Document 65O670ByLLYq8mrowqpvnzE39

FILE NAME: DuPont (DUP) DATE: 1938 Sept DOC#: DUP072 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Journal Article - The Science, the Law, and the Economics of Industrial Health - Industrial Medicine  just,: Bridget! the Con-13 (July). unds, __ (JulyV by Ruth-1 (May). ` rtension,' jy)-- " C ult. I Etiology >y Ferdl ruary). ial Haz !.. ` let)u.r.e., by I otic, by : : Studies l, Trans- : st, M.D, m to, by : iy Coinition by (A prll)jal r....W..h..it.e_, : jf| Carbon thylne, Tetrachide, Tetylphth- .y..,...M......D...,Z /--ard ..L.... tU tries, by ............ X * i b y J . C. .............J4ll W. J. i ----------- machen, .............416] H. A. .......... 41 ; Sayers, -,--M--.D--.,2061 n, with ,'a l Sigr, MJ3., Meeting ...3311 Much M.D., ...269 , b y O. .............. 31 Ulan J. n in In1, M.D., ...303 rnstein, ...419 w ell D. ------- ... 34 >y R us ary)-- / R. R. ' (Jan ........-- 33 of, by (July)441 C. F. rune)....327 kwqaiine is published to promote " 1 thought upon and concerning trial medicine and traumatic To that end it will contain news items, reports, digests i ether presentations, together with Isis' comments The editorial poljjk to encourage frank discussion. i $ t basis contributions are invited. The editors will exercise care in check ing on the accuracy of data printed, but in all other respects articles and opinions of which expression is allowed are the opinions of their authors-- the editors reserving in all cases the right to comment on the same, in the cur rent or any subsequent issues, as they may be inclined. The Journal of Occupational Diseases and Traumatic Surgery The Science, the Law and the Economics of Industrial Health iolume 7 s SEPTEM BER, 1938 Number 9 Industrial Medicine -- The Plan and Scope of the Interest of the National Association of Manufacturers in This Field-- I' BELIEVE at the V ictor G. H eiskr, M.D., This leads naturally outset it is proper Chief Consultant, to a discussion of one to be p e rfe c tly nk and attempt to National Association of Manufacturers' Committee on Healthful Working Cotiditions other point in which the N. A. M. can be of ielear up some miscon real service to indus ceptions c o n c e rn in g trial medicine. Indi the work the National Association of Manufactur vidual doctors faced with the necessity of proving e r s is attempting to do in the field of industrial the value of their work in plants and factories are pealth.* well aware how difficult it sometimes is to con . In the first place, it is perhaps unfortunate that vince the manufacturer. It is not always easy to he author of this article is sometimes thought of prove that in the long run something which in f as a Research Director. While the title may ade- volves an added expense will more than pay for its fquately cover my planned activities, it easily leads initial cost; it is particularly hard for an individual fto a misunderstanding of my intentions in the average mind. It often serves to generate the imIpression that the first step on the N. A. M.'s part will be the inception of vast independent surveys land new statistical studies in fields now inade- I quately covered. I If this were true, of course, it would represent a to prove this. . Here the manufacturers' group, with its experi ence in "selling" good industrial practices on a factual basis, hopes to be of service. Its word car ries weight; the businessman, large or small, rea lizes that the association has his interests in mind, and as a result he is much more likely to heed its gratuitous slight to all the splendid work that has Ialready been done in the field of industrial mediicine. Fortunately, it is not true at all. , As a matter of fact, we have set aside no appro priations to finance activities of this scope. Such recommendations. These two activities, then--coordination and "selling"--are the ones in which the N. A. M., be cause of its unique position and experience, can admirably serve the industrial doctors and the in isurveys would naturally need to be exhaustive, | and they would not yield a return in proportion to i the effort and expense involved. Existing material j. fathe field is quite adequate for our requirements, j What we are really anxious to do is to make | very complete use of the material that already | exists. Just as the National Association of Manu dustrialists of this country. That is the thought which really determines the duties of my newly acquired post. N OW for a second .prevailing conception con cerning my work. Many people seem to think that we are going to emerge almost imme facturers itself-has served as a coordinating body diately with a long report on our findings, full of : to learn the best industrial practices and spread final recommendations on best practices. Of knowledge of them throughout industry, our par course, doctors are not numbered among those who ticular arm of the service will try to coordinate believe this. We are going to study the whole the best practices in industrial medicine in an subject for a long time before taking upon our effort to adapt them to the varying types of manu selves the consideration of a working model for facturing plants, no matter how small or strictly industry. budget-ridden. The main problem, as I see it, is to take the ex Written e pcc'nHy for I n dus tr ial M cihcikk. cellent work that has been done and extend it to Page 542 INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE September,. include the little fellow who has little or no knowl edge of what can be