Calilornia Lumbermen's Accident Association Submits Recommendations for Changes in Salety Orders

A. C. Blackman, chief of the Division of Industrial Safety, presided at a public meeting held in the Division's office in San Francisco, September 16.

Derby Bendorf, president of the California Lumbermen's Accident Prevention Association, presented the proposed recommendation of the Safety Order Ccrnmittee of the Association to Mr. Blackman, who expressed appreciaion for the interest shown and the .lr,ork done by the industry, and rvho will notify the Association as to future procedure.

Mr. IJendorf spoke as follows:

Follorving up a suggestion previously made by the Division of Industrial Safetl , a committee from the California Lumbermen's Accident Irrevention Association was appoir-rted on September 13, 1948, to make a comprehensive survey of the causes of accidents in the forest products industry and to submit recommendations designed to aid the Division ir-r preparng a revision of existing safety orders applicable to the industry.

Our Association is extremely grateful for the opportunity offered. and it is cur firm belief that the procedure established in this instance opens up a netv era in the field of inclustrial safety which ca-n only resnlt in better understanding, cooperation and more sincere teamrvork betrveen the industry and state compliance agencies, all in the interest of accident preventicn and the public welfare.

In presenting our recommendations, we consider it weli that the Division be made cognizant of the entire scope of the Committee's deliberations.

The original committee was selected from the Associaion's membership group. However, before deliberations \vere commenced it was deemed aclvisable that the Committee be enlarged to include representation from the entire forest products industry in California regardless of affiliation with the Association. Subsequently, there was an appreciable response to this solicitation.

The Committee during the past year l.ras held numerous meetings in the various parts of the State, in the pine, fir. and redwood areas, as well as the metropolitan manufacturing and retail centers. It has been the policy at these meetings to call in from e.ach area well-known, experienced and practical men to take part in discussions. In all of our deliberaticns the Association has adhered to its established policy of having representation from top management, supervision ancl job level .n'orkers, alike.

The conclusions arrived at and appearing in the form of recommendations hereby submitted have their root in the experience of the Association in compiling and analyzing accident frequency in the numercus job classifications of the forest products industry over a period of many years, together with the valuable statistical data furnished by the Division of Labor Statistics and Research of the Department of Industrial Relations.

Recommendations submitted embody in a great part existent safety orders now found in the variou's codes applicable to the industry. The Division rvill find that in no instance have established minimum standards been rveakened. In many instances they have been strengthened. In addition, many new orders are being recommended to cover situations created l:y new equipment, methods and procedures u'hich were nonexistent on the date the present safety codes were revised.

The Asscciation is aware that it is the desire of the Division that insofar as possible or practical, there be a maximum of uniformity in industrial safety codes throughout the Western States. With this in mind the Committee ha.; strived in their deliberations to reflect this end in their recommendations.

The Association is of the opinion that because the forest products industry is one of the largest inclustries in the State of California, the cause of accident prevention rvithin the industry can best be served by having applicable safety orders embodied in one code to be titled "Forest Products Industry Safety Ccde" ; this code to replace among others the present "Logging and Sawmill Safety Code". With this in mind the Committee l-ras also atternpted to incorporate into their recommendations applicable parts of the "Proposed General Industry Safety Orders". The Division rvill find that in so doing the Committee l-ras closely followed the wording contained in the general safety orders in order to avoid conflict.

The advantages of eurbodying safety orders applicable to the industry under one cover are manyfold.

It is peculiar to the ir-rdustry that many companies' operations cover a u'ide field, including logging, transportation (either or both railroad and trucking) sarvmills, planing mills, remanufacturing plants, veneer and pulp mills, box shook, rvoodu'orking and by-products departments, shingle mills, etc., as rvell as retail yards and other such facilities. Compliance r'vith safety orders rvould be greatly facilitated and lr'ould in all probability more readily become an integral part of regular operating procedure if reference to the complete orders r,r'ere made easily accessible and understandable as reconrmended above.

It is the Association's position that if necessary funds are not presently available for the purpose, some means can ancl should be found to provide them.

The Associaticn in presenting these recommendations realize they come far f-.'om constituting a finished code. The Division of Industrial Safety will be faced rvith the task of revising, amending and perhaps adding many articles and sections to the propcsed code rvhich lvere inadvertently overlooked by the Committee. We are aware that other interested agencies must be given an opportunity to carefully scrutinize the many proposals and likervise offer suggestions and recommendations.