Philippine Safety Council

Media

Part of The American Chamber of Commerce Journal

Title: Philippine Safety Council
Creator: Tenny, Frank S.
Language: English
Year: 1949
Rights
Fulltext: 122 AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL March, 1949 Philippine Safety. Council By Frank S. Tenny Executive Director EXTRACTS from a talk delivered by Executive Director Frank S. Tenny, Philippine Safety Council, to Safety Engineering students and faculty, Feati Institute of Technology, March 3, 1949: This is a pleasure to which I have looked forward for some time. At the outset, I wish to extend my sincere thanks to your instructor, Mr. Primo G. Maliuanag, for inviting me tonight. As you may possibly know, I am a member of the Advisory Safety Council to the Secretary of Labor, of which the Chairman is Mr. Maliuanag. As I understand it, this course in Safety Engineering is a required subject for those seeking an engineering degree. In other words, as now constituted, safety is a secondary portion of the engineering whole. Having a large variety of safety matters to choose from for this talk, I have selected that of THE JOURNAL GOES STRAIGHT TO THE DESKS OF LEADING BUSINESS EXECUTIVES Work on the Rockwell Station at Makati is progressing as ra* pidly as arrival of equipment allows. The completion of this new power station will make an additional 50,000 kilowatts available MANILA ELECTRIC COMPANY 134 Sun Mnicelino, Manila “The Need for Safety Personnel in the Philippines.” I per sonally hope that it may kindle an interest in some of your minds which would cause you to major in safety and to re main in that field after graduation . The safety situation in the Philippines at this time is very unsatisfactory. Only elemental attention is being paid to modern traffic safety, industrial safety in its many ramifica tions, fire prevention and fire fighting, and general safety education. A few progressive agencies such as The Philippine Safety Council, the Department of Labor’s Safety Council, the Manila Mayor’s Traffic Committee, the Philippine National Red Cross, the Manila Fire Department, some of the fire and accident insurance companies, and several of our better com mercial and industrial firms are devoting a great deal of at tention to public safety and to the safety of their employees. However, it is a sad fact that the overwhelming majority of both public and private organizations are not active in the safety field, in spite of the tremendous and preventable acci dent rates. Some of these agencies would probably interest themselves in safety if they had a person in their organiza tion who was properly trained along those lines. That is where you might well fit in. I might add that in most cases, though, the heads of the companies would have to be made safety-minded first, before you could hope to carry the safety movement to the employees affected. I think that after serious reflection, you will all agree to some extent that (1) there is a great need for safety here and (2) that this need naturally will create many jobs in safety. Assuming that some of you might become interested in becoming safety engineers, I can give you in advance some of the real requirements of such a vocation. First and fore most, you must be truly interested in safety, almost to the point of fanaticism, in order to keep up your morale and to enable you to overcome the daily disappointments that human nature will give you. A mere selfish or passing interest in safety will not suffice, I warn you. It takes the zeal of a professor, a preacher, a parent, and a pioneer; nothing less. Second, you must develop a thick skin over your naturally sensative hide so that slurs, and outright opposition will not cause you to give up the fight. You will, surprisingly enough, find heads of government bureaus and presidents of large companies who will oppose the advancement of safety prac tices for reasons of their own, or through ignorance. Third, you must be willing to approach the whole problem without any regard for race, financial position, politics, or even whe ther or not you will be paid for your efforts in every case. Once you start becoming mercenary in any way you will lose your effectiveness and become just another "hired hand” and safety becomes just another “racket.” Fourth, you must be truly qualified in your work, not a bluffer. I can speak from experience on that score, for my own safety-training began with police and traffic work. When forming the Safety Coun cil here I felt the need for knowledge in the other safety phases and it was some time before I could properly prepare myself to give, for example, fire-prevention programs. Once on the job as a safety man, you will find yourself “on the spot,” expected to make monumental recommendations, expect ed to see at a glance things that have eluded management and experts for years. Your safety work will tend to make you a public figure, but remember that responsibility goes along with authority and fame. If you do not know your job, you will be soon found out and discredited. So far I have, I realize, given you the more difficult side. This was intentional, for we want no prima donnas in safety work. Now I will outline some of the advantages. First, the satisfaction you will get from your job. It is a fact that most people are not happy at their work. Most people, if they could, would change their job for another mode of life. In safety you will have the great advantage of getting true happiness and enjoyment from your work. Each day will be like a new adventure, “What can I accomplish to day,” you will ask yourself. Each night you will retire secure with the knowledge that your efforts that day have saved someone’s life, someone’s limbs, and someone’s property from accidental destruction. Your progress will be apparent by the accident statistics and you can literally see yourself grow. You will truly be an asset to the community. Second, al though there is probably no way to become rich in safety work, it should afford you a very good income. There is a short age of trained safety personnel and this fact alone tends to increase wages in the field. You will enjoy the status of a professional and will in many cases work on monthly retainers March, 1949 AMERICAN CHAMBEROF COMMERCE JOURNAL 123 like a lawyer or doctor. I would not hazard a guess on how much you would actually make per month, but I would say that it certainly would be a good rate of pay. Further, there will be no lay-offs in safety work here. I estimate that one thousand safety engineers could te permanently employed here without creating an oversupply, due to the need for public and industrial safety. Third, the work is interesting and you will enjoy a position in the community where you will be called upon to make personal and radio talks, write for publication, and be sought after for specialized information. I hope that this does not place too much emphasis on one’s ego, but I am sure that you all want to be respected members of the com munity. Following a high calling like safety, you will be guaranteed this respect. Other Chambers of Commerce The Manila Chamber Of Commerce AT the beginning of 1948, the Manila Chamber of Commerce was still in course of reorganization and the work of the Chamber was done in the office of the President, Mr. S. Crawfurd, and gene rally by Mr. Crawfurd himself. Arrangements had, however, been made to allow the former Adviser and Acting Secretary, Mr. T. Harrington, to return to Manila to resume his position, and shortly after his return, in February, the Chamber office at 409 Chaco Building was opened. Two new member firms were elected during the year and another former member firm rejoined, the total membership now consisting of 51 firms, as against 65 before the war. Officers of the Chamber have been in touch with the Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines and with the American Chamber of Commerce in connection’ with matters Of common interest. It is believed that the interests of the business community engaged in foreign trade will be served by such friendly contact and, when necessary, by consultation and cooperation with the other chambers of commerce here. In connection with the Government’s legislative program during the year, protests and suggestions were addressed in five instances to President Quirino and also in five cases to committees of the Congress, while eight letters were sent to other Government authorities mainly in connection with the Import Con trol Law. The Chamber was also represented at the hearings held by the Import Control Board. Over 300 tradq inquiries were received and ans wered during the year. The General Committee of the Chamber for 1949 is made up as follows: President — S. Crawfurd (The Shell Co., of P.I. Ltd.) Vice-President — 0. Schulthess (F. E. Zuellig, Inc.) Committee on Banking — Messrs. Chartered Bank of In dia, Australia & China ” Exports — ” Imports — ” Industries — ” Insurance — Hanson, Orth & Ste venson, Inc. Warner, Barnes & Co., Ltd. Ker & Co., Ltd. Ed. A. Keller & Co., Ltd. Philippine Match Co., Ltd. Philippine Refining Co., Inc. Union Insurance Socie ty of Canton, Ltd. 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