Port Safety Co-operation

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30216, 22 August 1963, Page 17

Port Safety Co-operation

(N.Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON, Aug. 20. To promote port safety the Marine Department must encourage much greater co-operation between management and labour, the department’s chief surveyor of ships (Mr D. J. McKenzie) said to a national port safety conference this morning.

He said three sections of the industry were directly responsible for port safety—die department, the employers or management, and the waterfront employees. Mr McKenzie said any safety plan must begin with management, and he was optimistic that employers would give their co-opera-tion and assistance. Feeling that production would slow up, some employers might be reluctant to enter fully into an accident prevention campaign. Experience had shown,

however, that the contrary was true. Some authorities went as far as to say that accident prevention and production went hand in hand. Mr McKenzie said workmen as a group were very conscious of unsafe conditions on the waterfront. But he doubted whether the individual worker had a sense of safety consciousness. “To sum up responsibility, I can say that we are soliciting and expecting co-opera-tion and helpful suggestions from both the management and the industrial unions concerned, and I believe they will both accept responsibility along with the Marine Department.” He said both sections had been co-operative with the department, but he felt greater co-operation must be en- 1 couraged between management and workers. He said that, through their leadens, the individual workers must be receptive

to training in safety methods, and interested in safety films, safety posters, etc. Mr McKenzie said machines did not attack people and the greatest padt of accident rates was the result of human failure. Bailed down the business of accidents came back “to you and I,” and on the waterfront, as throughout the community, they were being taught—or he hoped they were learning— <a new approach to the problem. Earlier, the Ministar of Marine (Mr Gerard) said waterfront accidents caused both human suffering and economic loss in manpower, time and money. The Marine Department had pioneered the field of port safety in the country and could justifiably claim to have achieved a measure of success but the time had come to take stock of the position and try to evolve a “blueprint” on which future port safety activity could be based. Among suggestions received from various organisations ,in preparation for the conference were several concerning improved lighting on the waterfront, he said. “I would like to take this opportunity of announcing that the Marine Department will prepare, as soon as possible, regulations for minimum standards of lighting,” said Mr Gerard. "These will be based, in the main, on standards recommended by the International Labour Organisation and will, of course, be circulated in draft form for comment before coming into force.” What was wanted ait the conference was “a full and frank discussion on port safety,” the Minister said. “Industrial matters such a« pay, conditions of Work and so on, which do not primarily concern safety and welfare, Should be avoided,” he said.