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p- y. Officers 1938.1939 General Chairman--E. A. Roberts, AmericanMutual Liability Insurance Co., Atlanta, Ga. Vice-Chairman--E. M. SALtky, American Enka Corp., Enka, N. C. Secretary and News Letter 'Editor--Frazer; Pattebsok, W. G Bradley Interests, Colum bus, Ga. v ^ 'a Engineering Committee Chairman--Norman F. .Hines, Ludlow Manufacturing & Sales Co., Ludlow, Mass. Health^Co^mittee Chairman--Feed W. Sehl, Aetna Life Insurance Co., Hartford, Conn. Membership and Publicity Committee Chairman--Jett M. Potts, West Point Manufactur ing Co, West Point, Ga. Program Committee Chairman--W. R. McCallum, South Carolina Industrial Commission, Columbia, S. C . ,v Statistics Committee Chairman--W. L. Powell, North Carolina Industrial Commission, Raleigh, N.O c Visual`Education Committee Chairman--C C Campbell, Marshall Field & Co, Spray, N.C c' Members at Large-r- . J. E. Bergert, Johns-Mauville Corp., Manville, N. J. B. R. Brown, Columbia Milk, Inc, Chicago^ III. H. R. Cosy, Beacon Manufacturing Con Swannanoa, N. C Charles H. Eaues, Lowell Textile Institute, Lowell, Mass. Russell T. Fisher, National Assn, of Cotton Manufacturers, Boston, Mass. . A. S. Johnson, American Mutual Liability Insurance Co., Boston, Mass. * H. McKelvee; Merriniack Manufacturing Co., Huntsville, Ala. Gilbert R. Mhubu, Lowell .Textile lhsfitute,;LoweIl, Mass. / fFKAirtt E. Morris, Liberty Mutaal Insurance Co., Boston, Mass. JR G. Stuhberg, Tallassee Mills^Tallassee, Ala. J?T. Trounger, North American Rayon Corp^ Elizabethton, Tenn. R. B. Wickham, West-Point Manufacturing Co., West Point, Ga~ => T. A. Wilson, North Carolina Industrial Commission, Raleigh, N. G Past General Chatman Officers 1939-1940 General Chairman--E. A. Roberts,: American Mutual Liability Insurance Co., Atlanta, Ga. Vice-Chairman--E. M. Salley, American Enka Corp^ Enka, N. G Secretary: and News Letter Editor--Frances Bethune, R. N.,. Firestone Cotton Mills, " Gastonia, N. G Engineering Cofnmittee Chairman--It B. Wickham, WestPoint Manufacturing Co., West Point, Ga. - ,, ;" Health Committee Chairman--M. F. Trice, Nortlf iCarolina Board of Health, Raleigh, N.G c ,, - ". " Membership and Publicity Committee Chairman--W. R. McCallum, South Carolina In dustrial Commission, Columbia, -S. C Program Committee Chairman--W. L. 'Powell, North. Carolina Industrial Commission, Raleigh,N.G ' - Safe Practices Pamphlet Committee Chairman--Norman F. Hines, Ludlow Manufacturing & Sales Co., Ludlow, Mass. 677 678 28th National Safety Congress Committee on Cooperation with Trade Associations, Chairman--F. H. Shuford, North Carolina Department of Labor, Raleigh, N. C Visual Education Committee Chairman--W. D. Weaver, Marshall Field & Co., Spray, N.C. Members at Large-- ' J. E. Bergert, Johns-Manville, Corp., Manville, N. J. B. R. Brown, Columbia Mills, Inc., Roseland, Chicago, 111. . J. T. Brown, E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Cb., Old Hickory, Tenn. John J. Burger, W. J, Dickey & Sons, Inc., Oella, Baltimore Co., Md. H. R. Cory, Beacon Manufacturing Co., Swannanea, N. C. Charles H. Eames, Lowell Textile Institute, Lowell, Mass. Arthur S. Johnson, American Mutual Liability Insurance Co., Boston, Mass. H. McKelvie, Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Huntsville, Ala. Frank E. Morris, Libert}' Mutual Insurance Co., Boston, Mass. *T. A. Wilson, North Carolina Industrial Commission, Raleigh, N. C. Past General Chairman TUESDAY AFTERNOON SESSION October 17,1939 The opening session of the Textile Sec tion was called to order by General Chair man E. #A. Roberts, District Engineering Manager, American Mutual Liability In surance Company, Atlanta, Ga., who pre sided. - Chairman Roberts presented in his annual report a brief resume of Section and Committee activities, and then introduced the first' speaker as listed in the scheduled program. How Far Can We Go Without Management in' Developing and Maintaining a Satisfactory Safety Program? By HUGH L. BRYAN Personnel Manager, Sonoco Products Co., Hartsviile, S. C. There can be only one answer. The inter- . est taken in the safety program by foremen and other employees is in direct proportion to the interest, enthusiasm and support shown it by management I say this unre servedly and emphatically. Who of us has not heard an associate, referring to the boss, say, "You can 4o al most anything else and get away with it? but you had better not fail to turn in the `old man's' daily departmental reports," or some thing similar to that? Many an "old man" has a pet hobby or theory which he is very enthusiastic about and which is strictly ob served by his employees, sometimes through fear but usually through respect. Now if this pet hobby or theory happens to be the safety program its success is largely as sured This is a very ambitious subject,,-for we may well ask ourselves, how far can we go without the cooperation of our employ ees? The initial steps, however, must always be taken by management Often we find top men, whether presi dents, superintendents, or department heads, who have beoi on their jobs for almost half a century--men of the old school-who have done an.. excellent job of managing,' but who have always accepted as a matter of course that a. certain number of accidents were bound to happen and that not a great deal could be done about it. Since they really believed this it is only natural that their younger subordinates should share the same opinion. The' entire safety movement throughout our country is still very much in its infancy and, alth it will pi its true day by s< would se . us believ sible in I a produc of salesn the safet; as manaj tion pro stage, fc sanction. How c When it he spend program to ask: ` For hftei to be mi .will wan and his e The bt the expc of such a The pi from, a 1 sary to < we all ag dents wil worthwhi Considi results o actual st injured e sider. T1 when he tvith dep insurance work, is : . lar needs haps for< taken car r again.' 1 ' From i - ajso sust a key nu tion line, up until tained. 1 productio Certain alone, ar employer can best could be; Textile Section 679 ad, although in the span of a few years I should like to give you a statement of pll probably be accepted universally for our plant's experiences in this. connection. ha true value, the interest-shown in it to We are not boastful of our achievements, day by some industries is still lukewarm. It- but our experience may show why our would seem to me, then, to be the duty of 'management believes heartily in the safety . us believers to make as loud.a noise as pos program. sible in behalf of the safety'work. Just as' a product is-marketed, the'same principles of salesmanship'must be employed in selling the safety program to management As soon as management is sold, the accident-preven tion program will pass its ` probationary stage, for it will have secured executive sanction. How can we go about this salesmanship ? When it is suggested to an employer that he spend more time in developing a safety program in his'plant he is naturally going to ask: "How do I know that it will pay?" For after all, an actual investment will have to be made in time and in money, and he .will want some assurance that- his company To get a proper picture of our problem it will be necessary to go back several years for statistics.- In 1935,' which is the first year that accurate records are available, our recap for the year showed a total of 436 accidents reported, of which 152 re sulted in lost time amounting to 2^09 days. After studying these figures our management was jolted into the realization that something must be done to reduce accidents and lost time: for these accidents and resulting losses occurred- in a plant employing less than . 