XN000022-1973-10-19 — Page 10

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Friday, October 19, 1973

"The only way in which the accident rates can be reduced is

for top management to take a closer interest in this important matter

and to ensure that all levels of employees, supervisors and managers are

properly instructed in accident prevention."

He emphasised that the promotion of safety was an important

function of good management. "Accidents do not just happen," he said.

"They are caused by unsafe acts." In fact 85 per cent of all so-called

"accidents" resulted from acts which could have been prevented.

Mr. Price said too few managers had seriously tried to assess

the total problem of accidents in their firms, and to identify the

underlying causes and quantify the costs.

Managements should concentrate on anticipating accidents and

preventing them, rather than trying to cure the problem after an accident

had happened. He said possible hazards should be analysed in detail, and

suitable prevention methods and safety techniques worked out.

It was the government's main responsibility to enact and enforce

Seven special sets of safety regulations had been

safety regulations.

made in recent years, and another ten or so were now in the pipeline.

But employers should ensure safe working conditions were complied

with, and employees should take an active interest in their own well-being

by making full use of safety guards and safety precautions.

He pointed out that some of Hong Kong's leading industrialists

had already acknowledged the importance of work safety in the job standards

set by the Industrial Training Advisory Committee - forerunner of the

recently-appointed Hong Kong Training Council.

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