J. A. De Luca Ε. Ι. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc.
I SAFETY A
W O R K B O O K
F E A T U R E
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Safety in Plant Construction A blending of the component factors is necessary in successful accident prevention during construction of a new plant
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DEFINITION, "safety" denotes a
state of being where no significant distasteful conditions exist, or where no unexpected physical pain is in duced. It can also mean a state where there is no regrettable loss of property. "Plant" usually refers to facilities needed to produce a prod uct. "Construction" is the reaction of these facilities to make what a man might say "it would take to produce, for the consumer market, 40,000 tons annually." Obviously, if there is to be con struction, there must be a "construc tor," not just a contractor. It is plus or minus 500 men (fragile human beings) screened into 15 grades or classes of craft experience. Each man ranges in attitude, age, health, sta bility, and ability according to what may be defined as human nature. Now—mix what was defined as plant into what was defined as construction, pour in random vol umes of what was defined as the fragile human beings, and add vari ous measurements of weather condi tions. Dilute this lightly with "geo graphic eccentricities" according to the segment of the nation where you want this plant, then stir or agitate the whole mass for 12 to 18 months. When the plant is completed, there probably will be one of two possible results. An $8,000,000 plant "fairly close" to specification, except for: (a) 2 to 2 8 % overrun on cost; as many as 30 accidents per million hours of con struction (500 men in a year and a half would work 1,500,000 hours) or 45 compensable accidents which (at $1300 each) = $58,500 direct loss; (b) one fatality for each 2,000,000 exposure hours ; (c) broken or damaged enterprisers' equipment and/or contractors' equipment aver aging $6000; (d) Several months'
delay in schedule—-always a com panion ailment to general inefficiency on any construction bearing the tell tale pock marks of accidents. These are invariably the costly product of little discipline and no morale. Or, on the other hand, there could be $8,000,000 of quality construction with no men hurt, no equipment losses, and a 0.5 to 2 % underrun— with operation to start 1 to 2 months ahead of schedule. This in turn puts capital investment to work actually or potentially to make an extra 60day profit. The big issue, still too rarely under stood, is that where there is "ade quate" coordinative construction leadership there are order, discipline, and consequent morale. Where there are discipline and morale, there is the only soil in which a sincere and practical safety program can flourish fruitfully. Once this fertile soil has been pro vided, a chronological order of func tions officially and seriously assigned to supervision should be set in motion. This begins any good safety program. There is no safety program without official assignment of specific func
tions to supervision. These must be executed on time by supervision to be effective. The proved shape-up time for all safety on a construction job is 30 to 60 days. What follows this start-up or "blast-off" period becomes a matter of maintaining momentum and building quality and solidarity in the face of mounting forces, mount ing heights, mounting structures, and expanding areas. When recognition of the salient managerial factors and conditions is had, then accident prevention can be approached by : a. Progressive delineation of func tional requirements down the echelon of line organization. b. Maintaining a system of "high frequency reminderism" (manu factured safety consciousness) on individual crafts and per sons. A well run construction operation will have from 10 to 50 formal safety policy procedures of a repetitive nature, two to three rotating com mittees, weekly "gang meetings," quarterly mass meetings, and incen-
The Steps of Required Functions M a y Take the Form of . . . .
. . .weekly field safety inspections for on-the-spot h a z a r d correction. . . . notification to all involved forces that n e w electrical service lines a n d substations are to b e energized, or tagged out, subject to the n a t u r e of the anticipated exposure. . . . declarations of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with arrangement, orderliness of materials, fire hazards, excavations to b e o p e n e d a n d barricaded, a n d the like. . . . integration of specific area or building or process safety require ments in t h e written j o b plans a n d schedules. . . . sound monthly preventive-maintenance equipment inspections.
I/EC
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type
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ORKBOOK FEATURES
97A
I/EC
SAFETY
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A Workbook
Feature
M a n u f a c t u r e d S a f e t y Consciousness M a y Take the Form o f . . . .
daily "STA" (Safety Task Assignment), a policy requiring each foreman to give to each man or crew—"specific safety rules, requirements, caution, or admonition relative to that man's or that crew's currently assigned task." Foremen must be held to this requirement rigidly to the sufferance of some disciplinary action or it (STA) will not prevail dependably. STA may take 1 minute, 10 minutes, or an hour, subject to the nature of the task and size of the crew. . weekly (15 minutes) gang meetings—(Mondays, after week ends, and not any other day—for psychological reasons) where foremen talk to their men on preplanned topics partially programmed by the Safety Engineer. . personal protective equipment coverage—i.e., safety shoes, hard hats, and gloves. After providing them on the site, they are dis persed by individual self-acquisition prompted regularly by immediate supervision. . posting of job signs, warning devices, and the installation of fail safe fixtures.
tive programs, making performance competition between crafts or areas, or both. An efficient safety engineer in any construction organization will in
terest himself adequately in insur ance, medical, and legal considera tions. All these have an important bearing on severity, claim-cost re duction, and rehabilitation of the
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injured. He also must have good knowledge of other professions to have the background with which to handle all situations which might arise. Construction safety performance of a type which injures none, or only 1 or 2 men in 500, over an 18-month period requires that all of super vision participate daily at his echelon level : Construction Superintendents, As sistant Construction Superintend ents Field Superintendents, Divi sion Engineers, Area Engineers, Craft Superintendents, and Gang Foremen. No construction organization should do safety work solely out of fear of legislation, dictatorial groups, or outside agencies. Safety is a man agement function and should not be usurped by other groups for the sake of assuming authority. Management has a clear-cut moral and economic obligation to do work "right the first time"—that's pri marily what accident prevention comes from. Accidents, whether to equipment or to persons, are always proof that the work involved was not being done right. This is a direct reflection on supervision or management. They infer the wrong method was used or the wrong man was assigned. Both conditions are the responsibility of management to control through pro gressive desire to improve capability at each echelon of supervision. Supervision in turn must be taught and required to select and reselect able dependable craftsmen. Of course, none of this is easy to do, and it can't be done overnight. Often there is serious opposition. But, if each did his part well, cost of construction would be at least 2 to 5% less than it is today, not to men tion the 2000 widows or the 6000 orphans enrolled each year because of construction accidents.
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98 A
INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
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