Document k7eNQ85NJ0697Bvn42j94QMb

FILE NAME: Lockheed (LKH) DATE: 1945 July DOC#: LKH009 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: US Navy - Industrial Health and Safety Re-Survey of the Puget Sound Bridge & Dredging Co. 75^1 . S . NAVY - U. S . MARITIME COMISSION - WAR SHIPPING ADMINISTRATION INDUSTRIAL HEALTH AND SAFETY PROGRAM INDUSTRIAL HEALTH AND SAFETY RE-SURVEY of the PUGET SOUND BRIDGE AND DREDGING COMPANY Formerly the ASSOCIATED SHIPBUILDERS HARBOR ISLAND SEATTLE, WASHINGTON Ju ly 21 - 25, 19*5 Reference (a) "Minimum Requirements for Safety and In d u strial Health in Contract Shipyards" Approved by the U. S . Maritime Commission and U. S . Navy, February 9, 19*3 In d u stria l Health and Safety Survey of the Associated Shipbuilders, Harbor Islan d , S e a ttle , Washington dated June 7-1*, 19*3, conducted by F* W. Johnson, Regional Safety Consultant Robert S . Poos, L t. Comdr. (MC) USN James F. Morgan, L t . ( j . g . ) H-V (S) USNR (c) In d u strial Health and Safety Survey of the Associated Shipbuilders, Harbor Islan d , S e a ttle , Washington dated January 13-14, 19**, conducted by F. 7/. Johnson, Regional Safety Consultant R. S . Poos, L t. Comdr. (MG'), USN James F. Morgan, L t . (j g - ) H-V(S), USNR l,;,s c<ocym9rrt contains information affecting fha na.sunai defense of the United States within the moan ing of the Espionage Act. U. S. C. 50; 3) and 32. It, transmission or the revolation of its contents in any manner to an, unauthorized person is prohibitedW i n w * Comdr. Harry G. Beck, (MC), USNR, Ass' t Chief Health Consultant Lee 0. Hughes, Regional Safety Consultant Ltt Lowell G. Wayne, H ( s ) , USNR Regional Health Consultant I In the course of th is survey the following persons wore interviewed Mr. Bnllaine Adm inistrativo Manager L t . Comdr. Lyons, USNR Assistant Supervisor of Shipbuilding Mr. 'Nolan D irector o f Personnel- Mr. Cousins A s s'i Porsonnel Director in charge of security and safety Dr. Ripplo Women's Counselor Mrs. O'Brien As8't Women' s Counselor Mr. Redman Chief Safety Inspector Consultative services may be obtained by addressing the Regional Director of Construction, United States Maritime Commission, Financial Center Building, 14th and Franklin S tre e ts, Oakland, 12, C a lifo rn ia - 1- X ;fl: i ii * This yard now employs 4,000 workers, o f whom 3*500 are engaged in production. 840 of the to ta l are women, o f whom 600 are engaged in production. At present the yard is engagod in construction of AFL barratfkf barges and YR yard repair barges, as w ell as general ship' rep air. Repair is conducted in one flo a tin g drydock,in the graving or construction docks, and at pier side both at the yard and at various piers in the S e a ttle Harbor area. The p rin cip al labor a f f ili a t i o n is the American Federation of Labor. The insuranco fo r in d u stria l claims incurred ashore is carried by the State of Washington Department of Labor and In d u stries, while corresponding service for off-shoro claims is provided by the United P a c ific Casualty Company. - 2- The present survey was conducted to determine the progress on the recommendations of references (b) and (c) and to make any further recommendations on conditions arisin g due to changes in the shipyard. f \ , . New recommendations are lis te d on pages 6-1C- o f th is ,rep^rif,4V'-' Previous recommendations are quoted below and progress noted undor the heading, " Comment." MEDICAL DEPARTMENT "1. Provide services o f a f u l l time physician on the day and swing s h ift to provide medical care and supervise a c t iv it ie s of First-A id Dopartmont, do physical examinations and mako sanitary inspections as described in Sections H-6 and H-9 o f 'Minimum Requirements for Safety and H e a lth '," Comment This has not boon done. At present the physician devotes oven lo ss time to tho yard than previously. Ho is at the yard on Tuesdays and Fridays betweon the hours o f 1300 and 1445. "2. Encourage employees to report to F irst-A id before v is itin g private physician for treatment of in d ustrial injury or condition." Commenti There has boon some improvement in th is respect. "3. Elim inate congestion in f ir s t - a id by rearrangement and addition o f space to present f a c i l i t i e s or provide another f ir s t - a id s ta tio n ." Comment 1 This condition has been alle v ia to d by the decrease in the number o f employees. F a c ilit ie s are adequate for the present operations. "5. Provide c le r ic a l help as needed to relievo nurses of excessive cle rica l duties." Comment 1 This has not boon done. A ll c le r ic a l work is s t i l l being accomplished by tho nurses SAFETY DEPARTMENT "1. That the 'Minimum Requiremente for Safety and In d u strial Health in Contract Shipyardsrbe followed insofar as possible in the organisation o f the 8afety Department and