ Improper or insufficient job training will result in accidents until proper training is substituted. @ Strained or angry relations with the foreman will quickly build up an extreme hazard situation. @ The more frequently injured worker may have been di- rected to a job that is simply beyond his capacity. All of these factors can be recognized and taken care of with- Let us examine this proposition more closely: out harm to the individual or to the Safety Programme. DON’T BUY ACCIDENT EXCUSES — ELIMINATE THE CAUSE — NOT THE MAN! Don't Work — Alone! By GIL INGRAM The following is a report by Gil Ingram, Safety Director of Local 1-85, IWA, and President of the IWA Regional Safety Council, which graphically illustrates the danger of working alone in the woods. Years ago, in the backward days before the Safety Programme was established in the logging camps, both Union and Management considered working alone in the woods to be too dangerous to contemplate. A rigger out topping trees always had with him a Safety Man with a spare climbing belt and spurs whose only func- tion was jo render aid to the rigger in case of accident. Powdermen did not go out alone. Fallers never worked by themselves. Despite repeated representations from the IWA, the WCB has refused to write regulations forbidding this dangerous practice. Now, in these more “enlightened” times, the WCB refusal has given the green light for job isolation. More and more men now are working alone in the woods under conditions of extreme hazard. Jack Halsall is a young married man with a family. He was a faller. He will never work in the woods again. Over a year ago his vertebrae were crushed and his spinal cord was pinched in an accident at Northern Hemlock Lid., Zeballos operation. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN ? On November 28th, 1961, at 9:30 a.m, working alone on a setting, Jack felled a small tree, the top broke off and struck him on the head and back. He wandered about 200 feet from the scene of the accident in a semi-conscious state. With the return of full con- sciousness, he found himself paralyzed. He could not walk, nor could he shout or blow the whistle provided him for the purpose of summoning aid. +a ? ah nite oe J eaten Ae ae aos ei) GIL INGRAM SAFETY DIRECTOR LOCAL 1-85, IWA He lay there in the cold — this was late November — for 7 hours, until 5:30 p.m., when he was found by worried crew members who had decided to check on him. If Jack Halsall had been with a partner, properly trained in Safety procedure, could that partner have warned him of the falling top in time to prevent the accident? JACK THINKS SO. Could that partner in any case have prevented him from wandering 200 feet with crushed verterbrae? Could the spinal cord damage have been limited or prevented by a partner? JACK THINKS SO. Safety Briefs OUNCE OF PREVENTION In Akron, Ohio, an ordinance has been introduced in the city council to make it mandatory for motorists to have snow tires or chains on their cars. Conviction on a first offense could mean a fine up to $50; a second offense could cost $100. _ Theory is that this would prevent traffic jams. CASE OF OVER-SELL? A Minnesota pedestrian, charged with ignoring a “Don’t Walk” sign, came up with a novel excuse. He said he saw the sign all right, but he thought it was an advertisement for a taxicab we re ‘ANCY AILMENT NO EXCUSE In Norfolk, Va., a woman who refused to submit to a blood : test under implied consent said she did so because she suf- fered from “aichmophobia”—a phobia against needles and hypodermics. She was not convicted of drunken driving, but lost her license for 90 days for refusing the test. BRIGHT PLATES FOR INDIANA Indiana will distribute 180,000 light-reflecting auto license 1tes in six counties this year to test their nightime visibility. accident records in these counties will then be compared ‘similar records in six other counties of comparable size. : plates will cost an extra $4,500. by carbon monoxide, alcohol and drugs in single-vehicle fatal crashes is being investigated in a joint research program of the California Highway Patrol and the California State Coroners Association. Single-vehicle acci- dents were chosen for the study because this type of crash has increased sharply in recent years and because it is relatively simple to isolate relevant facts when only one car is involved. COURT BLOCKS ESCAPE HATCH The South Dakota Supreme Court upheld a Circuit Court decision revoking a driver’s license for refusal to take a chemical test under the state’s implied consent law. The driver contended that he had a right to choose the type of test to be administered. The court replied, “By choosing a test not available in the area of arrest, a driver could easily and effectively circumvent the law. Such an escape hatch was never intended by our legislature.” JUDGE FINES CAR-LESS DRIVER A Swedish court levied a $150 fine on a defendant con- victed for driving a power lawn mower while intoxicated. The judge remarked that he was lenient because of the slow speed of the mower and the fact there was no other traffic on the lawn at the time. AN ODD FORM OF REFUSAL In Columbus, Ohio, a truculent DWI suspect recently refused to submit a handwriting specimen on the Alcoholic Influence Report Form. “OK, put your refusal in writing,” said the arresting officer. The suspect promptly took the form, wrote: “I refuse to sign this form,” then signed his name. i - Oil Workers’ \ Death Scored By Jury The proposals of unions in the petroleum industry for a much greater labor role in plant safety were reinforced by the findings of a coroner’s jury investigating the death of three men at Regent Refin- ing (Canada) Ltd. at Port Credit, near Toronto. The jury ruled that fail- ure by management, safety and supervisory personnel to enforce safe work practices contributed to the death of the three workers who suffo- cated in a 60-foot reactor tow- er at the refinery. The jury also cited the failure of em- ployees to follow safe work practices. The men were removing catalyst from the nitrogen- filled tower by hand. It is be- lieved that one man who failed to wear an air mask, was overcome in the tower and the other two died in a futile effort to save him. Member unions in the Pe- troleum Co-ordinating Coun- cil, have served notice they will seek equal representa- tion with companies on all plant safety committees dur- ing bargaining for 11 con-: tracts in the Toronto-Hamil- ton area. In the past the companies, including Regent, have insisted that safety was solely their prerogative. What's Cooking? Floorwalker: “Can I help you, sir?” “T was supposed to buy either a camisole or a casser- ole but so help me I can’t re- member which.” “Perhaps I can help you if you tell me what sort of chicken you intend to put in ote 1ST WORTH THERSK?