Masonry Magazine October 1972 Page. 14
Accident Prevention Course Offered
"Operation Zero," a computer-graded accident prevention course oriented to OSHA requirements, is available from Fred S. James & Co., 230 W. Monroe St., Chicago, III. 60606, insurance consultants to MCAA. Prepared for safety and personnel directors, middle management and front-line supervisors, the five-part course can be completed at each individual's own pace on the job or at home. The series of 41 tests is computer-graded and returned to the employee, followed by a quarterly progress report submitted to management. Developed by Dr. M. U. Eninger, nationally known industrial safety consultant, the course is being made available at cost to help business comply with OSHA requirements.
Miami Road Beautification Plan
A continuing highway beautification plan, which last year brought the Miami Off-Street Parking Authority national recognition for its work beneath the downtown expressway system, has been carried over to Biscayne Boulevard near Bayfront Park.
The parking area between north and southbound lanes from Fourth to Fifth streets is undergoing a complete revamping. The work includes brick pathways and planter boxes, as well as lush tropical fountains.
According to Richard A. LaBaw, Authority director, the project will cost about $90,000 and will greatly enhance the beauty of the area which is usually one of the first things seen by tourists driving through Miami.
"We think brick will bring welcome relief from the concrete and asphalt in this area," LaBaw said. "Brick is a beautiful, enduring building material which will offer not only esthetic but also practical benefits because of its low maintenance nature."
Fifty-thousand brick imported from Ohio are being used by mason contractor and Miami Masonry Guild member C. A. Wheelock at the Biscayne Boulevard location. Landscape architect is James E. Voss.
George Miller, chairman of the Miami Masonry Guild, cited the project as a "fine example of new and innovative methods of using masonry. It's wonderful to see more brick here in our community," he added. "Its lasting beauty will be of immense value to this municipal project."
Miami's latest highway beautification program features extensive use of brick. Some 50,000 units will be laid between north and southbound lanes from Fourth to Fifth Streets.
OSHA-Inspired Course Saves a Life
A masonry foreman who four months earlier had taken an OSHA-inspired course in first aid has been credited with saving the life of a co-worker who suffered a serious on-the-job injury.
The accident victim, bricklayer David Wright, fell on a protruding re-bar which penetrated 2½ inches into his neck, causing arterial bleeding at the rate of about a pint a minute. But the swift action of foreman Charlie Womack in administering first aid brought the situation under control. The men were working on an apartment complex under construction in Aspen, Colo.
While Wright said he felt no immediate pain, he would have bled to death quickly had he not received help, according to the doctor who treated him. This is the first such accident he had ever seen which was not fatal, the doctor added.
Womack had taken the first aid course offered at the April 5th conference of the Colorado Mason Contractors Association in Denver, along with eight of his co-workers. Both he and Wright are employees of Glenwood Masonry, Inc. (MCAA), Glenwood Springs, Colo. The CMCA course was given as a result of the new OSHA regulations requiring that each construction crew have a person qualified in first aid. About 150 men took the training given by Bureau of Mines instructors.
Talking of the accident later, Womack said his instructor told the class not to worry about forgetting the proper things to do in an emergency. "When the time comes that you need the information," Womack said, "it all comes back to you. When I saw the blood, my instructions came back clearly. I put direct pressure on the wound and used my thumb on the pressure point on his neck."
As the bleeding was being controlled, the injured Wright was rushed to a hospital. Within 10 days he was back on the job, showing off the scar on his neck.
"The happy results point up the need for a qualified first aid person to be on each crew," commented CMCA executive vice president Mac Terry, "since the immediate action taken by Charlie Womack was the only thing which could have saved Wright's life."