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Managers warned to improve safety performance
and axis of the eye and prints out the results in the same form and units that are normally used for patient records. A standard image is projected o n t o the retina and the quality o f that image is checked by a photo detector, the output of which is processed b y a minicomputer and fed into a printer. The projection and sensing system is similar in appearance to a small TV camera and is mounted on a conventional slit lamp table to allow ease of positioning. Once positioned, a single push b u t t o n initiates the measuring sequence for one eye. In 30 sec the measurement is complete and the second eye is refracted simply by pressing the b u t t o n a second time. Some patient co-operation is required in that he must focus on an illuminated target within the instrument for the period of the measurement. If the patient does not co-operate and allows his attention to wander this is sensed by the detector and indicated on the print-out. Patented techniques are employed to fully relax the accommodation o f the patient and to eliminate the effects o f blinking during the measurement sequence. These measurements are truly objective and not dependent on any subjective patient reaction. Providing the patient can understand how to look into the instrument no other communication between examiner and patient is necessary. This completely eliminates langauge and other communication difficulties and facilitates t h e routine testing of almost all age groups. Coherent Radiation Ltd, PO Box 12, Royston, Hefts.
Manual gear-boxes assist production Over 100 special manually operated gear-boxes have been made by Electropower Gears Ltd of Aylesbury to reduce fatigue and increase safety on a dual-duty J-bar assembly conveyor system at the Transmission Division of Borg-Warner Ltd in Letchworth, Herts. The units are used to orientate automatic transmission units for motor vehicles during final assembly. Through the 30:1 manual gear-box it is possible to turn a 68 kg (150 lb) transmission unit vertically through 360 ° easily with one hand. Rotation of components b y this method is claimed to be much safer than using lifting tackle, and transmissions may more easily be turned and manipulated through t h e assembly stages. The complete system is said to be a quicker and more versatile production line that the one which it replaced. The line is now able to produce up to 50 automatic transmission units per hour.
plant, machines, processes and environment. They also ask management a b o u t future developments and new processes or materials a n d plans for maintaining daily safety performance. Boards of directors have been persuaded that a c o m m i t m e n t to substantial financial o u t l a y to cope with formidable programmes o f work arising from inspections was unavoidable. One case is q u o t e d where work o n a safety p r o g r a m m e was costed at more than £94 000 and a n o t h e r at £80 000.
Manually operated Electropower gear boxes on the Borg-Warner production line Emergency lighting Described as a t o t a l l y new concept in emergency lighting, CooLite is a 150 mm (6 in) long plastic tube which when flexed causes two chemicals to come into contact with each other and give off a fluorescent-like light. The light lasts for at least 3 hr - longer in cold conditions - and is clearly visible at 3700 m (4000 yd). It will not corrode, is non-toxic, has a shelf life of at least 4 years, is lightweight and may be held in the hand like a torch. The price is 44p each. F o n a d e k International Ltd, F o n a d e k House, Albany Road, Birmingham B 17 9JS.
The increasing scale of m a n y industrial operations d e m a n d s the integration of safety planning into overall design. The' development of a u t o m a t e d processes, too, is creating a new kind of problem. Risk is being transferred from t h e process worker to the maintenance worker who may have to get right into the plant to correct a fault at a m o m e n t ' s notice. There was an increased d e m a n d for industrial hygiene services in 1972. With rapid technological change in industry there is a need for the evaluation of possible long-term hazards. F a c t o r y Inspectors have been equipped with instruments for the first t i m e to take samples of asbestos and lead in t h e air and have made increasing use of o t h e r instruments during inspections. The Inspectorate is currently spending £170 000 to reequip inspectors in the field with instruments. During 1972, fatal accidents showed a further reduction continuing the trend of the previous two years. The figure - 468 - compared with 525 in 1971. The accident rates per 100 000 employed in factories have also f a l l e n 3"9 (fatal) and 580 (serious injuries) compared with 4.3 and 590 in 1971.
Managers warned to improve safety performance The Chief Inspector of Factories, Mr Bryan Harvey, warned managers in industry that they must improve safety organisation in his annual report for 1972 (Cmnd 5398, HMSO, £1.00). He states that the I n s p e c t o r a t e w i l l be concentrating more and more on their deficiencies in the areas of safety organisation, training and supervision and less on the s y m p t o m s o f their failure. During 1972, the F a c t o r y Inspectorate started to give more time, on an experimental basis, to firms with large numbers of employees; firms ~vhere risks were high; or where management was ineffective in coping with its problems. Results were encouraging and the experiment is continuing in 1973. Inspectors look at a company's organisation as well as its
Pillow for respiratory sufferers A pillow designed to allow people who suffer from respiratory disorders to sleep better is in the form of a noncrease foam rectangle with semicircular pieces cut out from three of its sides. One cut-out is for the neck and shoulder and the others to allow the nose and m o u t h to overhang either side of the pillow without obstruction, while still supporting the jaw and cheek bone. The foam in the pillow is resistant to household dust, believed to be a c o m m o n cause of allergy attacks. A receptacle for nose or m o u t h discharge can easily be placed in the side cut-outs of the pillow. Bella Comfort Products, PO Box 945, Ingham, Queensland, Australia 4850.
