subject: Safety In The Cement Industry [print this page] Henry A. Reninger, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science Vol. 123
The entire triumph or else failure of accident prevention work, the functioning of safety committees and the position of the foremen, depend entirely on the executives of a company. The organization, from the president down, realizes the price of safety and backs up the safety administrative area and plant superintendents, can expect results. However, where indifference is manifested by those with authority, no results can likely be obtained.
In making a study of the results obtained by those companies which have been proving successful in their line of safety work, we determine that they have been booming due to the assistance of the management and the cautious and thorough work on behalf of the safety committees. Most of the successful plants have been well guarded, which perhaps relieves us of 20 percent of the work in accident prevention; the balance is due entirely to the work put forth by the safety committees.
We retrieve a great many of these committees are composed of foremen, in lieu of the diverse companies realize that they are the key-men and the ones who must be educated to believe in accident prevention work, if they do not, results will not be obtained either in the sphere of their own administrative area or else in the sphere of the entire plant. The safety committee and the foremen have to believe in accident prevention work just as they believe in whatever prevents waste and increases efficiency in the workplace.
The duties of the safety committee were outlined in 1917 and many of the successful plants are following along this organization.
The general Safety Committee has been divided and covers a hefty theme of activities - the Inspection Committee, composed of two or more members, making a semi-monthly protection inspection of the plant as well as a thorough hazard analysis; the Fire Committee, making a semi-monthly inspection of fire hazards and all fire equipment; the First Aid and Sanitation Committee, having charge of original aid, hospitals and all therapeutic supplies and making a thorough inspection of the sanitary conditions of the plant and all company dwellings; the Publicity and Educational Committee, keeping the Bulletin Boards clean and attractive, instructing the men about the plant and the plants current protection program; the Accident Investigation Committee, making an investigation of all serious accidents, reporting the cause of same and method of preventing related accidents.
No rule can be laid down as to the amount of men on a committee, as we find each organization has its own ideas on this area of interest, but the general outline as prearranged above has been followed.
All accidents are being reported to the companies, and the companies themselves give an account of each lost-time accident to the Cement Association.
The yearly study of accidents as published in the Accident Prevention Bulletin of the Portland Cement Association is, with no question, probably the most accurate of any industry in the nation and it has proven to be the most beneficial to the cement companies interested in accident prevention work.
