seven-o-seven seven-o-seven REPORTER - CAW Local 707

Recommendations

Info

Record Temperatures It’s been a turbulent few months since our last edition of the 707 Reporter. We started out with a very wet spring and early summer; then really turned up the heat in July to the point of record temperatures. We welcomed a large number of students that began working for the summer. The plant only shut down for a week as opposed to much longer past shutdowns. There were MOL visits and critical injuries, fires and accidents, chemical spills and near misses and plenty of more heat related, demolition related and other issues that kept the union safety office on its toes to say the least. Let’s take a snapshot of what has happened since early May. Injuries And Near Misses There were unfortunately a number of critical injuries since the last edition of the 707 Reporter, including a worker who received a broken limb from impact by a damaged rack door while trying to open the gate to retrieve parts in the body shop. Another worker lost consciousness as a result of the heat. Serious injuries also occurred including a plant visitor who broke an ankle coming into Gate 12 and a worker, who broke a finger as a result of a damaged part rack, again in the body department. Another worker received a serious burn when his ring made contact with a battery terminal. There were also reported incidents of workers coming too close to PMHVs. Cuts, abrasions, bruises, and ergonomic concerns helped keep the medical department hopping. There is, as we can see always room for improvement in this injury sphere; but believe it or not, statistically, we have improved year over year in this area. PMHV And Pedestrian Safety There were a number of notable safety-related incidents with respect to forklifts and tugs in the plant that could have had serious implications had the circumstances been slightly different. It seems that the last few months have highlighted deficiencies in parts packaging in the body department. Incidents of unlocked parts bins and parts spilling resulted in work refusals and near misses. Many concerns have been raised about stock storage practices in the body shop. Stock has been left on corners double stacked creating blind spots. We remind everyone to be on the lookout for potential pedestrian safety hazards. There have been major discussions with management about the preventative maintenance program related to the entire PMHV fleet. There are many challenges that are arising in this area, especially related to the age of the fleet, the shrinking number of mechanics and the scheduling issues. These are be- Page 16 – July – September 2011 Health And Safety Report By Emil and Mike Mesic Gibson #2 Shift #3 Shift ing discussed at the highest level of the department, plant and corporate safety. If your vehicle is not operating safely, please report the malfunction to your supervisor and do not drive vehicles that cannot be operated safely. Similar issues are also arising in other Ford plants. On a pedestrian safety note, please remember that the basic plant rules are to walk in designated walkways, wear vests in red zones, make eye contact with PMHV operators, stay at least two feet away from PMHVs and do not talk or text on the phone or listen to electronic devices via headphones while walking through the plant. As a courtesy, we need to look after one another on this issue as it takes very little to be seriously injured (or worse) when walking and working around PMHVs. Students especially need reminders as they are vulnerable and Health And Safety Report – Continued on Page 17 Healthy Gums For A Healthy Smile dr. Kelvin fung D.D.S., Dip. Perio. Certified Specialist in the treatment of periodontal (“gum”) diseases Practicing Periodontist in Oakville for 15 years Suite #409 1235 Trafalgar Road Oakville, ON (Trafalgar Road just north of QEW) 905-844-6984 Call Bev for further information direct Billing to insurance available
Health And Safety Report ...continued from Page 16 not fully appreciative of all the risks involved with walking or working around PMHVs. WHMIS Audit In the last issue of the 707 Reporter, we discussed the need to clear out cabinets and shelves of old and unused chemicals, many of which were no longer compliant to WHMIS legislation. Thus far, the reaction has been less than stellar. If you have old chemicals, have them removed. Every chemical that you work with should be accompanied by a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) and if it is dispensed, it needs to be labeled with a workplace label. A WHMIS safety talk was given in June, which everyone should have read and understood. We will audit employee WHMIS knowledge in the next couple of months to gauge understanding