Document v1dRK0xyq4eM4vNVdVEYqERX6

400 Tzcenty-third Annual Safety Conyress--National Safety Council chanicat equipment call ior constant education and training to eliminate them as potential accident hazards. Operatin'/ rzeitchcx. Although none were killed in this manner in 1933, 176 persons were injured* all of them being employees on duty. Oi these *165^ were trainmen and 11 oilier employees. The reduction oi casualties due to operation ot switches has shown a verv marked decrease over 1950, 2 killed in 1930 against none in 1933. 378 injured in 1930 as against 176 its 1933. This indicates that employees are exercising more care while handling switches. Of tlie causes leading to these injuries we would enumerate the following ^ as the roost important: insecure footing; haste in attempting to throw the switch; im proper position of man throwing the switch: switch hard to throw; and unsafe conditions around switch. The first three of these causes might all come under the single heading "haste.*' Before attempting to throw the switch a man should be sure hts footing is secure, that his body is tree of lltc movement of lever, and lie should never take it tor granted that the switch will be easy to throw; because of variable weather conditions, the switch that is easy* to throw toebv will be hard to throw tomorrow. A man should never undertake to jerk-the switch lever over; because if he jerks on the lever with the expectation that it will move easily when tor some reason it is hard to moye. injury is apt to result. He should always take a firm hold and throw the switch over with a steady uniform movement, being sure tlut there is no obstruction that will catch his hand in the movement of the switch lever. Those wltose duty it is to keep the switch in good working condition, and to keep the vicinity of the switch clear of unnecessary obstructions, should see that this duty is performed. Switches nw] frequent inspection. Struck and run otvr not at public crossings. The total persons killed in 1933 numbered 1.792 and 958 jwrsons injured. Among employees on duty 101 were killed and 146 injured; of these 32 killed were trainmen and 74 injured, and 69 killed were other employees and 72 injured. The reduction of employees killed mi account being struck and run over not at public crossings is very marked. 231 having !>een killed in 1930 as compared with 101 in 1933. I think this good showing lias been largely brought about by the special attention given to the elimination of tlte causes of such accidents. An examination of casualties under this heading classifies nearly all of them as due to one of three causes: (1) failure to look both ways Ikmotc stqiping on the railroad track; (2) walking on the railroad track or foul of tlte track when possible to walk elsewhere, and (3) walking too dose to the end of a car in a live yard. Practically all oi these injuries arc easily capable oi Wing eliminated. The remedy is apparent and may be briefly stated as follows: (1) always Jook both ways before slepjnp on the railroad track .* (21 never walk on the railroad track or foul of the track when possible to walk dsewbere, and (3) never go within ten feet of the end of a car in a live yard. Getting On or Off Cars and Engines and Operating Hand Brakes By E. A. MEYER Manager, Safety and Fuel Departments, Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, Chicago The speaker said in part: Accidents resulting from the operation of hand brakes show an increase oi 3. or 25 per cent, in fatalities during tlte past year. In all there were 15 killed and 514 injured. You can plainly sec that here is a field for some intensive work to cut down these injuries that arc so unnecessary. Very few of these accidents were caused from faulty equipment and a great many were due to falls.' losing hold, slipping or losing balance. I believe that we could cut down Safely Section, ANA--Steam Railroad Section, NSC 401 these accidents to a minimum if an educational program were carried on among employees. 1 am liappy to call your attention to the fact that accidents due to getting on or off cars or locomotives show a decrease, only 15 employees being killed instead of 3-1, a decrease of 56 |cr cent. Instead of 1,949 being injured, there were 1,345 injured or a decrease of 13 per cent. All of these accidents due to getting on or off cars nr locomotives were due to the following unsafe habits: uncertain hand or foutltnlds. attempting to get on or off when not competent to do so, inability to see where they were alighting, and alighting on rough, uneven or slippery surfaces or on frogs or switches, or care lessness. Before we Itad safety rules, men were getting out of gangways of locomotives facing outward and performing other hazardous stunts, trusting to luck that they w*ould alight like a cat, on their feet standing up. These were unsafe habits and it has been hard for some of the older men to break themselves of such habits. One of our master mechanics had a habit of getting down out of the gangway of an engine when facing outward. He realized it was a dangerous practice and that he was setting a had example for Jijs men. One day lie did tin's as 1 happened along and he remarked to me: MI am going to break myself of that habit." So'he deliberately got cm and off the engine several times in the proper manner until he felt sure of himself; and then lie remarked to nic: "That is the last time I am going to bungle the job of getting off an engine." Moreover, he stuck to the good (mbit. In other words---he crowded out a bad habit with a good one. Coupling and Uncoupling Cars and Engines and Air and Steam Hose By D. A. XLUMFH Supervisor of Safety, Pere Marquette Railway, Grand Rapids, Mich. The speaker said in part: In the coupling and uncoupling of cars and locomo tives, we were able to show a reduction, comparing 1933 with 1930, especially to trainmen,--and they do most of that work. A comparison of the injuries to employees from this cause, for the past four vears, shows conclusively that it is not rules alone that will stop these injuries because if there is any one tiling tliat is adequately covered by tbo rules it is this kind oi work. To quite an extent, it is the older employee who is injured in per forming this work, and it seems to he due to his opinion that because of his experience in the old Imk-and-pin days lie can still go between moving cars without injury. But in most cases he will not allow a mcmlicr of his crew to do it because of the danger involved. Because alt injuries of this type are caused by violation of rules, it is within the power of the operating officials to stop tlicsc accidents through rigid enforce ment of rules. Coupling and uncoupling air or steam hose: we find tliat comparing 1933 with 1930, we have had more fatalities and fewer injuries in 1933. The principal cause of these injuries seems to be failure to reduce the air brake pressure before endeavoring to uncouple the hose, and perhaps a more rigid rule in regard to this might he introduced with good results. Another cause for many of the serious accidents is failure to protect the work man with blue signals or otherwise in comp)iancc with the blue flag rule. These violations m many cases arc too often caused by the desire on the part of someone to gain time at the expense of safety. As to Hie rule situation, which is my pet hobby, ficrau.se I have been pretty closely connected with it for a number of years. I feel that we can have too many rules. It seems to me tliat the more rules we have, the greater numltcr of violations to rules occur. Tt is a good deat the same with rules as with our laws. We have so many that the average man doesn't know he i* violating the law in what he is doing.