1,000 people! .Imagine, please, if one man lost that much time: he would be out for ' six years and 19 days! and his employees, will receive dividends. ; Before this time, we did have a so-called The best-answer tliat .I know of is from safety program, with an ineffective safety the experience of- others and a fair test committee, but we did not have the atten- of such a program in his own plant. ' tion and interest of .the foremen or employ ees. In the early part of 1936 the manage The primary consideration fo, of'course, ment5 gave a "shot" of enthusiasm to the from, a humane standpoint It is not neces- safety committee which is composed of key sary'to dwell on, that for I am sure that men throughout our mill. This committee we all agree that any effort to prevent acci/ began meeting once each month to discuss d'mts will- prevent suffering and thisis most what could best be done to reduce acci jthwhile.' dents, eliminate hazards, and-correct unsafe Consider for a moment the far-reaching practices. Subcommittees were appointed to 'results .of an:accident In addition to the make a.- study of the proper guarding of actual suffering from injury there is .the machines and the investigation of accidents. injured employee's loss of earnings to -con These committees functioned with surprising sider. The effects of this loss' do not cease, success: when he returns to work, for a family man . with dependents will usually find th^t his !'' For example, we have an arrangement insurance money, while he is away from of automatic circular shears which cut paper work, is insufficient to provide for' the regu-: . patterns on our cone machines. These shears lar needs of his family, and he is then per were the source of a number of lost fingers haps forced to obtain credit which must be over , a period, of several years, yet little taken care of when, his full earnings begin thought had been given as to just how* they again; could be guarded. The committee, working - From the employer's standpoint a loss is also sustained. If the injured employee is " under orders from the management, sug gested a method by which the shear blades a key man or skilled laborer in a produc were effectively guarded and with little ex tion line, the entire work is-retarded or held pense. In fact they are now.so well guarded up until a suitable substitute can be ob that recently I tried to get my finger under tained. This, of course, means decreased one and was unable to do so. production a- nd infc. reased overhead. c ' Certainly these-two results of an accident, alone^ are important enough to make an employer sit up and . take notice if a method can-be...suggested whereby such an accident Before guarding the shears, 13 fingers or :parts of fingers had' beenlost; after guard ing, only one finger and that on a machine from which a fixer had removed the guard and carelessly failed to replace it. could be avoided. How did this come about? Simply.because 680 28th National Safety Congress management authorized time and thought- large number, yet it showed a decrease of and assigned a definite objective.. more than half of the days .lost in 1936. In 1936 our recap for the year showed that 1,069 accidents were reported of which 159 resulted in lost time. The total num ber of days lost was 2,327. In comparing In 1938, 497' accidents were reported, of which 28 caused lost time amounting-Jo ' 536 days. This was 1,673 fewer lost days than in 1935! these figures with those for 1935rypn will To sum up, as a spot comparison, here immediately think I am doing anything but is our record of lost time accidents for proving my point, for the figures for 1936 the last four Januaries. are greater than for 1935. Remember, how ` January, 1936... .23 L. T. A. ever, that we are concerned at this point 1937.... 3 "r " V, with proving "improvement" only. 1938.... 2 " " One requirement under our new safety 1939.... 0 " " organization plan at that time was that Since' January, 1939, we have still been every accident, slight or severe, had to be having accidents--too many, in fact--but reported. This rule was made mainly to the number is still below that of the same . reduce the danger of infection after minor period in 1938. injuries. Consequently, we expected a greater number of reported accidents in 1936 'than. in .1935. But what about the increased' number of lost time accidents in 1936 and ' the-greater number of days lost? Let me Until now, wehave spoken of management as though it were one man or one small . group, but I must point out to you that management in its final analysis is composed not only-of ; the executive personnel of a , cite the following: company, Jbtxt also of what- we might term In January, 1936, we had 23 lost time the entire "chain of command,". from the accidents; in June, 1936, we had 15; in' president of the company to the second October, 1936, we had 10; but in December, hand in its smallest department 1936, not a single lost time accident oc Very* often some of the best safety work curred. Throughout the entire year a uni is carried; on by so-called "straw-bosses" form decrease was noted, so that, although because it is these men who have the per the total number of lost time accidents in sonal contact and the direct supervision of 1936 exceeded those of 1935, we felt we individual, employees. They are in an ex were beginning to accomplish what we had cellent position to demand that employees set out to do--decrease our accidents uni under them correct unsafe conditions .and formly. We felt that it was impossible for practice safety in their work at all times. so great a decrease to have been by chance alone, so this-, became the first entry in the credit column of the safety program. However, I repeat, this desired condition can be attained only if the foremen-are convinced by the highest management that Now let me give you our recaps for.. 1937 safety is a definite part of their supervision and 1938. In 1937 a total of 981 accidents duties and they, in turn implant in the men were reported, of which 65 caused lost time tinder them a strong belief and enthusiasm amounting to 1,232 days. This still was a for safety. Fitting the Safety Program to the Plant Needs By A. P. McINTOSH Resident Engineer, American Mutual Liability Insurance Company, Greenville, S. C. When a plant safety program is ineffec tive, or fads, we are prone to look for luke warm executive attitude or inefficiency in the safety organization membership. Quite often we find what we look for, but the trouble is, we do not look in the right place for the right thing. Nothing is so discouraging to plant executives and supervisory forces , as an operating machine with no produc- turn, and that, is what we have with the safety organization -meeting regularly and going through certain motions, without the plant at ' ment 2 nothing The , plant ss any, th< . safety prpgran through ^?