and the need for additional training. Ministry of Labour And Other Government Agency Visits The MOL was in the plant as a result of phoned in complaints regarding ventilation concerns in the finalizing area. During the visit, a number of orders were also issued related to physical concerns found on the roof of the plant. There have been additional calls put into the MOL from our office in relation to the same ventilation issue as well as concerns with the plant’s heat stress program and critical injuries already mentioned above. We expect their visits to occur by the end of August. The plant was also visited by the Halton Health Department, which issued orders related to hot water usage in the cafeterias as well as the TSSA, which issued orders related to the elevators in the plant. Heat Stress And Water Testing In our last report, we briefly discussed the need to look to negotiations in 2012 to try and improve the heat stress program. July was a real pressure cooker and illustrated many gaps in the company’s heat stress program. There were numerous issues related to delays in bottled water distribution, where sometimes it took hours for water to be delivered, especially in trim. Disagreements about when to implement job specific controls (including additional relief time) were argued before the extreme heat arrived and resulted in calls to the MOL which have still (at the time of writing) not been resolved. The heat stress cards, which were handed out as part of the monthly safety talk in May provided good information used by many in order to get some help when suffering physical effects from the stifling heat and humidity. There were numerous first aid visits as a result for the heat resulting in one loss of consciousness, as reported above. There have also been gaps in ice delivery, air conditioning in canteens not working, water fountains not functioning, exhaust ventilation not working and personal fans not working. On the issue of water fountains, the company has again delayed the testing of the water fountains at a corporate level as corporate hygiene seeks to revise its global water quality standards. The fountains have not been tested since 2008. (Cross connection surveys and back flow prevention testing as mandated by local authorities has been done.) Shutdown 2011 The shutdown period was only one week long and its short duration hampered the plant’s ability to do very many large improvements. A number of critical items were done, including the replacement of the roof over the doorline in final and some workstation reallocation changes and preparatory work for the launching of the 2012 and 2013 models. A systematic reliance on pre-task analysis and good communication resulted in no injuries reported. Adherence to the protag buyoff process also helped with new tooling implementation. Projects that were not reviewed by the JH&SC did not launch quite so well. Ongoing Concerns There are many open issues that we are constantly pressuring the company to resolve. One item gets fixed and five more pop up and everyone knows how difficult it can be to get movement on certain issues. We do believe that on many frontiers however, reaction time is improving. It is only thorough our combined efforts that pressure can continuously be applied to resolve issues. Open items include Bigfoot collar replacements, gasoline leaks at Gate 12, demolition hygiene concerns, flooding and roof leaks, ergonomic issues, reductions and training. There is never a shortage of work. We hope that you enjoy the rest of the summer and stay safe whether at work, rest or play. Fraternally, Emil Mesic, Mike Gibson and todd caird and John Mullin July – September 2011 – Page 17
Page 1 and 2: seven-o-seven REPORTER Official Pub
Page 3 and 4: President’s Report ...continued f
Page 5 and 6: The Union’s Power Comes From Memb
Page 7 and 8: CAW Local 707 Funds For The Month E
Page 9 and 10: Serving the GTA for 27 Years • 54
Page 11 and 12: Plant Chairperson’s Report ...con
Page 13 and 14: Canada’s Largest Volume Ford/Linc
Page 15: 35 TIME WINNER OF THE PRESIDENT’S
Page 19 and 20: We must stress the importance of re
Page 21 and 22: Retirees’ Tai Chi Classes By Ed S
Page 23 and 24: Alex Macdonald is congratulated on
Page 25 and 26: Hamilton Wellness Center for all yo
Page 27 and 28: Rocking Horse crafted by Hardy Jaap
Page 29 and 30: 57th Picnic At Marineland Picnic Re
Page 31 and 32: Wal-Mart As workers we often feel t
Page 33 and 34: Following is a letter sent to all C
Page 35 and 36: 2011 Trap Shooting Tournament The s
Page 37 and 38: Thank You to the canadian autoworke
Page 39 and 40: July - September 2011 - Page 39

seven-o-seven seven-o-seven REPORTER - CAW Local 707

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?