Document 3Jew1q2kb1zXxw8wDz484V8L0
1961 Motional Safety Congress
where . . . All the Time,0 "Knowing is says 4 'Tm a Bug." What's that about?
Not Enough,** etc. We had posters all over What's t mean?* You say, `You'll find the plant; we had safety committees: out-' "
everything you can think of, but we still
You know, that came to be a watchword
liad a problem because these things had overnight. "You'll find out." Pretty soon
been used. They were no longer new.
everyone was saying, "You'll find out."
1 had a brain storm, and this is my baby, lie did a terrific job for us in four of our Rudd plants; and, because he did a terrific
1'Hiring the first week, our executive safety committee, comprised of our top management in the plant, including our
job. we want to hand turn to you. The plant manager, wore inns that nobody knew*
program is entirely new. is attention getting, is talk-inspiring, is interest-arousing and
anything about. The following week, wc conducted our monthly foremen's meeting,
includes everyone from the president to the and at that meeting we decided to bounce
newest sweeper if you warn to make it this program to them. We made them "I'm
do so.
a Bugs" simply by handing them the pin, telling them to put it on, wear it all the
time you are in this plant. Further, don't
tell anybody what this is about; just say.
"YouU find out."
At the end of our second week with all
our foremen and al! our executive safety
committee wearing this pin. there was no
one who knew what it was all about except
the wearers- We had a lot of curiosity
aroused in our plant. At the beginning of
this program, the first poster appeared on
a Sunday afternoon throughout that plant
anywhere there was a spare piece of blank
wall, poster board or anything else. That
poster appeared on Sunday afternoon with
Our program follows four base steps. nobody in the plant. People coming in on
Wc call this tlie Tm a Bug** program. Monday morning or Monday afternoon or
I called together my executive plant safety Monday's third shift, everywhere they
committee, and f proceeded to make them looked they saw* an "I'm a Bug" staring at
"I'm-a-Bugs." This little character, Tm a them. And it was talked about.
Bug," is symbolic. Here's the idea. I*m a bug on safety. That's all he is. and it is easy to guess, but you*11 be amaxed at the
The second week, as far as the employees were concerned, foremen were wearing tlie same pins that were appearing all ovu the
number of other answers that it generates as you unfold your purpose.
plant on posters. During the third week, our instructions to our foremen were that
1 called this executive safety* committee together, and I proceeded to outline to them the four steps we would follow, and I made them "I'm a Bug" simply by putting on their lapels an *Tm a Bug" pin. They became at that moment a bug on safety. Then, we hit the personal side by saying. "Fellows, as executive safety members, you are now bugs on safety and you are the stepping stone in our program that is going to take four weeks to cover. In that time you must, to make the program successful, follow implicitly the outline. By that. 1 mean for the next week you cannot tell anyone what that pin means. You Itave only one answer. The guy* comes up to you and
they would receive as many inns as they had employees working for them. We told them. "We want you to make your people Tm-a-Bugs.* This is how you an do it. You can make an "I'm a Bug" out of one of your employees if you see him doing something about which you have cautioned
him and he is doing it right and he is doing it safe; or, he comes to you with an idea to prevent an accident in any way or formWe don't even care if it's a good idea or a lousy idea. As long as this man is think ing and has an idea that -is acceptable or not. he is thinking safety. He is a bug on safety. Make him an "I"m a Bug." Tell him why. and tell him don't divulge it but
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Automotive and Machine Shop Section
say, `You'll find out* to any employee that asks him who is not wearing an Tm a Bug.' "
Most important we had people talking and we had them talking about that, to than, was important. Those in the know thought they were pretty sharp. Those who were not in the know, we double crossed; we really double crossed them.
At the end of that third week, I sent a
letter to all employees in our 6,000-man
plant and this included our officers. The
letter stated: "We suspect
the Bodd
employee in your family hag already let
you know about the little fellow, Tm a
Bug.* He has become well known to all our
people as Tm a Bug* born at the Budd
Company's Detroit plant less than a month
ago. He gained immediate acceptance by all
who met him. In the
he has
been conducting, he gained scores of
followers every day.
"The only way in which we can describe him is to say he is an idea which has grown into an attitude awl that is what an `I'm a Bug* is. `I'm a Bug* simply means l*m a Bug on safety. 1 am such a bug on safety that I am constantly alert for those things that cause accidents. Since most ac cidents occur because someone docs some thing wrong. I'm always taking a look at the way I do things. I'm finding ways to do them better and more safely. I believe in bugging other people too if I find than taking chances, but such an idea is not confined to work out at the plant.'
**A fellow's wife bugs him imtil he
cleans up that fire hazard in the basement,
gets rid of the tripping hazards cm the
basement stairs, puts a new bulb in the
dark closet, and many more too numerous to
mention; but we can retaliate by pointing
out that matches should be p>ard out of
reach of children, high heels should not be
worn on highly waxed floors, the radio
should not be played in the bathtub and you
know how it goes; but, when it
to
being a bug on safety, just think how we
bug our children, teaching them to cross
the street safely, teaching th^m to ride thor
bikes safely, and teaching them to live a
full life safely.
"The Budd employee in your family is probably wearing a bug pin already. It was
given to him by his foreman in recognition of a fact that the employee believes in and practices safety. (Here comes the double cross.) If he hasn't received his pin yet, maybe he hasn't earned it by using safe practices."
1 never heard such repercussions as we received from that letter. We had women Ailing, "What's my husband trying to do. kill himself over there? Does he practice safety, does he want to get hurt, can you control him? Make him do it."
We had men coming into, my .office, the plant manager's office, and the superintend ent's office saying. "Look I want a doggone pin. I don't want 'jo get hurt. What's this tiling all about?"
That was the fourth week. These letters went out at the end of the third, so we told our foremen the plan of operation for the fourth week. The last week you have about 40 per cent of your people who are not Tra-a-Bugs." As yet, they still don't know what it's all about until they read that letter. Mow, you take five minutes and talk to every man who doesn't have a pin on. Explain why. You watched him for weeks trying to find one thing right that he was doing safely. One little extra thing or the fact that he didn't come to you with anything concerning a safety idea. Explain to him why "I'm a Bug" is important.
Xow you give him a pin. Join the group.
Become a bug on safety. We
up
those four weeks and very truthfully not
because of my efforts, but because of the
efforts of our foremen who ran this and
the employees whp loved it. We had a far better program, far more results, far
greater and far reaching results than we
ever would have anticipated.
The Greater Detroit Council is now handling this program. It is available to you. The;.* in turn are going to make a little bit of money on it, not muiih, and
they are going to use it for civic projects. During the week, our fornnoi received their pins.
One foreman in our tool shop had at home a Itttle six year old daughter, who asked,- "Duldy, What's the pin about?" So, he told her, "This is an Tm a Bug* pin. The safety man gave it to me over at work today, and I'm supposed to bug people on being safe so they don't get hurt. That
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