Radio age research, manufacturing, communications, broadcasting, television (1941)

Safety and Health Program is also encouraged. This begins with the training given to each new em- ployee, or to an old one shifted to a new operation or machine. It carries over to the plant-wide safety committees, and sub-groups cover- ing specific activities. A primary consideration of the RCA \'ictor Division is the welfare of its employees. It is concerned with the prevention of the pain, the discomfort, and the resulting finan- cial setbacks which victims of acci- dent and illness may suffer. Program Helps Consumer There is a by-product for the consumer, too, in the Safety Pro- gram. The careful workmanship which avoids accident.s assures the consumer of the dependability and high quality of the merchandise bearing the company's label. How "safety thinking" pervades all activities of the company is illus- trated by the e.xtensive safety or- ganization in a typical RCA plant. At the head of this activity in each plant is the safety supervisor or chairman of the safety commit- tee. The latter is composed of super- visory and engineering personnel. Under the direction of the safety supervisor is a dispensary, staffed with nurses and doctors; an emer- gency first aid crew; the general fire and safety committee; safety com- mittees for special hazards such as X-ray and high voltage; and the staff of the safety section. The safety supervisor works in close cooperation with the plant fire marshal; jilant engineering, chem- ical engineering, and standardizing groups, within the company; and outside agencies such as the State Department of Labor, the State De- partment of Health, Red Cross, local industrial safety council, and the National Safety Council. At the periphery of the safety wheel, whose rim is comprised of the company's employees, are safety co-ordinators—one for each activity, including engineering, manufactur- ing, material control, central plan- ning, plant engineering, power, building service, maintenance and construction, warehousing, quality, and purchasing. Many of these ac- tivities have safety sub-committees to act on their own problems. It is on this level that most of the educa- tional and preventive safety work is done. If the sub-committee is stumped by a problem it has a two- way channel of communication to the plant's general safety and fire committee and the safety super- visor. Model of Effectiveness Despite its apparent complexity, this safety organization is a model of integration and effectiveness in operation. Frequent training ses- sions for supervisors, safety pro- cedure indoctrination for all groups of trainee engineers, generous use of dramatic safety posters such as those put out by the National Safety Council, and day-in, day-out activi- ties of the Safety Section hammer away at education and prevention. One of the fundamentals of RCA Victor policy is compliance with all state and local laws and codes re- lating to safety and health meas- ures. In practice, local compliance freciuently exceeds statutory re- quirements. At Camden, for example, it was nece.ssary to store 50 pounds of smokeless powder for use in an im- portant test procedure of certain equipment. To store this amount of the explosive. New Jersey requires a "Class B Magazine" license. A "Class B Magazine" is a steel box, conspicuously lettered with the word "Explosives", mounted on wheels with a handle attached, so that in the event t>f fire the maga- zine may be pushed to safety. RCA \'ictor, however, wouldn't take the chance of having to have the explosive pushed out of the building in the event of a fire. It built a "Class A Magazine", a brick building out in the yard remote from plant buildings. In this struc- ture, the "Class B Magazine" icas stored. Preventive actions such as this are an everyday occurrence at all RCA Victor plants. In this Com- pany, safety literally starts on the drawing board. Working closely with engineering, the safety staff is consulted on any new products, processes or procedures. Nen- Machines Studied Safety precautions begin with the study of the materials specified for toxicity or other hazards. Then, the production procedure is ana- lyzed and specifications set down for safe operations. If there are any new machines to be used, their plans are also carefully examined together with their lay-out. to make certain that no new hazards will be introduced. If a hazard is discov- ered in connection with a machine or piece of equipment, the mecha- nism is "tagged" with a bright yel- low card, which means that it must (Continued on page SO) SAFETY COOnLES FOR WORKERS AND PROTECTIVE CAB- I.VETS FOR KlNF.S(OPE TL'BES HAVF, REDUCED THE I'llSSIBII.ITV OK EYE-ArCIDENTS. O. C. BOILEAO (RIGHT) SAFETi- SUPER^^SOR AT CAMDEN, WATCHES A SUBSTANCE BEING TESTED FOR FLAMMA- BII.ITY IN TMV • "VN'i' >l 1'MYSIlAL LABORATORY.