THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER wa) SAFETY AND PRODUCTION By ANDY SMITH Regional Safety Director Having recently returned from a tour of part of Local 1-424, I would like to mention a few of the things that were most apparent to me. Cooperation by the com- panies in making time avail- able to address the crews was appreciated, and I was able to talk to the employees long enough to get the basic points of our safety program across to them. Machines in most opera- tions are in good working condition and properly guard- ed. Closer attention to house- keeping will help to eliminate the number of incidents that are troubling many of the operations. Machine operators must stop their machines when ad- justments or cleaning out have to be done. They must also see that no unauthor- ized person starts a machine and, when the machine is to be started, see that no one is in a position to be injured. I believe, with the wide- ANOTHER LIFE SAVED BY HARD HAT. William Hyr- horak, employed as powderman by Coulson & Prescott Logging Contractors at Sproat Lake, escaped serious in- jury or death October 15, due to the hard hat he was wearing. While preparing charges for his next blast he was struck on the head by a limb from a tall tree believed broken by the previous blast. The force of the blow broke all the straps of his hard hat except one and caved an almost three-inch impression on top. The only injury to Hyrhorak was a slight concussion and a stiff neck. The first photo shows the deep dent to the top of the hat. The second photo illustrates the position of the hat after Hyrhorak was struck by the limb. MSA TO MEET The twenty-fifth annual general meeting of Medical Services Association will be held Dec. 13 at 8 p.m. in the ballroom of the Bayshore in Vancouver. IWA regional secretary - treasurer Fred Fieber, form- erly president of MSA, has advised all B.C. IWA local unions of the meeting, noting that the annual meeting is of major importance to partici- pants in MSA and urging that every effort be made to at- tend the meeting. The MSA annual report for Eee ee) LIGHTER SIDE “T don’t mean to be imper- tinent,” the friend said to the newlywed, “but why did you choose a girl so chubby?” “Well, I figured,” the groom said, “it’s easier -to live with 200 lb. of curves than 100 Ib. of nerves.” the year ended Aug. 31, 1965, said the net increase in enrol- ment. for the year was 43,977 persons, bringing the total number covered in MSA to 614,602. . It said that administrative expense is 5.23 percent of membership dues, the lowest in MSA history “and prob- ably lower than any other plan in North America.” On fees, the annual report said: “After many meetings in committee with represen- tatives of the B.C. Medical Association, your directors are about to reach. an agree- ment with the B.C. Medical Association that makes pro- vision for increases or de- creases in the doctors’ sched- ule of fees commencing Jan. 1967. “While agreement has not been reached at this point, the discussions are continu- ing favorably.” The present fee agreement was for three years and is valid until Jan. 1967. spread recognition through- out our industry, that safety and production cannot be divided and, with the growing importance of training and retraining, it is probable that most companies will interest themselves in a good, effec- tive safety program. For an employer, the em- ployee properly trained to do his job safely is an asset to all concerned. It is inevitable, in these times of rapid technological changes, that occupations be- come obsolete and new ones are created. This is part of the industrial evolution, and has been going on for many years. The difference today lies in the accelerated pace of the evolution, due to the rapid scientific and_ technological advances in recent years. Rapid changes in industrial techniques and processes bring added weight to the im- portance of training and re- training to meet the demands for skills and know-how. With the foregoing facts be- fore them, companies must recognize that satety first and production after will pay greater benetits to all .con- cerned than to attempt pro- duction without safety. In operations where safety records are not so good; man- agement, Safety Committee, and local unions should get together and discuss the problems with a view to sort- ing out the problem areas, and formulate a program to improve safety. In this way, 7 me y= ANDY SMITH the entire crew will know that there is a sincere effort being made to help them to have a safe place to work and, I am sure, full coopera- tion will be given. Communications are one of the gravest areas in the field of safety. The foreman or supervisor giving directions to a workman must make sure the person understands what he has said and what he meant. Too often not enough time is taken by either party so that, by the time the instruc- tions are to be acted upon, the results are far from what was intended and ‘trouble begins. It is far better to take a little extra time and make sure that the parties under- stand each other than to cause injury to people, ma- chines or material. - Nickel Mines Ltd. Everyone can have all the © safety he wants, but like all — worthwhile things it has a price — you have to work — Eee for it. In the final analysis, only — the workman can determine whether he will work safely. Even when the workman ac- cepts this responsibility, it is still necessary for the Safety Committee to remind him, because it is so easy to slip into careless work habits. For that reason, every successful safety program stresses edu- cation as one of its prime ob- jectives. Work for Safety, so that Safety can Work for You! STEEL TORONTO (CPA) — The Ontario Labor Relations Board has dismissed an appli- cation by the United Steel- workers of America for a cer- tification vote at Falconbridge in Sud- bury. The board ruled that the steel union’s enrolment of members fell short of the 45 - per cent required for order- ing a vote. Local 598 of the Interna- tional Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers has held bargaining rights on be- half of the 2,400 Falconbridge production workers. OLIVER ACCIDENT An investigation report in- to a fatal accident at Oliver Sawmills Ltd., Oliver, has recommended the elimination of trim-boxes and stricter ad- herence to safety rules in the operating of forklift machines. The report was dealing with an accident which claim- ed the life of Albert May, 44, at 10:15 p.m. on October 26 at the north side of a shed near the dry kiln at the company’s operation. May, married, had 15 years service. The cause of death was excessive internal hem- orrhage. The report gave this de- scription of the accident: “It is presumed that the deceased got off the forklift and walked to the front of the trim-box to close the gate latch on it. The box was about four feet off the ground and another box full of strips was at his back. “There is a slight slope at this spot and his forklift roll- ed ahead, pinning him be- tween the two boxes. The box that was on the ground was against a cement footing so there was no ‘give’ to this box whatsoever. “The lower corner of the trim-box struck him in the lower thorax cavity area, bending him backwards over the corner of the strip box which was on the ground.” Events following the acci- dent: “J. Bertram, who works on the planer chain, saw a hand waving from the side of the forklift and ran over to see if anything was wrong with the driver. “When he saw that the de- ceased was pinned in be tween the boxes, he yelled at J. Davis, planer foreman, who ran over and, when he saw that it was a forklift that he “MOM, MY ALLOWANCE 15 10¢ LESS THIS WEEK.... WHAT'S A CHECKOFF 2" was not familiar with, he got Ray Trang to come and drive it backwards so they could release the man. “He was laid on the ground until a stretcher was pro- cured, then placed on it and removed to the first-aid room until Dr. Hospes arrived. He was taken to the hospital - where he passed away a few hours later. IWA Safety Director Andy Smith said: “Forklifts are perhaps one of the most dangerous and, at the same time, overlooked hazards in our industry to- day. “Because they generally carry their loads in an ele- vated position, and as the lift- ing forks and tilt are operated by a hydraulic system, no person should work or stand near, pass under or in front of a load, and when the load- ed forklift is approaching, get in the clear to the side. Never feel you are safe even when a considerable distance in front. Failure of the hydraulic sys- tem, allowing the forks to tip forward, could project load forward. “Operators leaving their reason what- . machine for any soever, should lower forks and set the hand