Document KR0BvxJX4qdgDvp7xpnGROmGK

A pril 22, 1937 Mr. I . D ent .Tonkins H arrison R adiator D ivision G eneral Motors C o rp o ratio n L o c k p o rt, Hew Yoik Dear Mr. Je n k in s; In accordance with, our con v e r s a t i o n I am fo rw a rd in g some sam ple c o n ta in e r s to Dr. B arry f o r su ch u se as he may choose to make of them. I am se n d in g you h e r e w ith a t e n t a t i v e l i s t show ing my s e l e c t i o n o f workmen to he examined a t the time of our v i s i t to L ockport. H aving gone o v er o u r s c h e d u le , I h av e come to th e c o n c lu s io n th a t we can b e s t c a r r y o u t th e work r e q u ir e d d u rin g th e second week in May. R h at I p ro p o se i s as f o llo w s ; t h a t my a s s o c i a t e s Dr* M achle, Dp . S ch rad in and Dr. S an d ers bo in L o ck p o rt on Monday, May 1 0 th to b e g in th e ex am in atio n o f th e men. I s h a l l be o c c u p ie d w ith c l a s s work on Monday and Wednesday and s h a ll he u n ab le to g a t away u n t i l Wednesday ev e n in g , so th a t I s h a l l e x p e c t to a r r i v e on T h u rsd ay . My a s s o c ia te s a re w holly com petent to c a rry on th e work w ith o u t me, b u t I e x p e c t to r e l i e v e D r. M achle on Thursday m orning so as to enable him to make c e r ta in t e s t s o f th e a tm o sp h e ric le a d In th e p la n t on Thursday and F rid a y a n d , I f n e c e s s a r y , on S a tu rd a y . You. w i l l note th a t I have in d ic a te d the a d v is a b ility of examining some s e v e n ty - f iv e o r e ig h ty p e r s o n s , and I b e l ie v e t h i s can be done by F rid a y e v e n in g . 1 d o u b t i f we s h a l l he a b le to work more r a p id ly than t h i s f o r our d e t a il e d exam inations tak e tim e and i f one t r i e s to push too h a rd , he r e c e iv e s d im in is h in g r e t u r n s f o r h is e f f o r t . As a m a tte r of f a c t by th e tim e ono h a s looked a t ey e s, t e e th , t o n s i l s and e a rs f o r some eight- h o u rs , ha b e g in s to see th in g s t h a t a r e n o t t h e r e , and a f t e r some tv#o o r th r e e days of th is k in d of work, eyes, o ars and to n s ils and other protuberances begin to f lo a t around th e room. However we s h a l l work as r a p i d l y as we c a n s in c e i t i s n e c e ssa ry f o r us to f i n i s h th is work as q u ic k ly as p o s s ib le so a3 n o t to u p s e t our o th e r ex p erim en tal program more than Is necessary* Perhaps a few comments a re re q u ire d to c l a r i f y th e b r i e f n o ta tio n s in th e l i s t w hich I am c. - Mr. X* Dent J e n k in s se n d in g you* I t Is my f e e l i n g t h a t th e s e l e c t i o n o f men f o r ex a m in a tio n w i l l have to h e made b y you and y o u r ..... a s s o c i a t e s on th e b a s i s o f y o u r d e t a i l e d In fo rm a tio n o f t h e i r p erso n al q u a litie s and t h e i r re c o rd of employment. Prom my p o in t o f view th e m ost u s e f u l men f o r th e purpose of illu s tr a tin g the conditions in your p la n t w ill be those who have c o n tin u e d f o r th e lo n g e s t p e rio d o f time In a c e r t a i n o cc u p a tio n * Men who h av e been changed from jo b to job w ill not be s a tis fa c to ry as evidence of the exposure a s s o c ia te d w ith any one jo b . T h e re fo re w hat we d e s i r e a re the lo n g e st employed and th e m ost c h a r a c te r is tic o r re p re s e n ta tiv e employees in r e la tio n to a given occupation*. We sh o u ld n o t w ant them s e l e c t e d on th e b a s i s o f o bvious