Document QgBvEjkKep6nXb8pZ1eY6xK8

MONSANTO CHEMICAL COMPANY From : Texas City, Texas date : December 19, 1963 subject : SAFETY SAMPLING INDEX PROGRAM FOR 1964 REFERENCE TO : All Team Captains Our Safety Sampling Index Program will continue through 1964, and I am sending you the list of areas to be in spected with the General Operating Supervisor and General Maintenance Supervisor for each area, and the schedule sheet for 1964 showing the areas to be inspected monthly by each inspection team. The training sessions for the inspectors will be held monthly on the first and third Thursday at 1:00 p.m. in the Research Conference Room. Group A inspection teams should make their inspections the second week of the month, and Group B inspection teams should make their inspections the fourth week of the month. After making inspections, please send copies of your report to the Safety Department, the General Operating Supervisor and the General Maintenance Super visor for that area. /bs Attachments SC C. L. 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U^aX4U*wL _ i-CX . _ _______________ .,_____ y^o*f QjpYi**>*+*Xfco*a_ _ Vv^-U^ &<. 6C4^V VU^**_ LAM015341 A f__ ($> . ^J+ovJr al /Oj-tA4jjiJ 14 s JUJJLm w ys*jL*J Os jLoeJL n jdLteu--b j jj or j&uMs*jtk vU* fiiw ^ A, u^gu^ jo ^6 UMn>_ VKfcfc) [\JULo Ui-Cd^Nfi__ UV Wyu,XJxi y./ac g^-v^jL'^vw. ^iL @4, &lhs t^c^>ce, ___________________ Ms** a~eJ* sc 14750 L AM015342 <$LX & '" ' . ) ) October is traditionally the leaf-burning month in Yankee-land. Many years ago, the week containing October 9, the date of the Chicago fire, was set aside as Fire-Prevention Week. It was initiated by municipal fire organizations to high-light the need for an awareness to the high cost in lives and dollars of fires in this country. As the years have passed, industrial fire protection and prevention--both organization and techniques--have improved until now the industrial team of design, manufacturing and fire-safety personnel are the most progressive team in the field. This plant has such a team; I don't intend to bore you with a long list of platitudes and accomplishments by the people here, but I do want to mention a couple of points. I. We are motivated.1 We always are faced with the potential of fire, loss of life and property. After the costly oxygen plant explosion and the Nitro disaster, our insurance premium almost doubled amounting to millions of dollars. II. We are active.1 Our design standards are predicated on fire prevention and protection. Our processes are examined critically by Engineering, Manufacturing and the Process Hazard Committee. Our insurance costs are dropping, and a substantial reduction of insurance premium is expected in the next negotiations. Bag filter fires that plagued us several years ago are a rarity. The oxygen plant has been instrumented to alert against atmospheric contamina tion;--So sensitive that a small acetylene leak several blocks away can be detected. Our operators handle 90$ of our emergencies while they are small. Our fire crew is the best in the area. SC 14751 LAM015343 III. We must be alert.' Every design must be studied. Every operating procedure must be reviewed. Every fire permit should be treated as if it were a license to burn the plant. Every fire protection equipment inspection is an opportunity to save lives and dollars. Why? Because it is our responsibility--yes, but more than this, it protects our jobs. Our obligation doesn't end at the fence line. We cannot be a member of this community without accepting our share of concern for the public and the other industries in our town. In 19^9 as a result of a propane spill at the Wye, the plant managers of industry formed the T.C.I.M.A.S. This was the third such organization in the U.S., patterned after the Baton Rouge set-up. Now there are numerous such mutual aid groups all over the U.S.--all with a single purpose--to help a sister industry and the community when she is involved in an incident beyond her ability to handle. We are committed by mutual agreement to supply equipment to any other member in Texas City or anywhere along the Gulf Coast. It functions simply--a call by radio or phone places the system and its members on alert. If the member in trouble needs help, he tells the Texas City Police Department what he needs--road blocks, foam, hose, pumpers, medical assistance, ambulances, whatever--and from there on, the members get the help to him. Only In extreme cases would personnel be involved. For us, all arrangements are handled through the main gate. This is why we need accurate and fast information from the night superintendent, you supervisors and your people. The fire trucks will answer emergencies in your area and they carry the men and equipment to handle your fire or spill, SC 14752 LAM015344 but they also serve as the radio contact for you as well as the fire crew to reach the gate where we can be in immediate touch with the Police and Fire Departments of the City, the other industries, the news media--and almost any conceivable type of protection, rescue or medical lielp is available without question. Mutual Aid in cooperation with the local Police has a community-alerting system for hazardous conditions we might impose on our town. Born out of the CI2 oar derailment in Louisiana a few years ago, we now have Police cars equipped with yelper and PA systems--the drivers are equipped with selfcontained air masks and mike equipment to alert the people. Each has a job. Mutual Aid in the community and a source of assistance. Our capable fire crew who are willing to risk their lives to save yours. You--the most important person--responsible for your area. We should be belieyers in fire prevention] 0 training--area--next ^7 see/Che f\pe cro*f in/action- tsf explai f do here pe to se /bs 10/3/63 SC 14753 LAM015345 I want to discuss a couple of items about the inspections. First Please do not inspect Depts. 1 and 11. If you will check your schedules, you will find Dept. 10 listed but not Depts. 