Document dnONemaXxnakxMLRRKo2d7n0Q

EXHIBIT K "SAFETY AT THE JOBSITE" by * JOSEPH A. COURTER, PRESIDENT Courter & Company, Incorporated 317 West 13 Street, N. Y. C. Several months ago - Aersten Keasbey asked me to speak before this Convention on SAFETY AT THE JOBSITE - or Safety in Construction. It was his thought that I present to you a Safety Program as developed in New York City. I am not however, here to give you an easy solution, or a simple program which will prove effective. I am outlining this Program with the hope that it will aid you in developing a similar one in your local Association areas - or where you may have influence. Fortunately - I am able to start with a positive approach due to the success the Construction Industry has enjoyed in instituting the beginning of an effective Construction On-the-job Safety Program here in New York City. Certainly - getting the preliminaries off the ground was not easy. Perseverance did prevail however - as the Good Book states it will and should. We now have in New York City what we feel is an effective Pro gram - and where practiced, it has proven its worth. FIRST -- we recognized a problem, troublesome and long with us ACCIDENTS ON THE JOB. SECOND-- something positive had to be done. This called for Education and Training. Management had to be made to understand its responsibilities. Labor had to be educated equally to recognize its share in these responsibilities. To prevent occurrence and recurrence of accidents - calls far a constant alert on the part of both Management and Labor. - 25 NB/NM027943 In the year 1960 - at one of the member meetings of the Business and Industry Division of the Greater New York Safety council, Inc. - AN IDEA WAS BORN. It was decided to make a breakthrough and inauguarate a SAFETY PROGRAhVwithin the Construction Industry, considered then one of the worst offenders in the disregard of SAFETY-ON-THE-JOB. We met on several occasions to discuss our problems. We found that over many years - many safety programs had been developed. Some for a given trade, others for a single segment of the industry. We studied these programs and decided that to be successful, a SAFETY PROGRAM HAD TO COVER ALL PHASES OF THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY. We decided that the only way a SAFETY PROGRAM could be successful - was to INCLUDE ALL SEGMENTS OF THE INDUSTRY. We then made what proved to be an important decision - we decided that in order to get this Program on the road - we would begin with a CON STRUCTION SAFETY CONFERENCE. If successful - this would be held annually. Our Initial Conference was held in October of 1962, originally to be sponsored by the Greater New York Safety Council and the Building Trades Employers' Association of the City of New York. At about this time - I was invited to speak on Construction Safety at the Fourth Labor Management Conference sponsored by the New York State School of Industrial and Labor relations at Cornell University. This presentation was received with great interest and a POWERFUL NUCLEUS was formed. Peter Brennan, President of the Building and Con struction Trades Council, who was present at the Cornell Conference became quite enthused with our Program and joined with the BTEA and the Greater New York Safety Council - in sponsoring Safety in Construction. We needed no more - we had SAFETY - LABOR - MANAGEMENT. We were ready to go ahead. Our first Conference proved encouraging, and with each Annual Conference -- interest seemed to grow. We are now preparing for the Fourth Construction Safety Conference. This is scheduled for the 28th of this month. To make you familiar with the scope of activities at these Confer ences, I will give you here the subjects discussed in Workshop Sessions during the day; -- 26 -- NB/NM027944 Conference held In 1962; 1. What can Contractors do to improve Employee Safety? 2. Whet are the safety techniques to reduce public liability hazards? 3. What can Insurance Companies do to assist Construction Safety Programs ? 4. Where to go for Safety Know-how and Assistance. Conference held in 1963: 1. Responsibilities of General Contractors and Subcontractors. 2. How do you prevent falls ? 3. How to get employees to use protective equipment. 4. Practical Training Techniques for Safety-on-the-Job. Conference held in 1964: 1. What the Business Agent can contribute to Construction Safety. 2. What the Foreman can contribute to On-the-Site Safety. 3. How Apprenticeship Training Programs can contribute to Greater Safety. 4. What is expected of Contractors in an Industry-Wide Construction Safety Program. Finally - for 1965 - we have scheduled the following Workshop Sessions: 1. How Should employees be induced to work safely? 2. Should Trade Color Identification Practices be adopted for Greater Safety? 