done, or who believes that obtaining healthful working conditions inevitably involves great expense. It is worthwhile, then, with the assistance of the experienced duties in industry to take enough time to build a good work ing model, one that will meet the most exacting of these requirements. In drafting any health plan, of course, we must take account of two chief factors: occupational hazards, and ordinary sickness. Though the for mer is certainly the more spectacular, the latter has certainly involved a greater loss of man-hours. Both must be studied in correct proportions. Of the occupational sicknesses, special attention must be devoted to prevent hazards like silicosis and to lead poisoning. There is no doubt in my mind that cases of this kind can be greatly reduced. We still have an open mind on all the subjects I have so far mentioned. We are working slowly towards a plan of action, we are studying the best practices now in use, and we are conferring con stantly with members of our advisory board. One other point besides those already mentioned, one in which I am considerably interested, is the possibility of using what might be termed indus trial psychology. The British have been quite active in this field for a number of years, and some of their activity is well worth our attention. On my last trip abroad I came across an interest ing case which seems extremely simple and ob vious when described, but which would probably be rather unusual here: A company had just hired an excellent sales manager of the go-getting, dynamic type. There was only one cloud on the horizon so far as the company was concerned: he had never kept any previous job for more than a year, and the com pany naturally wanted to know why. A little in vestigation disclosed the fact that the man was a bully who constantly browbeat the salesmen under him. A course of treatment was decided upon. The chairman of the board called the salesman into his office, and, as soon as he appeared, shouted at him: "Hey, you big lummox! What do you mean, coming in here without knocking?" This treatment was repeated in varying forms for sev eral days, and ended suddenly one morning when the former bully broke down in tears. Then his employers found themselves in a perfect position to point out the grave defects in his own attitude towards those under him. This may seem like a far field for the industrial doctor to stray into, but I believe that in the course of the next five or 10 years the industrial doctor is going to find his activities very greatly enlarged. There are many places where his medical knowl edge, and the knowledge of human nature which this certainly involves, can be of value. Cases of the type I have mentioned above belong to a large group which certainly ought to be within the prov ince of the medical man. There is another question that follows na from this one. How much mental fatigue ! turbance do machines cause? A great d cording to popular fancy. In actuality, much less than is commonly believed. Boots, the big English chemical company; employs 50,000 workers, has completed haustive survey on this very subject. The concludes that the health of the company's; ers is superior to that of workers on fa cause of the healthier surrounding conditio- is not universally true, but it tells a true : a modern factory using the latest health krio and sanitary standards. I SAID before that the industrial doctor is' ually finding himself engaged in new a' of many types. One of the most intre these, and one which the National Associa Manufacturers would like to see developed ^ fection, is the practice of finding employm the bodily handicapped. Here the doctor's edge of a man's physical shortcomings is ' point. One manufacturer I know of has found example, that in many instances he can ployment to the blind, and I was quite to learn the number of blind people now payroll. Men and women with heart troufc formerly were often turned away from jo' are being shifted to work that they can do., To the industrial doctor of the future, exact knowledge of fitting the man corr the job, these will seem like crude and examples; but today they are encouraging posts on the road to progress. The N. A. M. Committee on Healthful W Conditions is open-minded as to where the will lead. No one can correctly estimate, time just how far some of the subjects I ha tioned above are likely to lead us. Nor is the of possible subjects more than touched upon present article. * At this point, I am merely able to indi of the matters that interest us and int industrialist. Our greatest encouragement at this poin, free access we enjoy to the best experience field of industrial medicine. We are fortunate, too, in haying the acti port and guidance of the N. A. M. Commi Healthful Working Conditions, of whilst P urnell, President of the Youngstown7^ Tube Company, is Chairman. Through it Association, we are ensured the coopera" leading manufacturing companies and turers' organizations throughout the coun' A representative committee of company cal men has been selected to plan and advisl the membership of the Committee on H Working Conditions. . This is under the" manship of D r. W. Irving Clark, Personnel tor of the Norton Company, Worcester, chusetts. This committee is by no means complete ptember,. )ws nat igue and| eat deajjj ity, proh apany eted ani The su )any's i farms, J ditions. ! rue stor i knowl tor is , w activ erestingl iociationf ped to ] iyment i Jr's kno is the vii de som rest it is th 3 in the ve supi] ttee ohi F rank! heet i f 'nd