p h y s ic a l f itn e s s * b u t r a t h e r on th e b a s is of t h e i r tr u e re p re se n ta tio n of p la n t co n d itio n s. M oreover, so f a r as p o s s i b l e , b o th f o r your sake and o u r own, we sh o u ld l i k e r e l i a b l e and r e s p o n s ib le men who w i l l be w i l l i n g to fo llo w i n s t r u c t i o n s and who w ill n o t r e s e n t to o much th e r a t h e r . r i g i d e x a m in a tio n w hich th e y w i l l be g iv e n . My e x p e rie n c e i s th a t in g e n e ra l workmen a p p r e c ia te a th o ro u g h e x a m in a tio n . Moreover i f i t can be done w ith o u t a lo ss of tim e o r wages, they regard i t as an advantage. I f the tim e taken is a t th e ir own ex p e n se , th e y w i l l o b v io u s ly n o t welcome th e c o s t , I , t h e r e f o r e , f e e l t h a t we sh o u ld w ork, so f a r a s is humanly p o s s ib le , w ith in th e l im its of th e employment hours and th a t some program be a rra n g e d w hich w i l l e n a b le th e men to he r e l e a s e d o r r e l i e v e d In a s y s te m a tic manner so t h a t we can keep our xanfning team f u l l y occupied and y e t n o t ru s h e d . I presum e you w i l l want men from b o th s h i f t s , i f you a re ru n n in g two s h i f t s * T h is may mean seme r e o r g a n iz a tio n o f o u r w orking h o u r s , h u t X am q u ite s u r e we w i l l be w illi n g to arrange our tim e In accord w ith th e b e st in te re s ts of th e men and o f th e p la n t* I t would be a d v a n ta g e o u s, o f ......... c o u rse , to begin our work e a rly in th e m orning and to q u it a t a re aso n ab ly e a rly h o u r. Thus i f your hours a re from seven to f i v e , we m ig h t w e ll a rra n g e our tim e a c c o r d in g ly . Oh th e o th e r h a n d , i f we a r e to exam ine two s h i f t s , i t m ig h t be w ell to begin a t a la te r hour in the morning and so extend our work in to th e hours of th e second s h i f t . There la a d i s t i n c t l i m i t to th e tim e a m e d ic a l man can p u t i n t o t h i s Y;ork, and in g e n e ra l e i g h t o r n in e h o u rs 13 j u s t a b o u t th e maximum. On th e b a s i s of t h i s I n f o r m a tio n , I b e lie v e you w ill be able te n ta tiv e ly to s e t up a schedule, the f in a l d e t a i l s o f w hich ca n be worked o u t w ith D r, Machle on th e s p o t. D r. W illa rd F* M achle, i n c i d e n t a l l y , I s th e A s s is ta n t D ir e c to r o f th e la b o r a to r y and b o th h e and th e o th e r men have been a s s o c ia te d w ith me In t h i s work f o r a p e r io d of y e a r s . I have in d ic a te d a c h o ic e o f fo u r men from th e fo u n d ry b e c a u se i t ap p e ared t h a t t h i s waa p erh ap s th e m ost h azard o u s job In your p la n t . I f you have two s h i f t s 5 on th is jo b , i t m ight be w ise to examine more than f o u r, In o r d e r to make s u r e w h eth er o r n o t any one o f th e men is on th e d a n g e r l i n e . ( I t i s l i k e l y t h a t I w i l l h av e th e r e s u lts of th e a n a ly sis of th e le a d d u st which I took from th e foundry by th e tim e th is l e t t e r is ty p ed , in which case I w ill add a p o s ts c rip t as to th e ir s ig n if icm c e )* I have in d ic a te d a choice of only one man from th e E l e c t r o p l a t i n g D epartm ent on th e b a s is of our in s p e c tio n th e re th e o th e r day* O bviously i t would be w ise to have the ja n ito r of th is departm ent examined to o . . I t seems p robable th a t you can choose more w isely from the Therm ostat