hurt more than workers

following as the underlying causes of most work related accidents.

o Lack of nranagement support and control for organization, planning, training and education.

o Unsafe conditions caused by poor and defective equipnrent, overworked enrployees, exposure to unnecessary hazards.

o Poor environmental conditions.

o Improper supervision, resulting in unsafe acts by employees and workers who do not follow directions.

Most companies have safety guidelines in place, Ptak emphasizes, but they nray be outdated or not adhered to. He recommends that safety guidelines be reveiwed, revised and updated on a regular basis. Poor guidelines result in accidents. Accidents affect productivity and, ultimately, result in bottom line losses in profit margin.

Management reviews of safety guidelines should take into account accidents or near accidents which have occurred recently. Proper investigation of an accident nrust include reconrmendations for prevention, Ptak cautions.

When an accident occurs on the job, employers are quick to provide health care and support to an injured worker. However many enrployers and conrpanies fail to provide a proper investigation of the accident itself.

Senior nlanagenrent should require that all accidents or "near misses" be investigated by a manager not involved with the accident. It is the investigator's job to search for the root causes of the problenr.

"Rack failure" or "carelessness" are symptoms, not causes of accidents. The real question is "what caused the rack to fail?" or "why was the worker careless?"

Fault is not an issue, Ptak stresses. Workers and area supervisors will be nrore cooperative if they realize the object is to prevent future accidents, rather than to lay blame.

An investigator should not junrp to conclusions. Most close calls and accidents are the result ofa conrbination of unsafe acts and unsafe conditions. All causes should be identified to prevent sinrilar injuries.

The following basic tips are reconrnrended by Ptak for investigating an accident: o Speed is inrportant. Quickly talk to the injured person and all witnesses while the details of the accident are still fresh in their nrinds. o Listen to the conversation around you. What you overhear nray tell you more than direct questioning. Ask workers for their reconrnrendations on preventing future accidents. o Study the situation by working the accident backwards, looking for all possible causes. o Follow up each report by requesting approval and inrplenrenting your recomnrendations, a critical step frequently forgotten.

. Report to senior nlanagenrent with a written docuntent which includes recomnrendations for preventing sinrilar accidents.

To help insure that accidents do not regularly occur. senior nranagenrent should exanrine accident records and reports regularly. Each company should appoint a safety supervisor to keep an account ofthe nunrber of accidents per nronth and the direct cost ofeach. These records will show the financial benefits of a properly adnrinistered safety progranr.

In the end, Ptak concludes, everybody wins at a conrpany which nrakes safety a top priority.

Story at a Glance

Gheck list for company satety plan... how to handle accident investigations. ways to cut losses.

Wit'kcs hrmhcr (ir. has sold 37 ol'its southcastcrn stores (see p. 24 l'<>r story) Buiklcrs EtTrr'.s.s, /nr'. leased t site in Longview, Tx., fbr its lirst warehouse store with plans to havc two locations in operation by thc cnd ol' the year . l-ox't"s plans to open Itrur ncw stores and relocate 22 this ycar including North Wilkesboro ancl lrlizabcth ('ity, N.('., units

,S't'oll.yis is set to double the size of its Key Wcst, Fl., store Ilopc l-unthcr and Supply acquirecl TupJac Ilomc ('ontcr, Pryor, Ok., fbr its fbur store chain ('urclinu Buildars Supply o/ Wilson Inc. and Stancont Homt' (,(,ttl(r, both in Wilson, N.C., have nrerged, John Romberg is pres.

Gt,trcrul Hurdv'ar( acquired a True Vulue store in Atlanta. Ga.. to operate as a test site lbr marketing ideas. . BMA, Greenville, S.Cl., divided into a forest products. millwork div. and ii building nraterials, retail div. . .

Higginbotlnm- Bortlt'tt Lumber C'o., Hale Center, Tx., has closed after being in continuous operation since l9l2

Anniversaries: Comancht' Lumher Cn., Lawton, Ok., 23rd; Gotor Door & Supply Co., Inc'., Gainesville, Fl., l5th..