>about it -'-""a nearb and obt diately applies Or, son ommenc or simp it with to work A lot prtdicar the arm ing swe geant f only ar messkit of then good fil Some o plant n< form: fit Ever} still net be effec a charai supervi: the job. must cc sible th Set-up; and Wc In th sider tl just hodeparts textile ] this sor tnlities wide di oversee another differen their en dies hi enjployr We < ill \* * '' f V- Textile Section 681 . plant accident experience showing imprbve- a supervisory safety function that will fit ' >... Money and time are being spent and both, of these cases, but we can. give Mr. jhing ilheing accomplished.' Superintendent a dose study. Usually the The greatest cause' of failure of many, plant safety prograins is that but little, if any, thought has been given'to the plant. . safety needs by those who initiated the program. An executive realizes his losses army sergeant-type superintendent has sur rounded himsdf. with army-corporal type overseer^ and second; hands. A careful an alysis of existing; conditions will enable us to devise a plan to fit each particular case. . through accidents and tries, to do something ... If either type superintendent leaves all em about it Usually he looks around arn^ finds ployee control to his overseers and second -^a nearby mill following a certain procedure hands, then the safety organization should and obtaining excellent results. He imme' be built, around these overseers -and second diately obtains a smattering of detail and hitnds, and they should report safety activi applies it "as is" to his mill with no results. ties to the superintendent in the same man Or, someone who should know better rec ner as they do tfadr other activities.' If the ommends a."Standard Safety Organization," . - superintendent retains' an interlocking em- or simply a safety organization, and leaves , ployee controbfor himself, then the super it with, the plant executive'or superintendent intendent should be incorporated in the to work out his own salvation, r .safety organization set-up. The better we A lot of plants are in about the same work out the safety organization details in ..predicament that I was .when I joined keeping with plant ^supervision, the more the army during the World War. After be efficient the organization will be. ing sworn in I was sent to the supply ser V. ' ... . geant for mv uniform and equipment The" There is one item we should not over only articles I received that fitted were a look;, the plant executive must evidence his messkit and a rifle and I had to,clean both interest by . meeting occasionally with the of them. The uniform would have been a. plant safety organization in regular meetings good fit for a lot of people; but not me. .or at a special meeting, and by letters of Some of our jilant safety programs, fit the. i suggestion and/or commendation. plant needs just as poorly'as that.first uni Employee types should! be given full study.. form fitted me. 4 Frequently, when approached on the idea of' very industrial plant has needed" and ' a safety program the plant executive will tell needs an effective safety program! To- you that for certain reasons his labor prob be effective, the''program must be of such lem is different from that of any other a character that it is an integral part of each textile plant. Usually he goes into detail supervisor's and employee's -duty while on to substantiate this statement. the job. In fitting the plant safety needs we must consider seriously and as fully as pos sible the following: (1) The Supervisory Set-up; (2) Employee Types(3) Machine and Work Hazards; (4) Plant Layout. . You should welcome this opportunity, first, because he is telling you how he feels toward his labor and, second, he is giving you an insight as' to his caliber as an executive. Usually an executive gets the . kind of em In the supervisory set-up we must con ployees that he wants in his plant, or he sider the;, caliber of its membership ibid consciously or- unconsciously moulds them just bow much, if any, overlap there is in to the pattern he wants. departmental responsibility. In the caverage textile plant there is- very .little overlap of this sort; each overseer having his responsi bilities all clearly defined. But, there is a . wide difference m the .manner in which;one overseer can handle his labor compared with another overseer in the .same plant, but.in a different department. Some overseers handletheir employees like an. army sergeant han dles his .plktoon, while others treat theiremployees as members of a large family. i r. Employees may be intelligent or ignorant; conservative or; radical. Whatever their make-up, they- are human and have a defi nite place in the plant -safety program-- the same place they have in plant produc tion. Fortunate is the executive who has an intelligent, conservative .type`labor, for it is., then simpler to. fit the plant safety program- to die employees. He is in a better position to appeal to them ^directly and frankly than if labor conditions are less We cannot expect to set., up arbitrarily favorable. 3 682 28th National Safety Congress Ofttimes, for various reasons, he may not be able to includethem in the active working set-up.of the plant safety program. But he can direct the plant safgty^activity so that every move it makestfvTljj, bejea^nized as being for the personal j.benefit ofaQ em ployees. Since the emploWfr loses more than anyone else through accidents, should he not also profit more, by prevention? We miss our golden opportunity when we fail to carry' this thought to our employees in' our safety work. > % > Whenever possible,. the employee person nel should be represented -by departmental employees, with rotation of this departmental employee representation at intervals of from sixty days to six months. One mill in South Carolina has been doing this for five years and nearly half their employees so far have served actively in the safety organiza tion. Tltis is an old mill, but accidents occur infrequently. These employees take pride in being members of the safety organization. They retain their memberships as honorary*, and are active in this status by making helpful suggestions from time to time. On the other hand, unfortunately, there are many plants in which it is not desirable to incorporate employee representation. - We must so arrange our program to fit their needs also. It-may be a situation thaj re quires developing a definite , penalty schedule for safety rule violations if faulty produc tion is minimized in this manner. This is definitely not desirable, but at times may be necessary. In approaching the problem of employee safety education it is always best to give consideration to the following three motivat ing factors of salesmanship: (a) personal benefit by keeping that which one has;.(b) profit or gain for oneself; (c) profit and gain for others in whom there is'a personal interest. The machine and work hazards in ..the majority of textile plants have been well protected. There are, however, isolated cases where this is not true and these plants should be given special consideration. There is a surprising number of flimsy and-makeshift physical safeguards that exist even in some of the large plants today where this need has ~qot had proper consideration. Fortu nately, such plants are not representative of the average cotton mill. Experience has taught us that a physical safeguard, must be substantial but not cum bersome; it must, guard the hazard but not handicap the operation, and should be re movable but not removed except for repairs. Some person capable of recognizing phys ical hazards'afid designing protective devices should be included in the safety .organization,. membership. The plant engineer is normally expected to handle this work and is capable, of doing so, but with his many and varied plant responsibilities, he is unable to devote the rime.'and study required,. although he should in; all cases be included as an ad visory member of the safety organization for the benefit of. his experience and advice. Usually we must consider another person with similar talent. I have found the as sistant engineer or machine shop second hand to be a very -suitable person to give close study to physical hazards. He is striv- . ing to progress and giye evidence of his initiative and ingenuity,- and takes a credit able pride in his accomplishments more so than the .engineer who is firmly established and does the job simply as an added duty. To guard a machine it requires a properly designed and installed guard plus education of operators as to its purpose and benefits, w'hh sufficient supervision to see that it is properly used. Normal safety, organization . activities' should begin with a study of and protection against physical hazards. 