By ANDY SMITH : Regional Safety Director We are now on the threshold _ of a new year. The feeling that we have is similar to that felt ' when awaiting the launching - of a new ship, or the count- . down of a rocket fueled and _ ready for its journey into . Space... anticipation. - Will the launching go on . time? Will all proceed safely? Will the vehicle perform to expectations and reach the ob- jective? Only time will tell. What can we learn from * time? You may recall that a cou- ple of years ago, after centur- ~ ies of searching for an Arctic - all-weather water route be- _ tween the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, a nuclear submarine ” made the voyage; but it wasn’t -her modern power plant or . electronic gear that turned the _ trick. This journey would have “been impossible if it had not - been for the use of an old log . book in which an English navi- _ gator, Sir William Perry, had recorded soundings of the ~most difficult part of the trip. . These were the only soundings j in existence and they guided the sub through channels and ~ currents that would have been «too treacherous to navigate ._ with only electronic gear. It was the experience recorded “in the book that made a safe ~ passage possible. ~ News media inform us regu- .larly of new experiments be- ing carried out in all fields of he _ THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER “WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM TIME?" science. For the race in space, the design, the materials, the workmanship, and the guid- ance systems are the best that scientists have been able to devise. Watching a launching and seeing it through success- fully fills us with a sense of pride. In our operations we too have had experiments — some intentional and some acciden- tal. Each one should be a les- son, and the one fact we should learn quickly is to do everything we can to elimin- ate the accidental experiments. _ Many of these are recorded in the First Aid log book, and should be used as a guide to prevent re-occurrence. Each one of us can help with the launching of the new year, 1967, and help with the countdown on accidents. The launching date has been set: NOW! The guidelines are posted: Safety Rules! The objective is: Lessen Accidents! All together, in a co-opera- tive effort, we can begin the accident countdown: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and go all out for safety in 1967. The object will be to have all workers do their jobs safely the first time and all the time. What better advice from which to start the new year? Mark your calendar for a year from today. We have a date, we have an objective. Will we reach it? Only time will tell. I wish you all a safe New Year. a -LABOUR COURTS SOUGHT ~ LONDON — Local labour _ courts to settle industrial dis- putes are urged by the Fabian “Society in its evidence to the -Royal Commission on Trade , Unions and Employers’ As- sociations. “A condition imposed by the - Society is that they should be ‘informal and_ inexpensive. “The Ministry of Labour’s pro- ‘Posals for labour courts’ are supported provided the courts « . ‘SAFETY | ‘CONFERENCE - The IWA regional safety conference will be held Feb- é y 18 in the CCF Hall, 17 St., Nanaimo. x imately sixty officers a tes are expected to ad this first safety confer- the new year to review ious year’s safety pro- confer is open to do not become courts of law. Laymen and not lawyers should appear before them as is usually the case with the present arbitration tribunals. Use of legal sanctions against strikers is opposed. Unofficial or wildcat strikes are “a safety valve indicating defects in the existing ma- chinery for dealing with dis- putes.” Therefore machinery to provide independent and speedy settlement of disputes is required. This Fabian Society evi- dence was drawn up by a group of specialists meeting under the chairmanship of Charles Smith, General Sec- retary of the Post Office Engi- neering Union. ( CAUGHT Convention Hotel Manager: “Did you find any of the hotel’s linen in that man's suitcase?” House Detective: “No, but I found one of our chamber- SAFETY COMMITTEE at MacMillan-Bloedel’s large Chemainus sawmill is shown in- vestigating the accident site where one of the company jumber carriers went out of contro! and fell on its side against the bank after striking wooden block lying on road. The driver, fortunately, was uninjured. The committee, after checking the scene, con- cluded two factors were responsible for the accident. Firstly, that lumber piles stacked on the road made it hazardous for the drivers, and secondly, that the carrier driver should have removed the block from the road. Regional safety director Andy Smith and Local 1-80 safety director Jack Mumm also attended the investigation. Pictured left front row is Carl Stevens, the very active plant chairman, who is also recording secretary of Local 1-80. IWA SAFETY DIRECTORS Jack Mumn, centre left and Andy Smith, centre, meet with a group of Hillcrest fallers in the IWA Hall in Duncan, to discuss safer work methods. ANOTHER SHOT of the fallers’ safety meeting at Copper Canyon with regional safety director Andy Smith seated at table. The group is listening to Local 1-80 safety director Jack Mumm (out of camera range) discuss what are the “safest working distances for fallers.”