SAFETY

Out in the Cold Cruel World In 1954, Du Pont's injury frequency rate hit a phenomenally low 0.33

injuries per million man-hours, yet its sales people could do no better than 0.67. This year it is about the same story—seven disabling injuries, two were in offices, the remainder to salesmen outside Du Pont's walls:

> Just as salesman stopped his car for a traffic signal, a truck which had been following skidded while attempting to stop; it struck his car. Street was wet from a light rainfall. Salesman sustained mild concussion and sprained neck muscles.

k While calling on a customer, salesman hung his hat and coat on a rack provided in a dimly lit hallway. Going back to get something from his coat pocket, he stepped into a stairway he had not noticed at the end of the hallway. He fell part way down the stairs, injuring his knee.

> While arranging a Du Pont booth in a local exhibit, technical represen­tative was carrying a gallon bottle of chemicals in each hand. His foot slipped off the top step on a short flight of stairs. To keep from breaking the botdes and landing on broken glass, he pulled the bottles sharply up­ward and fell pardy on his elbows. He sprained his shoulder severely.

• Salesman was driving east at 20 m.p.h. on a city street when his auto was struck on the left rear fender by a car coming out of a plant driveway. Auto was thrown into a west-bound lane where it was struck head-on by another car. Salesman sustained a sprained wrist and severely injured knee.

• Salesman lost control of car on Utah highway icy in spots from a rain and hail storm. Car slid into a muddy shoulder, overturning into an irriga­tion canal. He fractured two ribs and sprained muscles.

Out in the Cold Cruel World In 1954, Du Pont's injury frequency rate hit a phenomenally low 0.33

injuries per million man-hours, yet its sales people could do no better than 0.67. This year it is about the same story—seven disabling injuries, two were in offices, the remainder to salesmen outside Du Pont's walls:

> Just as salesman stopped his car for a traffic signal, a truck which had been following skidded while attempting to stop; it struck his car. Street was wet from a light rainfall. Salesman sustained mild concussion and sprained neck muscles.

k While calling on a customer, salesman hung his hat and coat on a rack provided in a dimly lit hallway. Going back to get something from his coat pocket, he stepped into a stairway he had not noticed at the end of the hallway. He fell part way down the stairs, injuring his knee.

> While arranging a Du Pont booth in a local exhibit, technical represen­tative was carrying a gallon bottle of chemicals in each hand. His foot slipped off the top step on a short flight of stairs. To keep from breaking the botdes and landing on broken glass, he pulled the bottles sharply up­ward and fell pardy on his elbows. He sprained his shoulder severely.

• Salesman was driving east at 20 m.p.h. on a city street when his auto was struck on the left rear fender by a car coming out of a plant driveway. Auto was thrown into a west-bound lane where it was struck head-on by another car. Salesman sustained a sprained wrist and severely injured knee.

• Salesman lost control of car on Utah highway icy in spots from a rain and hail storm. Car slid into a muddy shoulder, overturning into an irriga­tion canal. He fractured two ribs and sprained muscles.

A Safety Program for Salesmen Du Pont found its salesmen encounter unusual

hazards — here's how it is meeting, and licking the problem

Q A F E T Y for those who sell chemicals •^ is as important as for those who make them; yet diis aspect of safety has been neglected by many chemical companies. Several years ago, Du Pont —long a leader in safety—looked at its record and found that the frequency of injuries in office and sales croups over a 10-year period was appreciably higher than in plants, labs, and on construc­tion projects, despite the generally more hazardous conditions associated with work in the operating groups. Salesmen were found to have the high­est incidence. These facts were the signal to D u Pont management that there was a definite need for safety education among office and sales per­sonnel; a plan was developed for a pro­motional campaign to institute safety training for employees in these groups. In five years, the frequency rate has dropped 6 0 % ; Du Pont believes there will be continued improvement as the program is more fully developed and as safe thinking becomes an integral part of each salesman's job.

Road Hazards a Big Factor. Wha t is behind the high accident rate? In

a recent issue of the company's monthly safety performance chart, vice presi­dent J. Warren Kinsman wrote: "While most Du Pont employees work in groups, the members of which en­courage each other to observe safety precautions, salesmen almost invariably have to work as individuals and be their own reminder to act with care.

"In driving their cars, salesmen are continually exposed to the hazards of the road. Moreover, their assignments take them into buildings, factories, and laboratories where the safety precau­tions are not always comparable with those provided at our own properties."

No one, except perhaps professional drivers, gets more exposure to traffic hazards than salesmen. A look at these statistics convinced D u Pont that high­way safety was the place to strike: From 1944 to 1954, 48% of the acci­dents to office and sales personnel re­sulted from highway incidents.

The Aim: To Create a Defensive Driver. The heart of the safety pro­gram is creation of defensive drivers, those who make allowances for the lack of skill and knowledge on the part of

others. Defensive e driving is being em­phasized in the Seattle district of Du Pont's explosives department, for ex­ample, where management is stressing extra precautions: during night and bad weather driving.

Many sales division cars are equipped with first aid kmts, first aid manuals, flashlights, ancUL emergency flares. Films are showna at safety meetings, and pamphlets o n driving are distrib­uted to all salesmen. Routes are being improved to cut exposure time.

The company zîs distributing annually an analysis of alM highway accidents to all sales divisioriLS. The analysis gives the reason for e^ach accident as deter­mined by an insurance company ex­aminer and shoves statistically t h e per­formance of thes various sales groups.

Three Du Pontt departments have de­veloped a safety/ award plan for their sales people. Tine first award was made last November t o die sales division of the polychemica-Hs department for com­pleting 406 days and almost 1.5 million man-hours without a time-lost accident. At the end of M^y, they had completed more than 2 7 ^ million hours during which they had- driven more than 3.5 million miles.

The departments employing large groups of sales" people have assigned men full time t o organize sales safety programs, centralize contacts, a n d dis­tribute liter atiEixe. National Safety Council booklets and pamphlets, maga­zine articles, arts-d other types of safety literature are seamt regularly to all mem­bers of sales; amid some offices publish their own circiiïlars.

Other technicques are being used by various departrmaent sales units:

• Driver testdng equipment t o bring out any weak jpoints in driving.

• Special driver training programs. • Safety bel_ts for drivers a n d pas­

sengers. • Personal discussions between

branch office rznanagers a n d salesmen on individual sa fe ty performances.

New sales emiployees receive safety instruction as a part of their training; safety was put on the agenda when the employee relations department formed a sales training section recently to con­duct special courses for selected sales groups. Siiriilaa-ly, a part of the regular district sales office meetings is cus­tomarily devoted to a discussion of safety.

With salesman, the job of safety edu­cation is quite different from tna t on a plant. Working alone, scattered from Miami to Seattle, exposed t o traffic hazards, they sometimes encounter risks greater traan those in a plant. But their safety performance can be im­proved—as Dir Pont has proved.

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