1 Have found the injured employee to be a veritable gold mine of information in accident investigation, by drawing , out his suggestions for prevention of a similar accident. This can be done only after assur ing the employee that there will be no in crimination or personal criticism. Lions and., lambs alike respond to kindness, notwith standing the fact that we use different meth ods of.applying kindness in'each case. We provide a cage for a lion and a pasture for the lamb. , It is ail too easy, and natural for a plant safety organization to fall into error by devoting its full efforts to physical items selected more or less at random; therefore, serious thought should be given to a pro gressive physical safeguarding and mainte nance program by considering physical hazr ards in the order of their seriousness and the employee exposure This is not only financially economical, but provides a con-,, tinuous educational feature both for labor and supervisory force by- keeping before them co tection: In stn consider the.num nrnhber Each -,d< rangeme from otl differenc volved. For tween a . housing;: ing open gram mi the safe! be in a .1 ees, part of shift: shift per to fit thi operates In pn casionall; erating s unit, am grown o ically s identical there arc this cat< where w< rooms a rooms, considers ncccssital a This lii machine; This tf will repre The fle normal fl Haye y Textile Section 683 them concrete illustrations of physical pro- > :> which in turn involves accident probabilities ' |on.' . & abnormal to the average textile operations. *n studying the plant layout, ..we should consider the number and size of departments, the.number of employees involved and the nuihber of shifts. operated at the plant. Each department involves mechanical -ar rangements and hazards entirely 'different from others, and frequently, there is serious difference in the caliber of the labor.'in volved. o . For example^ there is a wide ,variation be tween equipment and labor used in warehousingand yard operations and the finish ing operations, and yet the plant safety pro For example, the employees of one de partment passing through another depart ment, or departments, throughout each shift and the handling of material through de partments without processing. Surely this is defined as poor planning. Poor planning de velops unusual accidents. It is then an obli gation of the plant safety organization to better coordinate'the operations if possible. There is also present a wonderful oppor tunity for the safety organization member ship to prove its merit, not only as an acciderit prevention agency, but also as a material gram must fit the needs of both. Normal!)', the safety organization representation should. be in a fair ratio to the number of employ ees, particularly in reference to the number of shifts. Where a mill operates only one , shift per day it is a much simpler problem tQ fit the safety needs than where the plant operates two or. three shifts per day. . In practically all lines of industry oc- casionally we find a plant that started op erating a great many years ago as a small <tinit, and in time has increased to a fullgrown operation, with two or more, phys ically separated departments performing identical operations. Strange as it seems, there are a number of such textile plants in f \ category, in the South particularly, v.ire we find two card rooms, two spinning aid to plant efficiency. The item of safety. incentive should be given serious consideration in the safety program--not pecuniary reward, but merit recognition that appeals to the better part of humanity as a whole. A deserved pat on the back is more productive than a kick in the pants at any time. It is the obligation of the safety organization to recognize where merit is due, to place it properly and to alter the methods of recognition as plant conditions change. Merit certificates, posters, bulletins and other attention devices, to be effective, should parallel plant safety re quirements and should always be in refer ence. to the department rather than to the individual. rooms and frequently two or more weave Plant safety is a definite part of produc rooms. Frequently in such cases there is tion. Why not give, a serious thought to considerable crossing of operations which safety in the plant asTwc do to process? We necessitates excessive handling of materials plan process, why not plan safety also? THURSDAY AFTERNOON SESSION October 19,1939 A Bag of Safety Tricks By R. W. LAUGHLIN Resident Engineer, Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., Portland, Me. This, tittle gadget is what I call my habit machine: This thread, you will note is black. That will represent things done wrong. The flexibility of this device denotes the normal flexibility of a person's will power. Have you ever considered the-wide choice a person may take in accomplishing any particular thing? Suppose , we are thirsty and want a drink of water. There -are many ways that this may be accomplished: (a) Finding a brook; river or . stream, kneeling down and lapping up the water. 684 28th National Safety Congress (b) We can fill our mouths full of water tack the problem' of the elimination of the from a hose. little unsafe acts. (c) Putting our mouth directly under the faucet. (d) We can fill a bucket with water and transfer it to our mouths in this manner. (e) We can use the conventional drinking glass, conveying it to our mouths with either our right or left hand. (f) We can form a cup with our hands . and convey the water to our mouths in this manner. (g) Wc can fill our hat full of water and drink out of that; etc. As a matter of fact, we use the conven tional method of the drinking glass because that is the common and conventional thing to do. The first time we do something wrong we usually have to exert ourselves to do so. That is denoted by the bother of tying this first knot As we become used to doing this wrong act we find it increasingly easy to do. But if we realize the possible con sequences in time, a little exertion of our will power will enable us to break the bad habit that is be^ig-fprmed. Now let's perform another series, of un safe practices. After a while we find our First, wc must recognize them. To recognize them we must thoroughly analyze every motion used in connection with a certain operation. To correct them we can apply what some one has wisely called the four rules of teaching: 1. Tell a man. 2. Show a man. 3. Have the man show you. 4. Check him. Has it ever occurred to you how you Walk? I didn't say "how to walk" but rather how you walk. I feel that there are a few fundamentals governing the correct way to stand, to turn, to walk. . Let us analyze them a bit together. I claim that the average man should stand squarely 'on both feet, having his feet approximately ten and one-half inches apart Why? < ' Because the hip bones of the average man areten and one-half inches apart and the feet of the. same man are about ten inches long. That will put him Tin a square base and his legs will be