the Safety Progr^s.v in effe ct in the yard. "3* Continue and expand the Safety Training in the Vocational Classes and Induction hours to include a program fo r Safety Training fo r Leadermen and Foremen." Comment The steps taken have been neither adequate nor s a tisfa c to ry . In order to have a successful accident prevention program, top management must take an a c tiv e , conspicuous parti management's poliey with respect to accident prevention should be clear and co n siste n t, so that supervisors w ill fu lly recognise th e ir re sp o n sib ility in th is regard. Further recommendations and discussion o f th is problem w ill be found on pages 7 - 1 0 of th is report. VENTILATION "1. A group of men should be organized to take over as th e ir f u l l time duty the providing o f adequate temporary v e n tila tio n . This sh a ll be in accordance with 'Minimum Requirements' , Section H-14.3 and H-14.5" Commentt The organisation o f the v e n tila tio n department remains as before, except that safety and v e n tila tio n duties are performed by separate crews working under the same leadmen. This is unsatisfactory. "3 An educational program to teach welders the proper use of lo c a l exhaust hose should be begun." ComosQti At the present time there i s no such program. PAINT DEPARTMENT " 2. Adequate washing f a c i l i t i e s should be provided the p a in te rs.* Comments There has been no change in f a c i l i t i e s , which are s t i l l inadequate. . ' ELECTRICAL DEPARTMENT "1. I n it ia t e precautions for men regularly working with MHFA and MDGA cab le. 7/hen raon are regularly handling that cable which has excessive wax on tho conductors, th is is very im portant." Comment No sa tisfa c to ry precautions have been in itia te d . "2. Make periodic (3-4 weeks) medical examination o f the skin of those e le c tr ic ia n s regularly assigned work in tho Inter-Communica tio n Room to dotoct f i r s t signs o f skin eruption ." Comment> This has not been done. FOOD HANDLING "1. Maintain adequate sanitary standards and assign resp o n sib ility as described in Section H-9 in 'Minimum Requirements for Safety and Health' ." Commenti The system o f feeding at th is time is much the same as previously reported. However, work is in progress on a cafeteria which, when complotod, should provide excellent feeding f a c i l i t i e s . - 5- musmmmmom 1. A c le r ic a l employee' should be assigned to the dispensary to obtain and maintain the medical records. Although the records are good, th e ir maintenance requires'' ' much o f the nurses' time and would be greatly fa c ilit a t e d by cle rica l help. Management should be able to make much better use of these records and the information contained in them in checking and co n tro llin g the accident prevention program. 2. A program for tho prevention o f chloracne among e le ctricia n s working with MHFA and MDGA cables should bo in itia te d , ub previously rocommondad (roferonco (b )). Such employees should be examined p e rio d ica lly for signs of skin oruption. 3. As required by the s ta te law, physical examinations should bo mado av a ilab le to crano operators sem i-annually. 4. Blowors of capacity intermediate between tho 1 HF and the 7-1/2 HP machines on hand should bo provided. Much power is wasted when tho larger unit is operated for the ben efit o f a single welder or two, but the smaller blowors are oftGn inadequate for either air supply or lo ca l exhaust in inaccessible places. 5. A ll personal protective equipment should b dispensed from a ce n tra lly loentod s ta tio n , under the supervision o f the safety department, by attendants trained to know tho proper type of equipment fo r the various jobs requiring i t and p ro ficie n t in the fittin g of gogglos. - 6- This i 8 p a rtic u la rly important for tho prevention of oye in ju ries Tho random passing-out of goggles has nover successfully prevented eye in ju r ie s ! employees cannot bo expected to wear them conscientiously i f thoy ore not comfortable and w ell fit t e d when v. issued. Any of the o p tica l equipment companies w ill be very co operative in tra in in g personnel for the f it t i n g of goggloe No new employees w ill bo necessary) as the prosent to o l room attendants could be train ed for th is work (The a c tiv ity should) however) be separate from the regular functions o f the to o l room.) 6. The safety and medical departments should fa m ilia rise themselves with a l l solvents and chemicals (paint thinnerS) paint removers cleaning compounds, adhesives, e t c .) used in the yard and with tho possible e ffe c ts of these substances on workers exposed to them, A program for the control of issue and prevention o f undue exposure should be in it ia t e d . Control measures to be considored include lim itation of issue) substitution of non-toxic