thej ion ofI nufao-1 s yet, *7, No. 9 INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE Page 543 gill the doctors so far invited to join have ac` The members to date are: |, A. Brewton, Plant Physician, American Enka oration, Enka, North Carolina. lWillard J. D enno, General Medical Director, dard Oil Company of New Jersey, 30 Rocke r Plaza, New York, N. Y. ofessor P h ilip D rinker, Harvard University ol of Public Health, Department Industrial giene, 55 Shattuck Street, Boston, Massachu- , George H. G ehrmann, Medical Director, E. I. Pont de Nemours and Company, Incorporated, " nington, Delaware. . T. Lyle H azlett, Medical Director, Westing- ise Electric & Manufacturing Company, East isburgh, Pennsylvania. ' . W. J. M cConnell, Assistant Medical DirecjljMetropolitan Life Insurance Company, 1 Madi i Avenue, New York, New York.. |Dr. C. D. Selby, Medical Consultant, General Wtors Corporation, Detroit, Michigan. |j)R. Loyal A. Shoudy, Chief of Medical Service, t hlehem Steel Corporation, Bethlehem, Pennylvania. |Dr.Cassius H. W atson, Medical Director, AmerTelephone and Telegraph Company, 195 oadway, New York, New York. 'HE American College of Surgeons, with its many hundreds of members engaged in w ork' ailar to that we are undertaking, has offered its [lest cooperation. I The same is true of other private and govern mental organizations. Already associated with me in this work is Dr. onald M. Shafer, a native of Grove City, Penn sylvania, graduate of the Cornell University Medi- fcal School, and formerly associated with the Medi- |cal Department of the Standard Oil Company of |New Jersey. . Throughout our work, we are going to try to Ikeep one principle in mind: we are going to try fto "make haste slowly." Too many ambitious [projects have been wrecked on the rocks of too Ihurried execution. The National Association of Manufacturers and the doctors it has enlisted are I determined to achieve a firm groundwork upon Iwhich to base the best industrial practices of the ifuture. In view of the quantity and quality of the work [already done in the field, and because of the fine |>cooperation we have already received, we look I forward to the day when the average small manu- ^acturer will be just as well equipped to provide I healthful working conditions as the large corpora tions now are. We look forward, too, to a greatly broadened j concept of the industrial doctor's duties. And when once these things have been accom plished, healthier and happier workers will be the t inevitable by-product. It is with this goal in mind that we start off on a course the end of which is not yet in sight. The Physician in Industry A. D. L azenby, M.D., F.A.C.S., Baltimore, Maryland I APPROACH my task of addressing you upon the subject of "The Physician in Industry" with mixed emotions. I believe with all my heart that the subject bears deeper implications than most of us have assigned to it in the past. I realize the conflict in ideas that exists in medical and lay circles relating to the health problems of our society, and I am not prepared to offer you any panacea for these pressing problems. I aspire only to stimulate your thought. We are very much concerned these days, as a profession and as a society, by the changes in our social order, which we see approaching. Truly, we are confronted with revolutionary modifica tions of our way of thinking and of our approach to many of our social problems, especially as they involve the question of health. We are trying to solve these enigmas by legislation, by regulating the law of supply and demand, by attempting to govern artificially the operation of the laws of Nature. But I fear we are stymied in our efforts to secure an answer until we attack the funda mental element, Man. We as citizens have a deep but an abstract interest in the social aspects of the problem, but as physicians we have a very pro found and a very concrete interest in man him self, with his physical, psychological, mental, yes, spiritual problems. We are learning a new sense of values--the pre dominance of human rights over property rights. For generations we have been living in the midst of selfishness--individual, civic, national and in ternational--and today we have reached the peak of the curve. We must stretch our capacities al most to infinity if our democratic principles of national life are to be preserved. Our thought along all lines must be broad in scope and focused upon the benefit to many, instead of to ourselves or to our own particular group. As civilization becomes increasingly complex, as progress takes place, as time marches on, our profession must continue to serve and advance in step, never for getting the bright design it contributes to the fab ric of human happiness and development, and never letting that design lose its lustre or get out of perspective. Like every other part of our social fabric, indus try and labor have undergone radical changes-- changes not merely in philosophy, but in manu facturing practices as well. The principle of mass production has become almost a fetish, with all the human wear and tear that must accompany the assembly line. New substances are constantly being introduced into industrial processes, with certain known and many unknown effects upon the workers exposed. Newly created laws deal ing with the control of and compensation for cer tain diseases of industry have focused the atten- * Presented at The Attanta Graduate Medical Assembly, January 25, 1938 ; also given original publication in Georgia Medical Journal.