Document 3N3evZ3pdZRyj9q0bJOzGzMr0

THE INDUSTRIAL SAFETY MOVEMENT Enthusiasm--an interest u safety. (A full discussion is given ut Chapter 7, "Maintain ing Employee Interest in Safety.") Acceleration of the drive for safety The industrial safety movement swept the great industries of the nation in the years between the two world wars. World War Q heightened and intensified the safety drive. Conservation of manpower became a watchword The federal govern ment encouraged widespread safety activities among its contractors large and small Safety personnel were hastily framed to deal with the tremendous expansion of the indus trial plant The postwar period brought no retreat from well-considered safety activity Oldlme leaders of industry, as well as new comers to the top ranks, were converted to the safety viewpoint of the handful of 1912 In 1948, for example. Admiral Ben Moreell, then president of Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation, wrote. "Although safe and healthful working con ditions can be justified on a cold dollars-andcents basis, I prefer to justify them on the basic principle that it is the right thing to do. In discussing safety m industrial operations, I have often heard it stated that the cost of adequate health and safety measures would be prohibitive and that 'we can't afford it' "My answer to that is quite simple and quite direct It is this 'If toa can't afford safety, we cant afford to he in business'" Efforts by federal and state governments in the industrial safety field have progressed beyond mere legislation and enforcement A senes of national and state industnal safety conferences, which brought together inter ested parties on all fronts, have been useful m helping to promote safety more widely than ever before. A by-product of organized safety activity has been increased interest in safety engi neering on the part of schools of higher learning A number of schools now offer advanced courses in this subject and are contributing to a higher standard of knowl edge among professionals in the field The World War II labor shortage dramat ically brought home to management the magnitude and seriousness of the problem of off-the-job accidents to industnal employees Interest in off-the-job safety has been heightened in recent years by the passage of numerous state laws on compulsory insur ance which, in effect make the employer financially responsible for all illnesses and injuries to workers, whether they originate on or off the job. Today, an increasing number of employers are including off-the-job safety m their overall safety program. From the earliest days of industnal safety work, it has never been possible to make a clear separation between health and accident hazards Is dermatitis an accident or a dis ease9 What about hernias and heart trouble? Inevitably, there have been interest and ac tivity on the part of safety men m many health problems that are on the borderline between diseases and accidents. Over the years, an increasingly effective organized co operation between medical and safety men has developed in these areas In 50 years, the organized safety move ment has grown m stature from the concern of a handful of enthusiasts to a powerful and constructive force. Accomplishments In any movement of social progress, there are many factors which must be considered in evaluating the usefulness of the effort. In evaluating the work of the safety movement, particularly, a complex set of 1 161,100 I WUSM t MtllQIM III IMII tlliuilll WtlttCIII immim nui in si mi * JfctaM Mot 83,1913. *io Fig. 1-7. Protective spectacles patented In 1915 had removable folding side shields. IS