·" • •
Rte
° January l8,·l929.
Mr. Superintendent
Works
Subject: Safety Contest
CHANGE IN METHOD OF DETERMINING STANDINGS.
In 192Y a change was made in the rules governing the Harvester Works '
Safety Contest. This change provided for the establishing of three groups of plants
and for the awarding of a safety banner to the winner in each group.
The success of this plan has been demonstrated without a doubt by the en-
thusiastic interest with which the various plants have competed for the honor of T
winning the safety banners assigned to the three groups.
In its desire to further perfect the conditions of the contest, and in re-
sponse to constructive sugsestions from superintendents and safety inspectors the
Central Safety Committee has decided to make a change in the method of calculating
the relative standing of the contesting plants. The present method of awarding the
banner to the plants in each group showing the greatest percentage of reduction in
severity hours lost during the current year over the average it lost during the
preceding five years, as shown by the bogey, will be discontinued as of January l,l9L§
Under the new plan the plant that has the lowest accident severity rate
in its group for the year will be awarded the banner. The severity rate is based on ‘
. the number of hours lost per 1000 hours worked.
It is hoped that this change will minimize the element of luck and will
show to good advantage the results of constructive safety measures now in effect in
many of our plants, and will serve as an incentive to other plants contemplating the
introduction of new and constructive ideas in Safety and Accident Prevention.
In the accompanying copy of the revised report will be seen the change
referred to. In addition it will be noted that a slight rearrangement of the three
groups has been made in order to more properly classify the plants according to the
number of workers employed. The exception to this rule is that of the Iron and Coal
Mines, which, because of their unusually hazardous work, are shown with the larger
plants in Group #j as before. The new classification places Richmond Works, Illinois
Northern Railroad and Chicazo, West Pullman and Southern Railroad in Group #1, while
Hamilton Works has been placed in Group #2.
Under the new arrangement Group #1 consists of those plants or operations
having 100 to 1009 persons employed. These plants are Chatham, Chattanooga, Chicago,
West Pullman and Southern Railroad, McCormick Twine Mill, New Orleans Twine, Rock
Falls, Rich ond,-St. Paul Twine, Deering Rolling Mill, Hamilton Twine and Illinois
Northern Railroad.