vertical columns. . selves unable to break the habit formed. In turning, I maintain that one foot should Unfortunately,-we have no means of ampu never be placed at an angle of more, than tation of bad habits, so how then can we 80 with the.other. Why? break this habit that has our will power so As I stand with my feet about ten and completely tied? one-half inches apart. Itwist my right foot The best way to change a bad habit or until I feel the twisting action in my knee an unsafe practice is to begin to do the or hip joint My feet are now' at an ap thing the right , or die safe way with in proximate angle of 80 with one another. creasing frequency. We-could start in by Now as to walking. Some people walk doing the thing right once out of five with a spring}- stride. times, gradually increasing this to once out of three, times, then every other time. Normally, that is all right, when there is ample friction between the shoe and the The more often we do the thing the right floor surface, but the slipperyness of floor or the safe way, the sooner we will break surfaces varies greatly. Some floors are the; habit and eventually regain our original . oily or wet flexibility. Once this point has been achieved, we can start repeating the act consecutively the right or the safe way until we have This piece of waxed linoleum represents a slippery floor. . formed another habit--but this time it will Let me put this weight on this drag and be the right habit. measure the pull of the platform floor on This teaches us diat the way to break bad these scales in pounds. , habits is to eliminate unsafe acts. If is not Now let's try the springy stride on the so much the big habits that should concern linoleum. Likely to fall on a slippery floor. us as the little careless acts. . That is what I call walking with friction. Now let us consider the best way to at Here is' another' way to walk, walking in balan one foo> other ur above tli racy to the aver a know) up or fli Befoiri let me This i the tnm Some spare fl this. W better? accident Now. plane. This twister the step in a fligl The s . of- grav point b: down.. . an angli Again \ ance. Note with ca under o tanks a canvas They al Some this bus be all would 1 mill. This tried be ning de partmer month i cases. .' astellir to do demons) .by the bosses, 1 000.00 accident We a Textile Section 685 j'Halahce. Stepping out while balanced on hands who say, "What can you do about < j foot, and bringing the weight oh the dumb-bells who fall down and hurt them duicr until the center of gravity is directly selves?1" Many times these overseers and above the forward foot eliminates the tend-, second-liands are sincere in their statement rncy to slip. It is helpful "to note here that because they think , that anyone must be a the average, person, when walking on ice or dumb-bell who falls down. As a matter of a known slippery surface, tends to loosen fact-you -don't have to be a dumb-bell to up or flex his knee and hip joints a bit'. fatl down. In our opinion, too many falls Before considering`turning while walking, let me arrange some properties. This is the spare floor, the space between the trunk and the step is a machine alky. are caused because the injured people don't know how to'balance their bodies properly.' If they can be taught to balance their bodies properly the injuries can be avoided and therefore a lot out be done about eliminating Some operatives turn squarely from the falling hazards. spare floor into the alley something like this. Wouldn't a side step, like this, be much better? You might call it "side-stepping" accidents. Do you have trouble keeping bobbins off the-floor?. Does an occasional nail get on the floor and get run over by a truck wheel, cocking it up like this? Now let us try some steps in' the vertical ' plane. How can you get operatives in your mill to adhere to the slogan, "If it doesn't This step can represent the step on a belong on the floor, pick it up ?" twister frame or a wool spinning frame, the step or steps.to an oil tank or any step in a flight of stairs anywhere. = One way that has been effective in a num ber of mills is for the "boss" of whatever capacity'whenever he sees such materials on The same principle .of keeping the center the floor to pick them up himself, hand them of' gravity of the body directly above the to . the., nearest .operator and walk away with- point of support holds in stepping up or - out Saying a word. down. But some people approach steps at` an angle, like tins, or step down like this. Again we should consider'friction vs. bal- I know a boss weaver who occasionally gets down behind a loom and very painstakingly stacks the loom weights, as they ' Note that one-half of this step is covered with canvas. One"'mill found that; even under oily conditions, covering steps, to "oil tanks and on wool spinning frames with canvas reduced their falls tremendously. They also found that the canvas wears well. Some of yon . may be--, thinking that all this business of demonstrating walking 'may be all right for a conference talk, but should be stacked, in a neat pile close to the frame of the loom; but he doesn't say anything to the weaver and he doesn't have to do this often. This same'boss weaver has provided a socket on the end of the loom frames for the cleaning, brashes.. He can look down a line of rlooms and see instantly if a brush is out of position while the loom is running. would have no practical value in your own Incidentally, <he hasn't had a lost time acd- anil. " . .dent in his: room, for four years. He is the This demonstration on walking was first tried before the employees of a large spin ning department, 600 employees. This de foreseeing type of overseer, not the type that defines "seeing" as "looking" and there fore "overlooks" many things. partment averaged one Or more falls per Somewhat in contrast! Here is a hook month and many of them were lost time designed to clean a picker cylinder when cases. It was a "last straw" proposition, the machine is stopped. -An operative one as.telling them to "be careful" didn't seem . day, recently, held the hook like this to at to do much good. Since, die original tempt to adjust the leather apron over the demonstration, and a thorough "follow up" feed rolls;--while the machine was running. by the overseer,' second-hands, and section This is tiie original hook. I do not care to bosses, this; department has run nearly attempt to describe the condition of the 1,000,000 man-hours without a lost time., man's hand. accident .