Milford chronicle., 1956-08-10
Safety Program
At Dupont Company

With employees already several
times safer at work than at home,
the Du Pont Company is spending
we'll over $4,000,000 this year, plus
a far greater but incalculable cost
in effort, in a determined endeavor
to have each and every one go a
whole year without injury. This is
the direct expense; the full cost
may run 10 to Is times as much
or more.
Du Pont overall injury rate is
exceptionally low; the safety pro-
gram is intensive and continuous.
The company has its sights set on
a perfect record That would mean
100000 people (including those on
government-owned plants) getting
along on the job without anybody
being hurt-men and women who
not only face normal living hazards
but also are concerned in addi-
tion to the working with the nor
NAL tools of production and heavy
machinery.
So many people have never rea-
lized such a goal anywhere, so far
as Du Pont officials know. They are
trying to get there in two stages:
first, completely injury-free
month and, beyond that, the elu-
sive goal of a full year without in
jury to anybody.
so long as a single employee
is seriously injured at work we
cannot be satisfied" Vice President
Robert l.. Richards said in a mes
sage to employees. "That a goal of
no injuries is entirely realistic and
can he achieved is borne out by
the fact that 20 of the company's
plants and Laboratories operated
throughout the year 1855 without
a single disabling injury"
The injury rate the company is
worrying about has been dwindling
toward the vanishing point but has
not yet reached it The record has
brought the company national rec
ognition over the years, including
now for the twelfth time the Award
of Honor from the National Safety
Council-the company so honored
that often.
In 1866, a second best" year,
n employees had time-losing in
juries on the job. Almost exactly
four times as many-307 of them
were hurt i'm falls alone around
home. Altogether. they sustained
1861 injuries off the job.
In terms of rate, which provides
sound comparison, on-the-job
injuries came to SO per million
man-hours worked while injuries
away from work added up to 5.36
per million hours of exposure
more than Is times as much.
The company is also hoping that
employees will carry their train
ing in safety off the job with them
and is encouraging them to do so.
One of the national awards is re-
ceived last year was for its ac~
tivity in prevention of home acci-
dents.
Aside from the obvious individ-
ual welfare of safety, Du Pont
has found its aggressive campaign
TO prevent personal injuries to be
good business although this can
not be calculated financially. The
firm believes that the mutual in
terests between the men and women
operating its chemical processes
and those in the laboratories and
offices and the management lead
to confidence and teamwork which
is reflected importantly in the
success of the enterprise. This
tangible interest in the physical
well-being of employees does much
to strengthen their loyalty to the
company,
The way the Du Pont safety pro-
gram works. every member of
supervision from the newest fore
man to top management is held
personally responsible for the safe
ty of men and women working with
MIN. This makes it an integral
part of every job. Ability to get
work done without injury is an
important consideration for pro-
motion.
Likewise. every employee in the
company is also held responsible
for the safety of himself and the
people around him. The individual
is the keystone of the entire pro-
gram and is expected to do his own
job safely. Actually. the company
feels that its record is the result
Of this individual effort by en-
plovees
The S4,00O.0O0 which the COM
pany is spending for safety this
year covers only the specific parts