Document gBgLV2y2q59ddXMMygjx4xJq
demic training in engineering In such cases, it is especially important that the safety pro fessional seek the advice and help of per sonnel within the company who are responsi ble for establishing engineering design cri teria and for setting up job procedures
The ultimate objective of all the company's engineering personnel is to design equip ment and processes and to plan job proce-
AN INJURY
which may also be
the source of
FlC 4-2 -- An injury is significant because it points to its basic cause, which mav also be responsible lor oilier operating hindrances (shown at bottom of chart) Courtesy Hartford \ct tdent and Indemnity Co
Unsafe acts, unsafe conditions
In most industrial accidents, both an unsafe condition and an unsafe act are contributing factors In almost 80,000 work injuries re ported in Pennsylvania in 1960, an unsafe condition was identified as a contributing factor in 98 4 per cent of the nonfatal manu facturing cases In the same study, an un safe act was identified as a contributing factor in 98 2 pei cent of the nonfatal manufactunng cases
It must be remembered that an unsafe con dition, in addition to being a direct cause of accidents in itself, often can lead people to perform unsafe acts Many times, an unsafe act is the result of poor machine design, in adequately planned methods, and other engineering deficiencies Thus, elimination of a hazard caused by an unsafe condition may also reduce the likelihood of injury from an unsafe act
When an injury occurs, the unsafe condition is often not as glaringly evident as the unsafe act Unless a careful study is made of the accident, the corTectible physical hazard may escape notice
Engineering tor safety, therefore, should have as it objectives both the elimination of hazardous conditions and the reduction of unsafe acts
Machine Design
dures so that exposure to injury is eliminated 01 controlled It is the safety professional's job to see that engineering personnel are acquainted with the particular hazards in volved and the methods of eliminating them
The safety professional should be able to discuss with management and the various supervisors involved the conditions respon sible for accidents or potential accidents He might well remember that, m making his cor rective suggestions, he will be more success ful if he can demonstrate that an iniury is only one of many hindrances to efficient produc tion
The safety professional who has the neces sary knowledge and skills for preventing accidents should be able to make recommen dations for effective use of the facilities at hand for more efficient as well as safer pro duction
Machinery' ranks fourth as a source of dis abling work injuries, accounting for about 10 per cent of all such injuries Further pointing to the need for safe design of ma chines is the fact that they rank second as a source of permanent partial injuries, accord ing to N S C's Accident Facts
The design of machinery and equipment is an evolutionary process It is always chang ing and dynamic, because design engineers constantly acquire wider experiences in the course of their everyday work These ex periences give them a broader scope and more initiative at the drawing board This initiative, however, will be disciplined by the practical consideration of designing the
Pennsylvania Department of Labor and In dustry, Hamsburg, Pa Industrial Intones in Penn sylvania 1960
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