solvents) provision o f sp ecial v e n tila tio n and woaring of.personal protective equipment. At tho time o f th is survey) the lack o f a comprehensive program was very evident Information concerning the hazards involved in using carbon tetrach lorid e has been circu lated and some shops have elim inated i t s use. However) resu lts have not been uniform or co n sisten tly s a tis fa c to r y ; solvents o f various types are to bo found in miscellaneous containers) often unl&bollod or m islabellodl commercial products are widely used with) apparently) no knowledge o f th e ir constituents and no measures to minimizo exposures. - 7- J l__ 7. Safety b u lle tin s should occasionally bo issued over the signature o f yard managers in order4 to acquaint a l l members o f the supervisory force with the company' s policy regarding accident prevention. , Supervisors should bo advised in w riting that management hplds P them rosponsible for the prevention o f accidents and that d iscip lin a ry action w ill bo taken in case o f fa ilu r e to accept such r e s p o n s ib ility . I t should be made clear that the safety program is to receive the same supervision as any other yard a c t iv ity . 8. Management should in s titu te a program o f compulsory safoty train in g for a l l supervisory employees, to give them the knowledgo nocessary to prevent accidents by correcting th e ir causes. With the exception o f omergency s itu a tio n s, accident prevention, that i s , the correction of unsafe work practices and physical co n d ition s should bo done by supervision and not by the safoty department. No number o f safety inspectors could adequately police the whole yard for safety . For th is reason a ll in stru ctions, including those bearing on sa fo ty , should come to the individual worker through his leadmon and supervisors. 9. Management and Suporvision should wear hard hats and other protective equipment in production areas where th e ir use is mandatory fo r employees, in order to set a good example. (A fter a l l , i t is at le a s t as important to protect supervisors lab orers. ) - 8- 10. A f u l l time safety director should bo appointed and provided with on adequate s t u f f , os sp ecified in 8oetion 3*2, reference (a ). Other a c t iv it ie s and r e s p o n sib ilitie s should be separated from the safety department to enable the director to keep management informed as to what is causing accidents and measures necossary to prevent th eir recurronco. < 11. A central safety committee should bo organised, to hold meotings at le a s t once each month Membership should include the Production Manager, who should act as chairman, the executive a s sista n t, the safety engineer, and a number o f top supervisory personnel, the la t t e r to be rotated so that a l l w ill have opportunities to serve. This committee should carry out the duties outlined in Sections S-5.11 and S-5.12 of reference (a ). Considerable progress can also bo made in accident prevention by settin g up c r a ft sofoty committooe to meet at le a s t once each month under the chairmanship of the c ra ft superintendent. The superintendent, boing fu lly informod by the safety department as to accidont causes and means for th e ir prevention, w ill be enabled to present the pertinont facte to hie supervisory s t a f f . This system has produced very g ra tify in g resu lts in shipyards where i t is in practice. In -jo b tra in in g should also bo considered. Loedmen should be able not only to lay out the work but also to in stru ct craftsmen in the e f f ic ie n t and safe methods o f performing i t . I t is usually found that e f fic ie n t methods and safe methods are the same. 9 12. Leadmen should in stru ct women; workers as to the proper types of clothin g and protective.equipm ent, (hard h a ts, safety shoes, e t c . ) to be worn. The wearing o f jewelry near machinery is exceedingly dangerous and should be prohibited. V '; 13. Following is a p a r tia l l i s t o f unsafe working practices and physical conditions existing in the yard, each indicating s p e c ific points of attack for the safety program. Plate Shop* Poor housekeeping Unsafe rigging practices Unguarded machinery Unguarded t r o lle y wires Unsafe ladders Unsafe plate storage Ways and Graving Docks Very poor staging (does not comply with reference (a)) Sandblasting not isolated Poor housekeeping Cranes (Whirloy)i Lack of clearance between crone and m aterials Lack of clearance between craneway and shacks Unsafe riggin g practices (improper lamps, hemp slin gs) Inadequate inspection Generalt Points and edges o f plates projooting into roadway Unguarded deck openings Inobservance of load lin es in storing materials D efective and unsecured ladders Unsafe m ate ria l, storage Unprotected acid tanks Failu re to wear personal protective equipment - 10 -