Home Depot, which plans to open 26 stores before the end of the year, will move its []'ort Worth. Tx.. store to a new location in late 1991 ,

Lowe's o.f Tennessee agreed to a $2,250,000 settlement of a lawsuit brought as a result of an accident involving one of its lumber trucks

IIomc Quurtcrs l,l/er(houst' opened a second llirmingham, n 1.. store with a third scheduled l<lr latc fall . .

Itomc Dcpot, l)avie, Ij1., was givcn scven days to comply with thc city cocle enlbrcement board lllcgcd violution of business zoning, storagc and nuisance rules

I-owt, ii medical emergency teanr was recognized by the North (urclin0 Sultty ('ouncil tor outstanding achievement .

Rex Lumbt'r ('o., Acton, Ma., opcned a distribution yard in Richnrond. Va.. William Renzulli, mgr., Ken Ancarrow, sales rep.. . Ricltmond Inlernalional Forcst I'rorluct.s, Richmond, Va., opened a llel Air, Md., ofTice, Jack llunter in charge

South Atlantic Luttht'r Industrits, Inc'. is a new lirm formed by E. C. "l]ucky" McCoy in Greensboro. N.Cl.. with Robert Alford, v.p.. sollwoods; Ray Holoman, v.p./contractor sales; Edward C'ervi, sales rep; Roger Rodolphe, comptroller . .

DG Mouldir.qs, Marion, Va., recently purchased by Marle,v Plc, is now Marle.v Mouldings.

Gcneral Marble Corp. has acquired a facility in Lincolnton, N.C....

Tolleson Lumber Co., Perry, Ga., is looking for a buyer for the Cullman. Al.. sawmill which lost its planing mill in an Aprilfire

Clarence E. Irwin and Harry E. Platts have divided Gator Door & Supply Co., Inc. with Platts operating the St. Augustine, [r1., branch as Gotor Door East, Inc. and Irwin retaining the Gainesville and Brooksville. Fl., locations as Gqtor Daor & Supply Co....

Bulldlng Productr Dlgot

MaxiTilc opened a new branch ollicc and warehouse in Orlando. l;f. . . Mannington C'eramic' Tile plans an $18 nrillion renovation at its Lexington, N.C., plant . .

Gcorgiq-Paci/it' Corp. completed its acquisition of Great Norlhe,m Nt'koosa Corp. Lumhcrman's ln./ormalion Scrvic'e, Natchez, Ms., closed July I

Itlyu,ood Pane,ls, /nr'., New Orleans, La., received two supplier ol'the year awards from Dianond Hill Pl.vu,ood ('o., I)arlington, s.c....

Murtvillc Salcs C'orp., Savannah, (ia., Owcns-('orning Fiberglus ('orp., Houston, Tx., and GS Roo.l'ittg Produc'ts Co., Little Rock, Ar., received safety awards from the Asphalt Rooling MtnujAcnu'us Association

Wooslt'.v Associates, R ichmond. Va.. will market FibreChem (lorp., Charlotte, N.C., products in Virginia. .. GAF Builcling Muterials Corp. is closing its lrwindale, C'a., plant to consolidate glass fiber operations at its Nashville, Tn., plant . Willsmette Industries is modernizing its Moncure, N.C., plywood plant, adding Durand-Rotrte equipnrent .

Stcrling Advertising Ltd., a wholly-owned Lowe's Cos. subsidiary, has moved to North Wilkesboro. N.C.. from Winston-Salem, N.C., The Na' lional Association ql' the Remodeling Industr.v has formed a south Florida chapter in Fort Lauderdale...

The American Plywood Association will participate in the 1992 World's Fair in Seville, Spain a resolution to commemorate National Hardwood Day Oct. 18, 1990, has been introduced in both the House o.f' Representotives and the Senate.

Housing starts fell 2.30/o in June (latest figs.) for the fifth consecutive month to the lowest levelsince Oct. 1982, an annually adjusted rate of 1,177,000 . building permits were up 3.901a...