Document 1QvngQNmxRGe9XkOEdoRZ2okj

384 Twenty-third Annual Safety Congress--Notional Safely Council the end ot 1930. Many thought at that time that such an achievement would be difficult. What occurred has long hern history'. The railroads actually brought afwmt a reduction in the casualty ratio ot almost double tliat asked tor. C<oscqucntly. those who had to do with the making ot the goal set in 1931. calling for .1? per cent reduction in employcv* injured hy the end til 1933. felt it highly desir able that they set the goal high enough to tax the maximum efforts of all railroads. Approximately i<*rty railroads accomplished this goal, hut the Class 1 railroads as a whole made a reduction <i 2d per cent in titeir casualty ratio. While the safety oflirers may have a feeling of disappointment at this result, we should 1>c encour aged by the fact dint the railroads were able t bring a!out a reduction in the casualty ratio to employees on duty |*cr million man-hours worked of 2d per cent in a three-year period, which followed a rcducti*n of 7 jcr cent in the casualty ratio <!uring the previous seven years. l*he Committee of Direction now gives you a new mark at which to aim. It is a new goal, railing tor a 5 ter cent reduction |*cr year in railway empho'ers* injuries !uring the next >ix years. 1934 to 1959. inclusive. We feel that this goal will Ic far exceeded In- the railroads now having the higher accident ratios, that it is possible of attainment and will l*c accomplished hy the railroads having lower accident ratio*. Tltc statement furnished bv the Hurran of Statistics of the Interstate Commerce ('otinnission. covering accidents rejmrtcd hy steam railways tor the first five months of 1934. shmvs an upward trend in casualties to employees on duty. While 1 do imt deem this increase as larticularly alarming under the circumstances, it has lirovided a warning as to u hat may he expected with any material additional in crease in Intsincss. imless effective preventive measures can he adopted by the rvsiievttve railroads. The injuries which have brought almnt this upward trend in our casually ratio are principally non-train accidents. This is due, in niv opinion, to the imusttally large increase in the man-hours worked in this branch of the service during tin: fir.-t Itali of tins year, rather than to any inactivity on the part of the railroads in accident prevent***! work. The railroads were asked to carry m an extensive pro gram of track and equipment maintenance, to purchase rails, cars ami engines, or rrlmild if the circumstances require. This made necessary a sudden and large in crease in the fiirces. resulting in either the employment of new nten or the return to service *'f men who lud (teen inactive in railroad service for some time. Tltc work tltat was required of these men in inost cases was oi a more liazardous na ture. Kr example, in the maintenance of way department the increased nwn-hotnrs were en>tutHil largely in construction work, relaying of rails, lank-widening and inllasting tracks--heavier work and more daugcrotis than that of ordinary track maintenance, which lias Iecu carried on more generally for the last two ftr three years. Thi- is also tntc in the^ maintenance f equipment department, stripping ami relniitding ami stcel-underfraining cars am! heavy locomotive rejair work, with targe gangs of mm. newly organized. I thi.tk we funI a right to look forward to a momentary increase in the cas ually ratio. lut 1 l*elievc this condition has since adjusted itself and wg will he aide to living lack our accident ratio to a lower level than it was for the year 1933. Tlic rc*|Mwisfl>i1ity for the promotion of safety is essentially a function ami problem of management. The success with whicli it is promoted on any railroad scents likely to l*c pretty closely in proportion to the attention given to it liy cx('Citttve ami operating officials of all ranks, and (he enthnsiasm for safety they arc aide to arouse among employees. Never before in the history of railroads have railroad executives and officers given so much thought, time and effort to acci dent jirevetiiion as at the present time. 5aicty officers should feel greatly encour aged hy this tact. Another source of encouragement for safety officers is the pro nounced trend toward greater recognition. particularly by jtersons and agencies which take tlic had in moulding public sentiment, of the accident problem. It is probably still true lint tin: gravity of this problem las not been lirotiglil home to the average citizen with sufficient emjdinsis so that he makes it a matter of per sonal concern, but there are clear indications tint the efforts of the National Safety Council and other agencies dedicated to accident prevention will carry forward our fight against accidents in marked strides. Safety Section. AR.-l--Steam Railroad Section, .V.SV 385 Report of the Committee on Education By L. G. BENTLEY General Safety Agent. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. Richmond, Va. Tlie speaker said iu j*art; The Committee on EtJucathm was organized soon after the setting of the 35 tier cent goal, and the purposes of the committee have been three-fold, all educational. In tlic first place, it was the intent oi die com mittee to educate officers ami employees as to correct methods oi work ami as to unsafe methods of work, undertaking never to set out an unsafe method of work without showing in Ctimjariwcn the safe way of doing dial job. There is another purpose of the committee, and that is to inform railroad men and others throughout the country, and even throughout die world, ot tltc progress of safety work on American railwads. Then there is the inspirational (Histcr that always commands a lietter sale dtan any otlicr class of poster because it ap|cal* to the hearts of men. Kvery man really down in the iHittom of his heart wants to do wlat is right, and if die mind runs along with the heart, the land will soon begin to form dtc liahh of traveling in the same company. I have chosen for discussion from this year's posters a icw oi the in*st imimrt- aut, illustrating hazards which liavc caused more deaths and more iujurks ami tiuirc suffering titan the other classes oi railway employee injuries. (Mr. UentU-y then dcscrilN.il at considerable length tlic following (Misters:) ''Safety Demands a Firm Grip and a Safe Knot-hold." In 1932 there were 220 train service employees killed in all classes of train service accident*. and of that number 105. or 48 |*er cent, were killed in tailing from engines or cars or while netting an or off engines or cars. We sidd 6.600 copies oi (his (Mister to alwtut hall the railroads of the United States. That was the equivalent <i furnishing one jtostcr in* each 30 railroad employees in train service thmuglimit the country. We also sold 34.0(10 copies of tlic circular dealing with the same subject, ami that was a number equal to one ior each six train service employees in the United States. However, they were most all sold to a few of the railroads. Ihit wliat has been the result of *ur campaign for the last ten years during which we lave been driving on this tarticular kind of accident? The number of train service employees exposed lo this (articular liazard de creased 37 per can. The nundicr oi employees killed in this class *i accident decreased 47 per cent, ami tlic number oi employees injured decreased 74 per cent. "Mishandled Materia! Means Many Maimed Men." We distributed this poster in the tioftc flat it would reach the suftervisors awl fitremen and that it would make them more careful and more tliligcnt in super vising the liandling of material. We felt. Pm*, tliat by getting it In the attention oi the men. they themselves would get tlic idea that ior the last ten years on an average fifteen tlmusand oi their number had been injured on American railroads while handling material. Tliat is more tlum were injured last year in all classes of railroad accidents. 5.000 copies of this josu-r were distributed. In 1932 there were seven employee* killetl and 3.7R7 injured while landling material. Tlwt constitutes 5 per cent of the death* ami 38 per cent of the injuries in all non-train accidents on American railroads. "Please Sir. Look Doth Ways." There are one million railroad employee* in tlic United States subject to the dangers that this poster is trying to cure. In 1932. 128 out of a total oi 367 train service accidents, or 35 per cent of all the deaths in train service accidents, were the result of being struck or am over hy engines or cars. 1 consider this the most difficult problem in connection with railroad men. Not only train service employees, lint shopmen and trackmen, station employee*, officers from licadquartcrs. every man wlm works for the railroad is subject to (he danger of bring struck or run over hy engines or cars. It is for this reason that the Committee on Education has produced more (posters and more illustrated matter