3. Should disciplinary action be taken for failure to follow Safe Practices/ and if so - by whom? 4. What can be done to promote Inter-Trade Safety Considerations ? - 27 - "NB/NM027945 To augment our Program - through the sponsorship again of the Building trades Employer's Association and the Greater New York Safety Council, a SAFETY DIRECTOR has been employed -- HIS RESPONSIBILITY TM concentrating on a Construction Safety Program, which to date, has given us some affective tools. ONE - An EFFECTIVE POSTER PROGRAM has been instituted. These Posters are of new design. They have brought large acclaim from many directions. They have been distributed to Contractor-Members of the BTEA and have been placed on Construction Jobs throughout the City. TWO - An EFFECTIVE CONSTRUCTION SAFETY COMMITTEE has been formed. Meetings are held monthly to review problems and further our Program. Many hazardous conditions have been corrected at Jobsites as a result. On this Committee are representatives of Labor, Contractors and Insurance Companies. The Building and Construction Trades Council has been most effective and most helpful in carrying out Safety-consciousness at the Jobsite. The Building and Construction Trades Council has agreed to in corporate a Safety Course into their various Apprenticeship Programs. THREE -- This Safety Committee has just recently authorized the development of a PROCEDURE or Practices PROGRAM. The first Procedures are now in the process of being written up. They will cover; 1. The use of Hard Hats. 2. Job Cleanliness. These Procedures will be distributed through the various Contractor Associations - with the thought of disseminating this information through out all Construction Projects. FOUR -- We are concentrating on literature and monthly letters on Construction Safety. FIVE -- We are running a series of Seminars for Construction Superintendents. The first Seminar was held in the Spring of this year - the Fall Series was completed on September 30th. - 28 - NB/NM027946 These Seminars have proven very successful. The following subjects were covered in discussion: Spring Sessions: a. The Supervisor's Role in Jobsite Safety. b. Key Elements of Safety. c. "What's in it for me?" - Motivating Safety. Fall Sessions: a. Supervising Safety-on-the-Job. b. Successful Methods of Jobsite Accident Reduction. c. Safety Programs get results. We are very encouraged. We find that we are on the right track.. TO EDUCATE THROUGH A PRACTICAL, PLANNED , CO-ORDINATED PRO- . GRAM - the owner, the general contractor, the subcontractor and the em ployee to recognize their responsibilities respectively, in providing SAFETY-ON-THE-JOB. THIS HAS BECOME A JOINT EFFORT .... SAFETY IS EVERYBODY'S BUSINESS!------ THIS IS OUR SLOGAN. Now - how can the Industry approach a Safety Program within its own ranks? AGAIN - Management must make known its concern in this direc tion all the way down the line. Employees will then unconsciously begin to care themselves. Superintendents and Foremen must be trained to re cognize their responsibility for the safety of men. This is just as sure as their responsibility for the proper and safe use of equipment and materials. Once this attitude is accepted - SAFETY-ON-THE-JOB becomes a natural ingredient in the course of normal operations. Management must impress that working SAFELY and in SAFETY IS PART AND PARCEL OF AN HONEST DAY'S WORK. This is Management's responsibility. This cannot be stated too often - for though we may succeed in the start of a Program------ to backslide is too easy and there must be a continuing Program. No matter how much we have done or do, we must forge ahead into the future with the thought of minimizing acci dents and the danger of accidents. 29 NB/NM027947 As part of your Program - you can: 1. Develop Safety-consciousness among employers and employees. 2. See that proper Safety Equipment is available for mechanics and is used. 3. See that Supervisory Personnel use and wear Safety Equipment when visiting Jobsites. 4. Provide Safe Tools for mechanics. 5. Clarify the Industry-Wide need for Organized Safety Effort. 6. Encourage and promote development of an Organized Safety Program within each firm. 7. Provide Posters, Signs, Rule Books, Leaflets for mechanics, Arrange Meetings, Lectures and Safety Pictures from a centralized source. 8. Take advantage of the help the National Safety Council, Inc. can give you. You must consider long-range objectives as well - such as: 1. Incorporating Safety into all Apprenticeship Training Programs. 2. Integrating Safety Training and Retraining in all phases of the Insulation Industry. 3. Starting Joint Safety Committees on each location for each job. 4. Introducing a coordinated Program into specific areas where you have local Associations. It has been our experience that the above suggestions, care fully studied, and prepared as part of a Program - inevitably will bring on a minimization of On-the-job Accidents. We must understand that unless our efforts are voluntary - com pulsion by Government mey well set in. The Federal Government has already shown an interest in accident prevention. You may be interested in learning that I was called upon in June of 1964 to speak at the Presi dent's Conference on Occupational Safety - discussing in detail our Pro gram as practiced in New York City. - 30 - NB/NM027948 OVERALL - what is our final objective? - SAFETY! This means that we must actively assume the responsibility to make possiMe a reduction in human suffering and the burdens such suffering places on the families of the injured. We too often forget the families of the injured. All of this is one part of a whole. I repeat - SAFETY IS EVERYBODY'S BUSINESS! and I trust I have been successful in engendering in all of you here a feeling to go for ward and become a part of the evergrowing PARADE TOWARD SAFETY------- We in New York City, would of course, be glad to give you the benefit of our experience ~ and share our knowledge with you - TO HE IP YOU ACHIEVE RESULTS! THANK YOU! 10/10/65 /drc - 31 - ,NB/NM027949