Document 6BpzLnYOMZ0pjMOd0RowdXo4o

422 Twenty-first Congress--National Safety Council Exjierienced operating men will remember as vividly as I do that in the yards we used to look tor accidents to be numerous, costing anywhere from $1,500 to $4,000 each. Vet. listen to this! In one month, passing through oar 38 mam yards on tlie Atlantic Coast lines, 330.000 cars were handled without one dollar's dam&ce. Another month nearly 632,000 cars were handled, with a damage oi only $256. I am emphatic in saving to yon that the safety movement, to my mind, has been the greatest iactor in bringing about such notable savings. I wonder it wc agree on what is the most important thing concerning railroads today. What is jaramonnt; 1 say to you without a shadow of doubt--public opinion, the so d will of the people. Neither railroads nor any other industry can get very iar u:th*m public opinion in its iarnr. This safety movement has been a great influence in liuiiding up |iublie opinion. It is our custom to invite lawyers, doctors. jreacher>. school teachers, leading citizens of every walk of life to attend our safety meetings. Time and again, after those meetings. I have had those men say t-i me. "Why. this is a revelation. We had no idea what you were doing in these -aiVty meetings. What a pity that this could not be carried on generally in a public way.** The Accident Investigation Work of the Bureau of Safety, L C. C. By W. P. BORLAND Director. Bureau of Safety, Interstate Commerce Commission !*he speaker said in pan: You are already familiar with the accident investiga tion work of the I'ureau of Safety of the Interstate Commerce Commission. How ever. there arc certain fundamental features which arc often overlooked and which duAild kept in mind at all times. I refer more particularly not only to the necessity ox luring the investigator of accidents develop the immediate cause of an accident, but to tire even more imjKjrtam necessity of having him develop the underlying causes which so often set the stage tor what sultsequently occurs, and to the further necessity fur plugging away continually with the idea of impressing m the minds oi everyone tluit there is no found excuse iir tlte occurrence of acci dents. I dnuta if these results can be satisfactorily attained unless all accidents, however trivial tliey may appear on the surface, are carefully investigated by competent in vestigator* whose primary interest is the prevention of accidents of a similar char acter. Formerly many accidents cm railroads were investigated for the principal purpose of ascertaining the iromedtate cause, then determining what disciplinary action should 1* taken, and to what extern h should I* carried. There the matter rested. Today wc are paring increasing attention to the more important side of the cpiesti'in. which is the development of underlying causes with a view* to profiting fir the unfortunate experience oi'the past. This is a long step m the right direction. When an accident of major importance occurs, everyone concerned is on the job f.ir the purpr*e of finding out what hapjtencd and why it happened. General officers, division officers, safety inspectors, representative? oi State and Federal Commis sion*. coroners. etc. Everyone is duly impressed with the seriousness of what has occurred and in many cases circumstances are such that lessons are learned that are highly liencficial for the future. The accident of minor consequence so far as casualties are cmeemcd. however, attracts little attention: there is no commotion about it. and entirely too frequently no lesson is learned front it. although the small number o: casualies is merely a fortunate circumstance, and such an accident should carry a tar n>TC imjinrtant lesson that halt a dozen accidents of so-called major importance. Safety Section, .-i.R-4.--Steam Railroad Section, XS.C. -123 It may be argued that no one has time to dipiiiy tnintir accidents by careful and painstaking investigation, but the answer to any such argument is that if they are investigated carefully and with sufficient thoroughness to bring out any underWing condition or situation which may exist, the time soon will come when there wil] not be very many to investigate, and we may rest assured that the occurrence of major accidents will decrease just as rapidly as do the minor accidents. Further more, all employees involved are available for questioning, whereas in the more disastrous accident important witnesses are often permanently silent. Railroad casualties have been decreasing for years, although just what the immediate trend Is I cannot pretend to say; you may rest assured, however, iltat they will continue to decrease, hut only if all accidents arc treated with the imjKjrtance they deserve. As to the steps to he followed by the various railroads in this humanitarian work, these must he worked out for each individual organization. They all have the same object in view, the sating of life and limb, and 1 do not believe that anything can rnijiress itself to any better advantage on the rank and file of railroad workers in the way of accident prevention than to have the investi gation of the minor accident, regardless oi its character, as thoroughly anti jatnstakingly handled as the tnvesticaxion oi the major accident. The investigation of the major accident obviously would take more time because ni more facts to lie develo|>cd, and more evidence of one kind or another to lieconsidered, but aside from the question of volume there would appear to be no difference m the investiga tion itself. The result to be accomplished is the same in each, and only by han dling it in the same manner can those results lie best attained. WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON SESSION October 5, 1932 Value of "Safe Practices" Committees By F. HARTENSTIEN Assistant to General Manager, Lehigh Valley Railroad The speaker said in part: In our efforts to reduce the number ni casualties on the railroads it becomes natural for us to analyze their causes and if jmssible adopt ways and means to prevent repetition. After a careful study of this subject, and considering that 75 per cent or more of the injuries that occur on the railroads are tlte result of unsafe practices, it appears to lie in order to make a change in our safety organization that is adaptable or more in keeping with the causes which are responsible for producing unsatisfactory safety records. With the hope and ex pectation that a change in the name of safety committees to that of "salt: practices committees/* will he conducive of better results, it is recommended to the members of the Section that such a change be made. The change is recommended for the purpose of inspiring careful employees who are dependable safety workers to caution their co-workers when tliev observe them doing anything that is liable to result in personal injury. Also, to more dearly instill in the minds oi committees and other employees that the causes oi the majority oi i>crsonal injuries on the railroad arc from unnecessarily taking chances and their discontinuance will he a large contribution to the coal that wc are strug gling to make by the end oi the year 1933. If it ts decided to change the name oi committees it should lie understood that reporting any unsafe conditions observed on railroad property must no: l*e dis continued. hut a careful analysis of the records indicate that a very small iiercenxage oi our injuries occur from defects and unfavorable conditions, and the change suggested should direct the attention of officers and employees to the real reason for the majority of railroad accidents.