- Do your maintenance men wear their We meet , so many overseers and second- goggles whenever they should ? } ii: 686 28th National Safety Congress A demonstration of nail driving like this golf, tennis, boxing or any other athletic with a hammer made from a goggle eye activity. cup has proved beneficial in some mills. In cidentally, how do they hold the nail when starting it? Like this near the top; or like this near the bottom with a greater chance of hitting the wrong nail? Let us now suppose that this weight is used regularly in. your mill -- a slasher weight, for example. I'll put on this handle; doesn't that make it much easier to use? Do you have handles on such weights? Now let us consider the handling of ma Now I want to test the strength , of this terial, whatever it may be. piece of cord. I can lift the weight with This weight weighs several pounds. Please it very easily, can jerk it quite heavily, note the approximate size and shape. yet it does not break. After the handle is removed, how would In lifting, the point that is most empha the average man pick.it up? Most of them sized is the necessity of bending the legs and do it like this. Why? keeping the back straight Because they like to prove, even to. them This device is a back. It is made from a selves, that they are. strong enbugh in their piece of belting taken from a textile mill, fingers to do so. And most of-them are-- some pieces of pine attached to it four wood most of the time! But what if the weight is oily and their fingers slip? A smashed toe may result, if they are-not wearing their safety shoes. screws, a piece of rope, a hook and some cord. The leather represents the- internal back muscles ; the segments of wood, the ver Wouldn't this be a better way to lift this weight ? Crouch, bending the legs, keeping the back and arms straight; roll the weight so that the hands are underneath and lift the weight like this. You all know the correct -way to lift,'it.has been so greatly publicized, but how about setting it down? tebrae; die two lengths of cord, the external back mu'sdes; and the rope and hook, the arms and hands of a man who is about to : lift this weight Please note that this is the .same kind of cord that I just tested by jerking the weight and that there are two strands on the back. ' I am convinced that there are as many , If we lift this weight correctly, keeping bad accidents caused by incorrect settiiig.. --the back straight, we have no difficulty-- things down as there have been from in except in balancing it correct lifting. But if we attempt to lift the weight in Suppose I wished to place this weight correctly,, with the back bent--! The back down beside me on my right. Should I is broken!.' twist my body and lower it like this? Really You, too, can have your "bag of tricks"-- I'd rather not--I got a bad kink in the back probably most of you already have 'even once by swinging a brief case around from a bigger bagful than I have shown here, the front seat of my car to the floor in but do they fully accomplish what they, are back. No. Foot work is important' in supposed to? The real big trick is the pre handling material, just as important as in vention of accidents. Safe Practice in the Viscose Rayon Industry , By WILLIAM H. CHESNUT Director, Workrtfen's Compensation Bureau, Department of Labor and Industry, Harrisburg, Pa. Through the'combined efforts of the Federal Government and other states, where viscose industries are located, a joint survey was conducted to estimate the toxic gaseous hazards invblved in the manufacture of rayon silk. This survey has been' described in this literature and the results are now. well known to the in dustry. Within Pennsylvania' our own viscose plants, realizing the extent of the toxic hazards, have originated a broad program to correct conditions. The- dis cussion I wish to present today deals with the ventilating and. chemical engineering control of sulfide, th had been < atmosphei The sta ' izing, xanl cellulose i then it be so-called * known as The nej carried ou ' crumbs" : into whici carbon di: the churn, the finish* golden y crumbs." ing the ad product in into the ai ning room .' It `is ap dustry ths has been i reason hat operations disulfide h atmospher to product of exposui The sec nate into room.- Rei emanate it bath and carbon dis by illustr which faav product w The firs view, of tl tion's plan ployees. I large stac picture. T and.'have mipd, to i the spinnii 350 feet hi| ' ; The nex compartmt safe practi to have t livered in Textile Section 687 :op**pI of carbon disulfide and hydrogen the yards of the company, and next to siij i the two toxic gases that previously pipe the compound to reservoirs sub had been disseminated into the workroom merged in water. atmosphere of this industry. The next illustration shows an old style The stages of. manufacture are mercer churn through the open door of which one izing, xanthating, and spinning. The wood can discern the inlet pipe for carbon :el!u!ose is first treated with caustic soda, disulfide. Directly beneath the churn one then it becomes sodium cellulose, or the sees the churn truck into which the so-called "white crumbs." This process is "orange crumbs" are dumped at the com Icnown as mercerizing. pletion of the churn cycle. These hand- trucks, with their charges, are then hauled The next step, or xanthation, has, been rarried out in the churnroom. The "white ` to various locations! in the churn room and the contents are shoveled through :nimbs" are fed into a series of churns nto which is also charged a quantity of open trap doors in the floor into chutes directing them to the mixing machines on mrbon disulfide. After revolving within' the floor below. After discharging the .he churn, and the. reaction is completed, "orange crumbs," a worker must next the finished product changes color to a ! scrape the inside of the churn with hand olden yellow known as the '"orange :rumbs." Subsequent operations employ- tools until it is free from the film of xanihate which adheres to the inner walls. rig the addition of more'soda, change the . If this film is not removed the residue will Jroduct into a fluid form which is ejected nto the acid-coagulating bath in the spin- . contaminate the ..new churn-charge in the cycle. ling room and emerges as solidified fiber. It 'is apparent to members of. the in- " A- summarized, statement would pos sibly classify, the following four operations ' lustry that the most hazardous location as being most, hazardous in the churn las been in the churn room anid the chief .-.room: 1. Dumping the churn; 2. Truck -eason has been the failure to inclose all ' ing; 3. Shoveling; and 4. Hand-scraping. operations, with the result that carbon lisulfide has .escaped into the work-room (tmosp.here in minute quantities sufiicient o 'oduce harm over, an extended period o( ^osure. Because of the hazards involved in the older procedure just described, the Viscose Company has done extensive engineering research which has produced a riew type of churn. ... . The second location, where gases ema-. The next illustration shows the new late into the atmosphere, is the spinning, s invention, combining what was formerly oom. Reports have shown that two gases v two operations in one. These two distinct rmanate from the reaction of the spinning operations were the "xanthating" in the oath and these are hydrogen sulfide and churn room and the jaext step of "mixing" arbon disulfide. I shall attempt to show, in the v&cose room. The entire process is oy illustration, actual plant operations now an. inclosed mechanical one which vhich have been designed to produce the thereby eliminates the former practice of jroduct with the greatest factor of safety. open handling of the material in trucks. The first illustration shows' an airplane This ingenious device also eliminates hand riew. of the American Viscose Corpora- scraping of the churns, hand trucking of - ion's plant at Lewiston. It has 5,000 em- the "orange crumbs" and. hand shoveling doyees. Please note particularly the two of the same into the hopper openings arge stacks in the central part of the which lead to the mixer machines. Thus ricture. These are called the fame stacks we see that not only labor costs are re ind.'have been built with one purpose in. duced, ., but of'., greater' importance, the nipd, to remove -.the discharged gases of former' dissemination' of carbon disulfide he spinning baths. These stacks are over, ' vapors into the work room atmosphere has 150 feet high. beerieliminated. -. The next illustration shows the storage :ompartment for carbon disulfide. The afe practice procedure of the company , is o have the . liquid carbon, disulfide deivered in tank cars to this location within A brief description of this, equipment would classify .it as a water jacketed vessel which is re-enforced to withstand moder ate vacuum: By the newly invented 'proc ess, the ``white crumbs" are charged at the .i 688 28th National Safety Congress top, the equipment is dosed, carbon di-' the base of one of these large fume stacks. sulfide is added and the .first operation of The fumes are removed through connec "xanthating" takes place with the' hdp tions at the rear of the spinning bath. The of rotating paddles within the water- capacity of each of these large fans., is jacketed vessel, .instead of by the former between 300,000 and 500,000 cu. ft per practice of rotating the chum about a minute. The diameter of each fan is ap trunnion geah This operation of "xan proximately 18 feet thating" is now performed under a vacuum which in itself would prevent the escape of CSx during the reaction when die "white crumbs" are thus converted into" "orange crumbs." The material remains within the. vessel for thenext stage of die process known as mixing, of forming vis cose solution. .