S. A. BEDNO ET AL.: FITNESS, OBESITY AND RISK OF HEAT ILLNESS AMONG ARMY TRAINEES 467
19. Romero-Corral A, Somers VK, Sierra-Johnson J et al. Accuracy of body mass index in diagnosing obesity in the adult general population. Int J Obes (Lond) 2008;32:959–966.
20. Niebuhr DW, Page WF, Cowan DN, Urban N, Gubata ME, Richard P. Cost-effectiveness analysis of the U.S. Army Assessment of Recruit Motivation and Strength (ARMS) program. Mil Med 2013;178:1102–1110.
doi:10.1093/occmed/kqu032
R. Viner, Managing Director,Viners of Sheffield Given at the Annual Provincial Meeting on 15 July 1964 To me as a layman and an employing manufacturer, occupational health in a factory conjures up immediately the idea of accidents, hazard prevention and dealing with emergencies. I feel it is most important that industrial medical officers should appreciate the layman’s point of view. Evidently, however, this symposium covers not only these aspects but the promotion and maintenance of good health generally amongst those occupied for so great a part of their lives in a workplace, and in the context of these discussions, a small workplace. Hence it naturally follows that our deliberations must cover a very wide field, including prompt and adequate treatment of all accidents, hazard prevention, cleanliness and hygiene, as well as pleasant surroundings, and, of particular importance, the education of both workpeople and employers in the principles of health maintenance. It is singularly opportune that such a conference should be held in Sheffield, where there are many small workplaces, as in most areas of long-established industrialization. Although vast improvements have taken place in recent years, many of these are quite inadequate from a health point of view. This is not the occasion to sit back and bask in the sunshine of our achievements; this symposium provides a platform to emphasize these inadequacies and gives the opportunity for suggestions for rectification. As an example, I would like to give some particulars of my own industry, which I am afraid is quite typical. Not so very long ago this comprised some 600 units employing about 12 000 people; the 1959 statistics give 450 units employing some 11 000, of which there were
186 firms with one to five workers. I am pleased to say that we are now down to some 300, but obviously there is still much scope for improvement. I understand that over 22% of the manufacturing establishments in the country employ between 11 and 24 people, and a further 50% between 25 and 100. Many of these small places simply cannot make the necessary provision of healthy working conditions. I do not feel that it is right we should accept the plea of poverty as an excuse—if a firm cannot provide adequate facilities for its workpeople, it should not be in business, nor should the suitability, age or dilapidation of premises be an excuse for unsatisfactory conditions. Such places should not be licensed as suitable for people to work in. With the establishment of factory estates and the zoning of industry, I think it would be a helpful and paying proposition for centres to be established at a distance of not more than about 5 or 10 min away from any one workplace. These should be staffed with a nurse and person qualified to deal with first aid, the necessary equipment to cover its requirements, a rest room and, if possible, an ambulance. If the cost of these centres was put on a per capita basis for the firms using them, I do not think it would be too high for any individual concern, and in any case by preventing, as I am sure it would, the loss of many working hours, be a paying proposition. From: Occupational health: An employer’s view. Trans Ass Industr Med Offrs (1964) 14, 79. Available at: Occup Med (Lond) 1964;14:79–80. doi:10.1093/ occmed/14.1.79. The full Occupational Medicine archive can be accessed online at http://occmed.oxfordjournals.org/.
Downloaded from http://occmed.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of Manitoba on June 21, 2015
Fifty years ago: ‘Occupational health: An employer’s view’
19. Romero-Corral A, Somers VK, Sierra-Johnson J et al. Accuracy of body mass index in diagnosing obesity in the adult general population. Int J Obes (Lond) 2008;32:959–966.
20. Niebuhr DW, Page WF, Cowan DN, Urban N, Gubata ME, Richard P. Cost-effectiveness analysis of the U.S. Army Assessment of Recruit Motivation and Strength (ARMS) program. Mil Med 2013;178:1102–1110.
doi:10.1093/occmed/kqu032
R. Viner, Managing Director,Viners of Sheffield Given at the Annual Provincial Meeting on 15 July 1964 To me as a layman and an employing manufacturer, occupational health in a factory conjures up immediately the idea of accidents, hazard prevention and dealing with emergencies. I feel it is most important that industrial medical officers should appreciate the layman’s point of view. Evidently, however, this symposium covers not only these aspects but the promotion and maintenance of good health generally amongst those occupied for so great a part of their lives in a workplace, and in the context of these discussions, a small workplace. Hence it naturally follows that our deliberations must cover a very wide field, including prompt and adequate treatment of all accidents, hazard prevention, cleanliness and hygiene, as well as pleasant surroundings, and, of particular importance, the education of both workpeople and employers in the principles of health maintenance. It is singularly opportune that such a conference should be held in Sheffield, where there are many small workplaces, as in most areas of long-established industrialization. Although vast improvements have taken place in recent years, many of these are quite inadequate from a health point of view. This is not the occasion to sit back and bask in the sunshine of our achievements; this symposium provides a platform to emphasize these inadequacies and gives the opportunity for suggestions for rectification. As an example, I would like to give some particulars of my own industry, which I am afraid is quite typical. Not so very long ago this comprised some 600 units employing about 12 000 people; the 1959 statistics give 450 units employing some 11 000, of which there were
186 firms with one to five workers. I am pleased to say that we are now down to some 300, but obviously there is still much scope for improvement. I understand that over 22% of the manufacturing establishments in the country employ between 11 and 24 people, and a further 50% between 25 and 100. Many of these small places simply cannot make the necessary provision of healthy working conditions. I do not feel that it is right we should accept the plea of poverty as an excuse—if a firm cannot provide adequate facilities for its workpeople, it should not be in business, nor should the suitability, age or dilapidation of premises be an excuse for unsatisfactory conditions. Such places should not be licensed as suitable for people to work in. With the establishment of factory estates and the zoning of industry, I think it would be a helpful and paying proposition for centres to be established at a distance of not more than about 5 or 10 min away from any one workplace. These should be staffed with a nurse and person qualified to deal with first aid, the necessary equipment to cover its requirements, a rest room and, if possible, an ambulance. If the cost of these centres was put on a per capita basis for the firms using them, I do not think it would be too high for any individual concern, and in any case by preventing, as I am sure it would, the loss of many working hours, be a paying proposition. From: Occupational health: An employer’s view. Trans Ass Industr Med Offrs (1964) 14, 79. Available at: Occup Med (Lond) 1964;14:79–80. doi:10.1093/ occmed/14.1.79. The full Occupational Medicine archive can be accessed online at http://occmed.oxfordjournals.org/.
Downloaded from http://occmed.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of Manitoba on June 21, 2015
Fifty years ago: ‘Occupational health: An employer’s view’
