Reporter's diary

Press, 13 June 1984, Page 2

Reporter's diary

Fine example AN ENVIABLE safety record has been set by workers at the pipe factory of Hume Industries, Ltd, in Carmen Road, Hornby: there has not been an accident resulting in lost work time at the plant for seven years, or a total of 336,000 man-hours. Before the company started a safety consciousness drive seven years ago, the factory had a bad safety record, according to its production manager, Mr Ray Percival. “Ten or more time-lost accidents a year was normal,” said Mr Percival. Work at the plant em-

ploys heavy machinery. “A company can have any amount of safety instruction, but it is very much a matter of the worker’s attitude,” said Mr Percival. Hume Industries, Ltd, also provides a cash incentive for the 20 employees of the pipe factory not to put themselves out of action: every accident-free 10,000 hours means a bonus of ?230 to be shared among the workers. ' Energy conference MORE THAN 30 papers have been received for a conference on solar energy in Auckland from August 23 to August 25. For the first time for 21 years, the Australia and New Zealand section of the International Solar Energy Society will be holding its conference in New Zealand. In view of the increasing use of solar energy that is harnessed for domestic and business purposes, the organisers believe that many New Zealanders might find the conference interesting. Further information is available from Mr Nigel Isaacs, telephone 749-199, Wellington.

Normandy revisited A NUMBER of German veterans of the Second World War had asked if they could attend the recent D-Day celebrations in Normandy, records “The Times” diary. Charles Barbier, director of the tourist bureau in Caen, has a stock reply: “Certainly, so long as you don’t all come at once like last time.” Bargain A 120-YEAR-OLD cottage at Riverton, put on the market for $l, has been sold. It had been offered for sale at a nominal price by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, in order to attract a sympathetic buyer with the ability and interest to restore the cottage in keeping with the character of the other buildings from the whaling era in the quiet seaside town, 39 kilometres north-west of Invercargill. The lucky buyer is Mr Bob White, of Napier. Mr White was an engineer, but his passion for historic buildings has turned him into a restoration expert. All the proceeds from the sale of his 110-year-old cottage in Napier will go into the restoration of the Riverton

cottage. Many enquiries about the ?1 cottage came from throughout New Zealand, said a spokesman for the trust. After long consideration, Mr White had been chosen as having the most suitable mix of skills and motivation. Wrong beast AUTOMATIC translation by computer has made leaping advances recently. Operators at a London technical publications firm were perplexed by the continual appearance of the term, “water goat” in their specifications. It was eventually found that the machine was trying to say “hydraulic ram.” Salad days A SUMMER flavour came to the junction of Waltham Road and Wordsworth Street, Sydenham, last Friday, when a drum of spicy mayonnaise fell off a truck and splurged across the road. The Ministry of Transport was swiftly on the scene and summoned the Fire Service to hose away the big patch of salad dressing before members of the public could arrive with their lettuces. —Peter Comer