- The next illustration shows a view of a unit of the spinning bath. Note the glass indosure which is now. placed on each spinning bath to prevent the escape of fumes into the atmosphere of. the work room. The indosure keeps the gases within each. unit When periodical .work must be done within the glass indosure,' Sodium sulfite and caustic soda solutions: as each division of the glass section is now enter the vessel through a metered lifted up, an automatic mechanism causes . orifice. At the completion of this reac the ventilation of. that section to be tion, the "orange-colored" viscose solu traded, thus removing the gases at their tion is pumped from the vessel into aging source. tanks, preparatory to the next' step of The American Viscose Company, fol spinning. lowing the Federal and State survey, have Formerly hazardous cleaning of the retained-Prof. Philip Drinker, of the Har churn is now done by adding a slightly vard School of Public -Health; .as its con alkaline solution, the agitating paddles sultant. `Through Prof. Drinker's efforts, washing, or rinsing, all surfaces free from special automatic recording equipment has viscose film. been devised which is of two types, the The next illustration shows an indosed valve-room. When carbon disulfide is pumped, to the chum room from the reservoir supply, a measured quantity must be delivered to each churn. The method of handling this is similar to the measuring of gasoline at a service station. However, dtie to the solvent action of car bon disulfide upon the packing material of the valves, there is occasional leakage of CSs. This photograph shows the -valve room now indosed and under negative pressure, or vacuum. one being arranged for hydrogen sulfide while the. other has been constructed to record amounts of carbon disulfide. In ' the hydrogen sulfide recorder, there is a moving strip of impregnated lead acetate paper upon which is charged an auto matically-moving amount of air contain ing the impurity of hydrogen sulfide. This ' HaS charge of air, upon striking the sen sitized paper, produces the well known discoloration due to the characteristic lead sulfide formed. The intensity of the dis coloration of the paper may be used, as a direct reading of tiie amount of the hydros The next illustration shows a -view of gen sulfide present The quantitative de the base of a giant fume stack. Theheight termination of this intensity is made pos of a stack is approximately 350 feet, and' sible by photronic cells. Two cells are the ducts leading directly into the base of used, the first one to record the reading on each stack are 17x20 feet These ducts the plain paper before discoloration and come directly from the series of spinning the second one for the final reading after machines and have been designed for the the lead sulfide is formed. one purpose of removing the fumes given . off during the reaction when the viscose > fluid is forced into the add-coagulating bath. Not only natural draft is employed, but extra air velodty is added by giant motor-driven fans located at the base of each fume stack. - In the carbon disulfide recorder, the air, that contains carbon disulfide is led to a' furnace and through the heat of the reac tion within the furnace this gas is oxidized to sulphur trioxide and as such leaves the furnace. The SOt passes through a waterbath where it is converted into SO* fog, The next illustration is a close-up view which in turn is led to a fog chamber. The of the giant motor-driven fan, situated at intensity of the . fog is recorded auto-r matically using a li cell at the I undei ...these two may be djum roc Do you, ference, e turn of 1 that make is no such prevention hoss-sense I wondc times inte thing mys the. heads engineers but not m tious, sim of and pn And-wl that. Fit c cation, Ei the three It's hard 1 of discour ing progTt ever, you sometimes There a and methc severity < have to h but the he vention 'is mills,, nibl railroad. First, c< causes of true cause so often t sincere a from the or laborer vent repeti * For aft perience p Textile Section 689 mr'^ally by the conventional process of us la light at one end. and a photronic- cell at the other. r I understand work is being rushed on these two recording devices so that they may be promptly^ installed within the claim room and the spinning room,, and by th combined action one may learn through1 a 24 hour cycle, in a chart form, the actual recording of CS* and H,S any hour of the day. This will be an invatuable aid in keeping all processes under control and. help immensely in the pro gram of safe practice. No Secret Formula for Safety . By ALFRED B. HARPER Safety Director, EdwardsMfg. Co.,.Augusta, Me. ' Do you, when you attend a safety con mine, your vision plus mine, plus the ference; expect to, hear die inside combina knowledge" of others able and willing to tion of wand waving and mumbo-jumbo giye- that makes at safety program' click? There is no such secret formula. A good accident prevention program is as hard-headed and hoss-sensed as David Hamm ever was. : For specific problems, the source of in formation is large, the - National Safety Council being one of the finest Others are c the engineering departments of the .insurance I wonder; however, if we do not all some companies, manufacturers of various safety times interpret safety engineering as some devices andsometimes a good idea comes thing mystic and intangible, bestowed.uppn . .from where you least expect it Don't dose the. heads of a favored few? I have met yonr minds to any idea because it may orig engineers who would, have ns believe tills, inate: from a seemingly worthless source. but not many. Most of them are* consden- ' Bigotry has no place in onr trade. turns, sincere workers for the betterment " .Why do some mills really go places in of and protection of our duty activities. accident prevention and others straggle And - when I say workers^ I mean just against an ever mounting- accident record? t! jFit companions for the.three E's, Edn- What makes one program' active and an cawn, Engtnixrmg and Enforcement, up other, alinost'identical;, passive? I shall the three Ws, Worl^ Work' and Work. give yon .some specific examples, taken from It's hard work too, and worry, with periods real life; but told after the manner of a of discouragement and.despair of ever'mak Mother Goose story. ing progress. Once the stoed is sown, how ever, you are making progress, little as it , sometimes shows. Once upon a time there was a