IN THIS ISSUE . . . OF THE Published monthly by the Commandant, USCG, in the interest of safety at sea under the auspices of the Marine Safety Council. Special permission for republica- tion, either in whole or in part, with the exception of copyrighted articles or art- work, is not required provided credit is given to the Proceedings of the Marine Safety Council. All inquiries and requests for subscriptions should be addressed to Commandant (G-CMC), U.S. Coast Guard, Washington, D.C. 20590. Use of funds for printing this publication has been ap- FRONT COVER: The mascot trademark of the Inland Waterways Safety and Health Association's Smart Duck Club is pictured on our front cover. See the article on this positive approach to a safety problem on page 3 BACK COVER: The big, fast trailership S.S. Lurline built by the Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. for charter to Matson Navigation Co. is shown. The 700-foot ship is destined for service between the West Coast and 2 BE A SMART DUCK! Safety programs can be positive. Quite frequently, however, lessons are taught in a negative way. "Wear your safety shoes or you'll break your foot," we may be told; or "take off your rings while working or you'll lose a finger." Although those statements point out valuable safety practices, it may be that they have less than maximum impact because of their negative overtones. The Inland Waterways Safety and Health Association has instituted a safety program which stresses the positive. Its effectiveness hinges on two things: first, it creates a sense of pride in the wearing of proper safety equipment; second, it publicizes men who, because of a near miss, can be the most effective spokesmen for the safety program. The program is called the Smart Duck Club. The idea for the Smart Duck Club grew out of an accident. In early October 1972, a deckhand was working on an underway barge when he accidentally slipped overboard. He was wearing a heavy coat and a Coast Guard approved work vest. The rest of the crew did not notice his absence for about 15 minutes. When they did discover that he was missing, a radio message was sent out to all boats in the area to be on the lookout for a man in the water. It was nearly an hour later that the man was spotted and taken aboard another towboat. Having spent a considerable period of time in cold water, the man was in shock when rescued. A Coast Guard helicopter rushed him to the hospital where he recovered the following day. The conclusion was inescapable. But for wearing a Coast Guard approved work vest the man would have drowned. If the man had drowned, he would have joined 78 others who, in 1972 lost their lives by drowning in industrial accidents as a result of accidental falls into the water. The wearing of Coast Guard approved work vests could have played a major role in saving the lives of many of the victims. It was determined that by devising a method of publicizing this incident, relations with employees could be improved, constructive shop talk could be stimulated, and most importantly, lives could be saved. The idea was presented to the annual meeting of |