Departm ent than I can . I t w ill not be easy fo r us to examine or o b ta in sam ples of e x c re ta in th e c a se of th e women. However I have a d is tin c t fe e lin g th a t th is should be done in the in te r e s t of both your employees and your re s p o n s ib illty * I n o tic e d a numbor o f g i r l s engaged In s o ld e rin g work in th e T h erm o stat D ep artm en t. There were a ls o a number cf men and I th in k we sh o u ld have s u i t a b l e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n in t h i s g ro u p . I a l s o n o tic e d s e v e r a l e l d e r l y men d is m an tlin g th e rm o stats a t a work bench w ith o u t v e n t ila tio n . C e r ta in ly s e v e r a l o f th e s e m en, and p a r t i c u l a r l y th e man who v?as engaged in p u ttin g th e rm o s ta ts o v er a gas b u rn e r u n t i l th ey m e lte d , th en throw ing them In to a heap a t h is l e f t s i d e . The ex p o su re o f t h i s man i s a lm o st c e r t a i n l y a p p r e c ia b le and h e , as w e ll as some of h i s a s s o c i a t e s , should be stu d ie d . As to th e Assembly L in e , we co u ld w ith p r o f i t examine more men th a n I have i n d i c a t e d . I have in mind h ere th a t th e lo c a tio n o f th e v e n t ila tin g d u c t and th e p o s tu r e of th e men a r e im p o rta n t f a c t o r s in th e m agnitude o f e x p o su re . Thus a s u f f i c i e n t number of men from your more modern assem bly l i n e , as w ell as the o ld e r one, should be se le c te d to re p re se n t the various task s and to so i l l u s t r a t e th e v a r i a t i o n s among th e men t h a t we may c e r ta in ly fin d o u t what Is the maximal ex p o su re. O bviously, w here th e r e i s v a r i a t i o n among men, th e c h o ic e o f s u b je c ts must be made w ith th e Id ea of co v erin g th e whole range of p o s s i b i l i t i e s . .I have n o te d p a r t i c u l a r l y a c h o ic e o f men from th e u n v e n t ila te d ta n k assem b ly r a c k , as w e ll a s workmen engaged In s p e c i a l r e p a i r work a t th e end o f tic assem b ly l i n e where a l s o the a re a was u n v e n t ila te d . In th e m a tte r of th e Core D ips, I have f e l t I t wise to o b tain inform ation as to th e exposure o f men to le a d d u s ts and fu m es. I b e l ie v e th e g r e a t e s t exposure here m ight be the r e s u lt of r e la tiv e ly poor house keeping arrangem ents. I n o ticed le ad dusts and p a rtic le s on th e f l o o r around th e c o r e d ip and on th e s h e l f o r b en ch where the ra d ia to rs emerge fo r In sp e c tio n and exam ination. -k whether th ere is s ig n ific a n t exposure, fo r I t Is q u ite c e rta in th at any sig n ific a n t exposure a t these points can be elim inated by s u ita b le clean in g m ethods. The o th e r departm ents to which I have called a tte n tio n w ill be s e lf-e x p la n a to ry , X b e l i e v e , I h av e I n d ic a te d th e c h o ic e o f s e v e r a l men from the S ervice Department because I b e lie v e your v e n tila tin g f a c i liti e s are le ss adequate in th is area than elsew here, I h ave in d ic a te d one man from th e S to ck Hoom b e c a u se I saw d u s ts on th e f l o o r h e re and b ec au se su c h d u s ts can r e a d i l y be elim inated by proper housekeeping i f they c o n s titu te a danger of any consequence. As to th e j a n i t o r s , I th in k i t would be w ise to examine them b e c a u se i t o f te n happens th a t c le a n e rs s t i r up more d u s t and a r e , th e r e f o r e , exposed to more d u s t th a