Applied Ergonomics
December 1973
255
Manual gear-boxes assist production Over 100 special manually operated gear-boxes have been made by Electropower Gears Ltd of Aylesbury to reduce fatigue and increase safety on a dual-duty J-bar assembly conveyor system at the Transmission Division of Borg-Warner Ltd in Letchworth, Herts. The units are used to orientate automatic transmission units for motor vehicles during final assembly. Through the 30:1 manual gear-box it is possible to turn a 68 kg (150 lb) transmission unit vertically through 360 ° easily with one hand. Rotation of components b y this method is claimed to be much safer than using lifting tackle, and transmissions may more easily be turned and manipulated through t h e assembly stages. The complete system is said to be a quicker and more versatile production line that the one which it replaced. The line is now able to produce up to 50 automatic transmission units per hour.
plant, machines, processes and environment. They also ask management a b o u t future developments and new processes or materials a n d plans for maintaining daily safety performance. Boards of directors have been persuaded that a c o m m i t m e n t to substantial financial o u t l a y to cope with formidable programmes o f work arising from inspections was unavoidable. One case is q u o t e d where work o n a safety p r o g r a m m e was costed at more than £94 000 and a n o t h e r at £80 000.
Manually operated Electropower gear boxes on the Borg-Warner production line Emergency lighting Described as a t o t a l l y new concept in emergency lighting, CooLite is a 150 mm (6 in) long plastic tube which when flexed causes two chemicals to come into contact with each other and give off a fluorescent-like light. The light lasts for at least 3 hr - longer in cold conditions - and is clearly visible at 3700 m (4000 yd). It will not corrode, is non-toxic, has a shelf life of at least 4 years, is lightweight and may be held in the hand like a torch. The price is 44p each. F o n a d e k International Ltd, F o n a d e k House, Albany Road, Birmingham B 17 9JS.
The increasing scale of m a n y industrial operations d e m a n d s the integration of safety planning into overall design. The' development of a u t o m a t e d processes, too, is creating a new kind of problem. Risk is being transferred from t h e process worker to the maintenance worker who may have to get right into the plant to correct a fault at a m o m e n t ' s notice. There was an increased d e m a n d for industrial hygiene services in 1972. With rapid technological change in industry there is a need for the evaluation of possible long-term hazards. F a c t o r y Inspectors have been equipped with instruments for the first t i m e to take samples of asbestos and lead in t h e air and have made increasing use of o t h e r instruments during inspections. The Inspectorate is currently spending £170 000 to reequip inspectors in the field with instruments. During 1972, fatal accidents showed a further reduction continuing the trend of the previous two years. The figure - 468 - compared with 525 in 1971. The accident rates per 100 000 employed in factories have also f a l l e n 3"9 (fatal) and 580 (serious injuries) compared with 4.3 and 590 in 1971.
Managers warned to improve safety performance The Chief Inspector of Factories, Mr Bryan Harvey, warned managers in industry that they must improve safety organisation in his annual report for 1972 (Cmnd 5398, HMSO, £1.00). He states that the I n s p e c t o r a t e w i l l be concentrating more and more on their deficiencies in the areas of safety organisation, training and supervision and less on the s y m p t o m s o f their failure. During 1972, the F a c t o r y Inspectorate started to give more time, on an experimental basis, to firms with large numbers of employees; firms ~vhere risks were high; or where management was ineffective in coping with its problems. Results were encouraging and the experiment is continuing in 1973. Inspectors look at a company's organisation as well as its
Pillow for respiratory sufferers A pillow designed to allow people who suffer from respiratory disorders to sleep better is in the form of a noncrease foam rectangle with semicircular pieces cut out from three of its sides. One cut-out is for the neck and shoulder and the others to allow the nose and m o u t h to overhang either side of the pillow without obstruction, while still supporting the jaw and cheek bone. The foam in the pillow is resistant to household dust, believed to be a c o m m o n cause of allergy attacks. A receptacle for nose or m o u t h discharge can easily be placed in the side cut-outs of the pillow. Bella Comfort Products, PO Box 945, Ingham, Queensland, Australia 4850.
Applied Ergonomics
December 1973
255