1 or 11. Second Because of the transfer of several supervisors, several teams are short a man. I promise that all teams will be complete for the October inspections even if this means drawing more people from Tech. Service and Engineering Services. Third - We aren't adhering to the original schedule. Inspections by Group A are to be made during the Becond week of the month. Group B are to inspect during the fourth week. In July, only 50^ of the teams made their inspections during the prescribed week. Captains who have members on shift have a legitimate excuse to do their inspections late in the week before or early in the week after to catch the shift man on days. Fourth - The reports in a few cases are not complete enough to permit supervision to seek correction. A condition or act is noted or checked on the list without saying where or what it was. Eight hoses unracked but no location. Switch bank not identified but which one. Give the home, supervisor a chance to do something about the item. Fifth - Also, there seems to be an increasing tendency to see unsafe conditions but to overlook unsafe acts and rule infractions. This is probably an unfair statement because I know it is more difficult to recognize the unsafe act--it takes more training and effort. Maybe we can help you. sc 14754 LAM015346 February March April May June July Conditions 78 79 76 86 83 87 Acts and Rules 22 21 24 14 17 13 Let's review a few items: 1. Crows foot hose connection on potable water line is a rule violation. No tie-in is to be made to the potable line. 2. Fire permits - improperly made out and out of date - are infractions of procedures. 3. Hoses, paper, boxes, etc., are still listed - if they are tripping hazards, fire hazards, OK, but if not, just housekeeping, let's not list. 4. Blocked emergency equipment is a rule infraction. Some items that have been listed may be a guide to some of your thinking. C 1. Electrical switches unmarked. 2. People tilting back in straight chairs. 3. Use of 110 V. light inside a vessel. ^ 4. C- 5. Unsanitary conditions - kitchen and restrooms. Unguarded openings - loose grating, holes, lack of handrails. C. 6. Defective grounds. 7. Running. /tL 8. Wearing of canvas or porous-top shoes. /_9. Horseplay. SC 14755 LAM015347 ) Page 3. Sixth - There have been several notations about ladder safety chains. ThiB is a good one if the practice is uniform. To review this, let me explain the procedure for ladder chains. The chain may be left unhooked If no one Is working at the level of the chain, but must be hooked when work is in progress at that level. This is to give a continuous handrail when workers are on platform. The fact that the chain is unhooked does not necessarily constitute a hazard. Seventh - General items of real concern to us In Safety. 1. Prom the items listed, we may be getting lax on identification - switch and breaker numbers, utility stations, safety equipment (baths, gas maBks and fire extinguishers). 2. In July, there were at least a dozen different people found without eye or head protection. If this is a sample of what is happening in the field with supervision here, we have a real problem. I have felt for some time that we are lax on off-hours but this, on days right under the eye of the supervisor, is a disregard of a basic safety rule that we cannot afford. It indicates poor supervision and a general unsafe attitude and disregard for safety. I was stunned by this, and I talked about It with the safety Inspectors--what they told me was even worse. Supervisors have been talking with workers who didn't have eye protection on at the time. The Inspector upon discussing this with the supervisor got answers, "I didn't notice" and ftawfeufttrafewnteji "I will talk to him later." The best way in the world to hold a safety meeting is to tell the man, now not later, the importance of his eyes and to show that such unsafe acts are not permitted in your area. When you are here, this is your job--when you aren't, the Chiefs and Leadmen are responsible. I can't make this strong enough--how are you doing? Search yourself and your people's attitude--this Is basic. SC 14756 LAM015348 Page 4 For the reaminlng time, I would like to talk to you about an incident--it didn't happen this way because I am not going to point a finger at anyone, but it has happened several times in the last several months. A man gets a burn on his forearm. The next day, it has blistered and he puts some gunk on it. A week later, it is infected and hurts so he goes to his personal doctor. His doctor says he will have to stay off work for several days while the infection is controlled. At this point, the man calls his supervisor and says that a week ago on such and such a job he got burned and now he is losing time and has doctor's bills. I get a call "What do I do now?" OK--we don't have a report and he is going to his doctor. Group insurance won't cover but neither will Workmen's Comp. We have been generous in some cases and picked up the bill but no dice. We will not pay until this man reports to us and goes to the Company doctors. SO, you do the following: 1. Have him contact the dispensary and submit a report. 2. Tell him that after reporting, he will be treated by our doctors. (We will arrange for his appointment.) 3. Counsel with the man about the fact that all injuries are to be reported to the dispensary--a basic rule in this plant, well known and published rule. 4. Then if I were you, I'd take a look at myself. Why didn't this man report? Is he afraid of reporting? Does he fear the report because I make it a "federal case" or he knows I'm going to blame him. Did the accident really happen--here or at home? Was the job he says he was doing really responsible? Is there an unsafe condition I didn't know about? Or was it an act that resulted from inadequate training? Think about it--there Is a reason and you need to know why. sc 14757 LAM015349 Don't look at me and say, "Oh, he Is always harping on this"--if it is so, so be it.' It's your job and your people's Job. Don't disregard this opportunity to understand yourself and your people better. There is some thing wrong when this happens--maybe with you, maybe with the man, maybe with the work--and you need to know what it is.' I have made a simple statistical analysis of the first six months of these inspections. I have a compilation of comparable standings of the inspected areas as seen by the inspection teams. Because it is a comparison of areas against each other, I will not give you a copy of it, but.I will cto .this-- .. SKjl, (0 Qd+JtAL ow Vvjl. fade w anyone wanttiinngg to discuss with me how his area is doing in this or in injury performance, I will sit with you as individuals or area groups--I will tell you how you rate and how I size up your performance--I will not say you are better than or worse than some other particular area. Call me and let's get together if you want this. In general, this program is having a great impact and the teams are doing a very consistent job. One enployee stopped me the other day to say. trThis Is the greatest thing ha ever done for safety.1 it 9/V63 Sq l4?s8 LAM015350 LAM015351