n o th e r workmen in th e p l a n t . T his may o r may n o t be th e c a s e in yo u r in s ta n c e and y o u r in fo rm a tio n on t h i s p o in t sh o u ld be much b e t t e r th a n m in e. As to forem en o r s u p e r v i s o r s , I th in k i t w orth w h ile to in c lu d e some o f th e s e f o r b o t h ............. p r a c t i c a l and d ip lo m a tic r e a s o n s . I f th e y move ab o u t in various sectio n s of the p la n t, th e ir magnitude of exposure Is obviously p ro b le m a tic a l, I do n o t b e lie v e you can a ffo rd to have men o f t h i s ty p e e x p e rie n c e u n p r e d ic ta b le h a z a r d s , and I do n o t th in k i t w ise on our p a r t to m iss so im p o rta n t a group of men in o u r s tu d y , I th in k th e se comments w ill enable you to se e th e m anner in w hich my mind w orks In r e l a t i o n to your p la n t, and I th in k you can be o f unestim able a s s is ta n c e in combing over ;he s itu a tio n th o ro u g h ly , and in s e le c tin g to your own s a tis f a c tio n b o th th e i n d i v i d u a l s and th e t o t a l number, of'.men who... w i l l . b e s t r e p r e s e n t th e c o n d itio n s In w hich we have m u tu al i n t e r e s t s , I have no w ish to lu c r e s e th e number o f men to be examined beyond t h a t w hich I s n e c e s s a ry to o b tain the proper sam pling of your p la n t co n d itio n s. From a s t a t i s t i c a l p o in t o f v ie w , how ever, I th in k i t is wise to p o in t o u t th a t where th e re i s a high degree of v a r ia b ility of exposure, as th e re Is In your p la n t, one*s only assu ran ce of adequate sam pling I s gained by making num erous: o b s e r v a tio n s . I n t h i s i n s t a n c e we s h a l l have to take our ch o ice between making an adequate number of obser v a tio n s i n i t i a l l y , and m aking r e p e a te d o b s e rv a tio n s on a sm a lle r number of men, I p e rso n a lly f e e l t h a t the form er of th ese methods Is th e.m o st d e s ira b le . M oreover I th in k i t w ill tu rn out to be lo ss c o s tly In th e long ru n . KE" 00 1 a v*y-> A fte r you have gone over th is somewhat le n g th y l e t t e r , would a p p re c ia te having any comments o r c r itic is m s which occur to you and your asso cia tes# Moreover i f th ere a re any qu estio n s which you w ish to r a i s e , I s h a l l he g la d t o do my b e s t to answ er them. P le a se a c c e p t my th a n k s f o r y o u r c o u r t e s i e s a t th e tim e of my v i s i t and f o r th e v e ry p le a s a n t ev en in g w hich we sp e n t in le n g th y d is c o u r s e . I have assumed th a t you would w ish me to send a n o ta tio n o f ray e x p e n s e s , and I am, th e re fo re, attach in g such notation to th is l e t t e r . C ordially yours, M is R obert"A .' Kobo, I..D. '? L o ca tio n Foundry ' \ \ \ E lec tro p latin g D ept, , Number o f Men k 1 D e s c r ip tio n o f Work P latin g and so rtin g castin g s Wire b ru sh in g le a d s t r i p s Therm ostat Dept, <3 ( (fem ale) I3 ( 2 (male) Men d is m a n tlin g f o r r e c o n d i tio n in g Various so ld erin g o perations Various so ld erin g operations Assembly Lin ( 6 Soldering lin e Sot les s than 2 such groups re p re s e n tin g an o ld e r ty p e and th e more modren C h ev ro let (6 ( { 2 or if if ( available Test lin e Tank assembly (u n v o n tilated ) Core Dip ( 2 or ^ if a v a ila b le (< f * (2 Special R epalr(unventilated) O perators of p reh eater and dip In sp e c to rs a t end of dip Header soldering 2 to if H eater R a d iato r Assembly ( 6 (fem