Document 8RVBxJ8vkYnMdonGw52V2j8bo

cal! a special meeting for this purpose After this first meeting, the group may hold sessions periodically to evaluate the safety program, to check on the progress being made in accident prevention, and to appraise proposed activities Mass meetings. Large mass meetings are held for special purposes, such as the launch ing of a contest, the presentation of awards, the introduction of interesting new equip ment, the explanation of a change m company policy, or the announcement of an exception ally fine safety record Fig 12-6 illustrates how a company, prominent m a community, strengthens public relations with a family safety picnic In companies with plants in different cities, a top executive may call a meeting of em ployees when he visits a plant His talk may cover safety as well as other subjects One company president makes an annual round of plants with the safety director and speaks at a safety rally of all employees at each plant Under certain conditions, particularly m smaller communities, large meetings can be held in a local theater or public hall It then is necessary to make fairly elaborate arrange ments and to give the meetings considerable publicity to assure good attendance A mass meeting in a public hall naturally has one advantage over a plant meeting It makes possible the attendance not only of employees, but also of their wives or hus bands, famihes, and friends "Family safety nights" of this sort are very popular in the railroad industry A consider able number may be held at several different points on the railroad during the year In addition to the address or two around which the program is centered, there should be some worthwhile entertainment Often good talent can be found right in the plant or shop This type of meeting affords an excellent opportunity for using an outside speaker who can talk authoritatively and convincingly on general accident prevention work Such a speaker can be obtained from a nearby plant, an insurance company, the city administra tion, an automobile club, or a community safety council If movies relating to accident prevention are desired, a suitable selection can be made from films available through the National Safety Council, or through regional film serv ice organizations, whose locations may be obtained from the Council Departmental meetings have many safety uses Their purpose may be to discuss the company safety program so that employees will better understand what is going on They may be held to provide mformabon about accident causes and accident types They may be purely inspirational, to create an awareness of hazards and a desire to pre vent accidents In many company programs, departmental safety meetings are held monthly The trend is toward meetings conducted by the foreman, who may receive assistance in planning as well as materials, such as visual aids, from the safety department The program for a departmental meeting may include the following 1 Report of injuries in the department since the past meeting, report of a safety inspec tion in the department, and report of the department's standing m a contest (The total time spent on reports must not be so great that this part of the meeting becomes tiresome ) 2 Discussion by the foreman of where ob servance of safe practices needs to be im proved 3 Talk, demonstration, or visual-aid presenta tion on an appropriate accident prevention subject The speaker may be the foreman, a member of the department, the company safety director, an outside expert, or an executive of the company Departmental meetings give the foreman an opportunity to point out in a forceful man ner the dangers of certain unsafe practices By condemning those practices, he practically binds himself to set a good example for his men In addition, most workers welcome an opportunity to "get off their cbests" whatever safety ideas they have At the conclusion of departmental meet ings, the foremen should be required to pre pare written reports for presentation to the plant (or company) safety committees and 273