mill with a very poor record. One day while glancing over some, costs the 'big chief noticed the There are, of course; many good systems compensation insurance was far, far top and methods of~ lowering the" frequency and high so he: resolved to . put a stop to so -severity of injuries. These of necessity many injuries. At the next safety meeting have to be fitted to the conditions at .hand (three weeks later) he put up his hand and hut the basic nucleus "of good accident pre in a.solemn voice said, "We inust stop these' vention is the same, be it textiles, steel, accidents, tell yonr men not to be so care mills,, rubber factories or construction of a . less." ' His orders had always beat obeyed railroad. . .. before, so of course the matter was well First, comprehensive analysis of the true taken careof. causes of injuries occurring. (And I*~mean true causes and not the superficial reasons sooften deduced in Jiasje.) Thai honest, sincere- cooperative effort of every man, from the trig boss to the lowliest cleaner or laborer; ..to 'remedy the causes arid pre vent repetition.p Very surprisedly be learned that those careless, inconsiderate workers dared to dis obey the royal command 'and continued their, merry bone-breaking, flesh mutilating way. So a clerk, whose idea of safety was using a bent-handled.'spoon in. his coffee cup, was assigned the -job of tracing the elusive ' For after all safety engineering . is < ex causes of so many-injuries. He, after a perience plus vision. Yonr- experience arid Week of intense investigation, brought in a 690 28th National Safety Congress report which summed up the causes as departments for kinds and number of acci- damned carelessness. dents, repeaters, hazards etc. Now let's peek into the: vitals of that plant, and talk with one of the workers, a section hand. "What do you do at your safety meetings?" we ask. "What meet ings?" says he. "Do you have a first aid hospital or are your office girls trained to attend you for minor injuries?" is our next A set of twelve general safety rules was designed and posted in every room on large heavy cards forbidding such things as horseplay,, running up or down stairs, loose dothing around machinery, blocking or boxes in place of ladders, spitting on floors and so on. -. ^ question. "First Aid? Oh! you mm when- Afhe inseparable companion of;the safety we get acut orscratoh-We don't bother^,es is an employee safety examination with small things, mister; wee're tou_gh;_ but if it1 gets sore after two or three days there's nothing better than a salt pork or tobacco juice poultice to draw out the poison.1' fonnj filled out by each employee before he starts work. On this form he affirms that he has had the general safety rules explained to him, that he realises the im portance of prompt reporting of every- in After a few . more talks with others, jury no matter how slight,- and various other including some bosses, we can make our questions pertaining-to his safety while at own report of the causes of accidental -in work. juries. Safety meetings are held more or less regularly, but it is apparent that no real interest is shown. Some good sugges tions are offered for plant - improvement, maybe are acted upon in the future, and perhaps are not if they cost much. It's poor business to spend money on safety recom mendations when the insurance company pays the accident costs.- There is a definite rivalry of the wrong kind between over seers, each feeling tlot his suggestions are the only worthwhile ones made; and as all of them are too narrow-minded to admit that they could learn anything more, progression is at a standstill. Although this mill doesn't want accidents to happen '.they accept them as something inevitable that cannot be helped. - Right within themselves, however, is the basis of good active safety engineering and they let it lie passive. No education against common everyday hazards, no reliable first aid available, very little enforcement of what few rules are in force, no engineering for future preventions. Mostly a lock-thedoor-after-the-horse-is-stolen attitude which surely shows*little use of the common sense God gave all of us. Now for the other side of our picture. Once upon , a time there was a mill with a fairly good safety program, which still had too many injuries. So they decided' to try harder and spare no effort or reasonable expense. First they installed a well equipped When this man goes to his job his boss explains the particular hazards associated with his jolf and this new employee, as well as all old hands, is periodically checked by overseers and second-hands to be sure they do not. get lax in obeying rules. Before this man has worked long he will get called to a safety- committee meeting, either de-' partmental, or 'general for all .workers, where he has(the chance to -talk and give his ideas or recommendations for necessary repairs, improvements or new .guards. At the' general., executive meeting, where agent; superintendents, 'safety- director and all overseers are present the accumulation of new suggestions isr-sifted and .talked over. Urgent or serious hazards are at tended to immediately and all .other accepted suggestions as fast as possible. The most striking part of this meeting is the absolute sincerity and attention of every member; all. of whom are sold on accident prevention, and the"redl spirit of cooperation is evident. 'Many ways are used to keep interest alive in this plant: contests between departments with prizes of cigars, chocolates and three day vacations with pay. Some of the work ers each year are invited to the State safety' conference in company with' the overseers. And so' this second mill has reduced its accidents both in frequency and severity, loss of skilled labor is less and employee morale is higher. " ; first aid hospital with a competent nurse in Can they rest there? No; in the effort to charge. This centralized the treatment of all prevent broken bones, fractured skulls, dis injuries, and records were kept so that abling wounds, there is no rest New, ideaS overseers could at any time review their most be had constantly to keep interest alive. Thci path of. the to reduce some featlu maybe it's type, who One such morale of a bette Textile Section 691 liy There arc many pitfalls along the pay for his repairs. ^Your best efforts arc ati J. those earnestly and honestly trying .necessary to beat this type of malingerer. > reduce accidents. Every' concern has Safety should be one of the easiest things ante feather-brain, bull-head, sniart-alec, or in the world > to sell, but strangely enough laybe it's one of the apathetic indifferent it's one of the . hardest. Is it lack of en rpe, who is a' constant thorn in its side. lightenment, or what is the answer when we >ne such individual can often hurt^the have tp force workers to practice accident lorale of a whole room, and you arc much prevention?'.' ""^thouNjim. ^ v We must be doctors and lawyers of a sort, ior to contend with is the . diplomats, jesters and critics,, but above all is hurt outside the plant but we must be salesmen. ^Salesmen of the he is smart enough to make the. mill commodity that saves lives. ADJOURNMENT ') - O' I J i-i General Cha Vice-Chaim Secretary--* ATexas Lettei Engineering Membership Gty, Mo. Poster Com ago, m. Program Ci N.J. Publicity Ci cago, I1L Safety. Insh Lewiston, Statistics C< Mamifacti Members at RGB, *F. W. I R.F.G E. Ross Habsy 1 Roland Harry , Waltej J. A. Pi *G. E. & H.E.S Part Gen General Chi Secretary News Lette Engineering burgh, N. Health Can Membership City, Mo. Poster Car, Chicago, Program C N.J. .