ale) ( (2 Various so ld erin g assem bly o p e ra tio n s . Hand d ip p in g r a d i a t o r s S ervice D ept, Old Models 6 to 10 V arious u n v en tila ted so ld erin g o p e ra tio n s. S tock Room 1 Baling scrap e tc . Cleaners or ja n ito rs S everal from the various depts. e s p e c ia lly th e Core dip area, the elec tro p lating dept. Foremen or S uperv iso rs Any men who a re moving about from dept, to dept, or who a r e in c h a rg e of certain areas would be u s e fu l In representing the cro ss-se ctio n a l exposure of the plant* o o o ro O Note: N17513.01 o P erso n s in th e above groups sh o u ld he s e l e c t e d a s s u b je c ts on the b asis of th e ir len g th of s e rv ic e in re la tio n to a p a rtic u la r ... LPfcftPeft.----- \ Foundry E le c tr o p la tin g Dept* Ih e m o a ta fc Dopfc. Assembly Lin Hot le a s than Z such groups re p re se n tin g an o ld e r ty p e and th e more modren C hevrolet Cor Dip Header soldoring H eater R a d iato r Assembly S e rv ic e Dept* Old Models s to c k Room Cleaners or ja n ito rs Foremen o r S u p erv iso rs Humber o f Men ..o f ifo rk k P latin g and so rtin g castin g s 1 w ire brushing lead s tr ip s 5 { (fem ale) 13 2 (male) {6 {6 2o r Ij. it C available (( a o r k I f a v a ila b le (k z Men. d is m a n tlin g f o r re c o n d i tio n in g V arious so ld erin g operations Various so ld e rin g 'o p e ra tio n s Soldering lin e fa st lin e Tank a s s ratel y ( u n v e n tila te d ) Special R epair(unventilated) O perators of p re h e a te r and dips In sp e c to rs a t end of dip 2 to 4 6 {female) ( 2 Various so ld e rin g assem bly operations* Hand d ip p in g r a d ia to r s 6 to 10 V arious u n v e n tila te d so ld erin g o p e ra tio n s * 1 B aling scrap etc* se v e ra l from the v ario u s depta* sp ecially th e Core dtp area* the elec tr o p la tin g dpt Any men who a r e moving about fro dept* to dpt. o r who a r o to eharg of certain areas would be u s e f u l in representing the cro ss-se ctio n a l exposure of the plant* O i 3 0 3 i H otel- P erso n s to th e above groups sh o u ld b e s e l e c t e d a s s u b j e c t s on the b asis of th e ir length of s e rv ic e to re la tio n to a p a rtic u la r --issa ste -- Foundry E l e c t r o p l a t i n g Bopfc. 4 i fl*aftt*att<w....or Mark P lating and sortin g aatinga 31ra brushing lead s tr ip s rhemos Sat coat* I 5 (fernie) mm d laaan tliag for recondi tioning Various soldering operations CZ to lo ) Varia soldering operatic .isse*sbly Lino Hot losa timo Z wash groups representing an oidor type and the more rndraa Chevrolet <6 U { a or 4 If { available soldering lino foot lie fa s ti assem bly Convenfellatad ) Coro Dip { 2 or 4 I f a v a ila b le C4 ia . Special &epair(uttventllated) Operators o f preheater and dips tmpmtmm a t end of dip Header so ld a ti ns neater Radiator Assta b ly a to 4 C {.fosmio) ( (a .Various solderin g assembly opera felons# Sand, dipping radiators se rv ic e D ept. Old Models stool Bom 6 te io % Various unventilated soldering oparatlonsSallug scrap etc* Cleaners or ja n ito rs devora1 fro the v a r i e s depba* esp ecially the cere d ip are the e ls e * fere p la tin g dept* Foremen or Supervisore r\o> oro llpfeff j m f mm who are moving ab o u t frcM dept, to dept, or who are Is charge of cartain areas would bo u s e fu l in representing the oress-seetional espesura of the plant* 00 A rsons in tbs above groups should be s e le c te d as aufejeets on the basis of th e ir length of se r v ic e in relation to a particular ooeupetlvo th eir probable Sn.tallirono In follow in g in stru ction fo r