I like those huge dealers' shows where the vendors display their safety wares in snazzy booths. I used to drive to Chicago and attend shows just to look at the stuff. I'd like to tell you about an experience I had at one of those shows and how it led to a purchase that evolved into a very successful safety campaign.

A Gross Amount of Pins

At this one show, I saw a fellow selling safety pins. I was intrigued. It occurred to me that safety pins might prove useful as a special hand out at my presentations. And these pins even had the word "SAFETY" on them.

So I walked up to this fellow and introduced myself. "What is the smallest quantity of safety pins that I can buy from you," I asked.

His response: "A gross, gross."

I had to think about that one. I knew what a gross was-a dozen dozen, or 144. So I guess a gross gross would be 144 x 144 = 20,736. Now that's a lot of safety pins. But it turns out that it was even more than that. You see, he wasn't talking about individual safety pins; his basic sales unit was a kit consisting of 12 pins. So now I was looking at 248,832 pins!

I told the gentleman that I would like to think it over before making my purchase. He handed me his business card and, perhaps in the hope of influencing my decision, a free set of 12 pins.

How to Handle Too Much of a Good Thing

When I got back to work, I put a few of the pins on my desk and a few more on my dresser at home. I also pinned a couple on my coat. And, as I promised, I mulled my decision.

Should I buy the gross, gross? And if I did, what in the world was I going to do with more than a quarter million safety pins?

And that's when I got the idea.

One Bad Pun Deserves Another

I pulled out one of my business cards and scribbled a message on the reverse side: "Safety De Pins On Me." Then I stuck 12 pins onto the card. Corny, I know. But also a pretty neat idea, I thought. After all, companies might just be interested in giving each one of their employees a card like this.

Yeah, but then what, I thought. Even if I could persuade companies to distribute these things, what good would they do anybody?

I pondered and cogitated and meditated and reflected. What if every employee was given a set of pins and instructed to remove the pin from the card and wear it on their shirt or other outer garment while at work? And then, what if the company designated a supervisor or other employee to walk around the floor and ask employees what they thought the pins were all about and what they signified.

Any employee who responded: "It reminds me that Safety De Pins On Me," would get a little reward - a nifty ball point pen bearing the words: "De-Pen."

Next, the designate would ask the employee what he or she thought De-Pen was for. The desired response: "To sign De Card."

And what was De Card for?

Answer: For "De Drawing."

And what was De Drawing for?

Answer: "De Prize."

Management bought the idea. Somebody from the company went out to an electronics store and bought a huge boom box and put it on display with a big sign that read simply "De Prize."

Conclusion

So I went back and bought that gross, gross safety pins. We did the campaign and then I pitched the idea to a few other companies. And I got enough acceptances that I had to order a second gross, gross within a few months.

Do you know that today, we've distributed more than a million safety pins under the "Safety De Pins On Me" campaign? To what end? First of all, it's been a lot of fun for all parties involved. More importantly, it has made a contribution to safety awareness by reinforcing the concept among pin wearers that safety really does depend on them.

Editor's Note: Art still has 8 boxes of 4 "1/2 great gross" pins each. That adds up to 4 great gross of pins. A great gross is a dozen gross. So, he has 6,912 Souvenir Safety Pins, survivors of the Safety De Pins On Me campaign. If anyone is interested in reviving this campaign, just give Art a call at (919) 732 6994 or e-mail him at artfettig@aol.com.

THIS DATE IN HISTORY

The Collapse of the Alexander L. Kielland Platform

March 27, 1980

By Catherine Jones

Offshore structures are susceptible to numerous risks - fires, blow-outs and explosions. On this day in 1980 a Norwegian oil platform in the North Sea was taken down by gusting 55-knot winds, 25-foot high waves and welding fatigue.

The Alexander L. Kielland was an accommodation rig moored at the Edda platform in the Ekofisk natural gas and oil field situated halfway between Norway and the U.K.

At roughly 6:30pm, 212 oil workers were in the floating dormitory, with most either in the mess hall or in the cinema. Suddenly, there was a sharp, crackling sound. The rig quickly listed more than 30 degrees. It stabilized momentarily, but within 20 minutes, the entire platform flipped over, capsizing into the icy sea.

There was a bridge between the Alexander L. Kielland and the Edda platform, but because of the bad weather, that bridge had been raised. So when the rig began to list, some workers jumped into the water and swam over to the Edda platform. Others struggled to launch the lifeboats. But despite having seven 50-man lifeboats and enough inflatable life rafts for 400 people, only two lifeboats made it to the water; the remaining were smashed while being lowered. As for the inflatable life rafts, nobody could find the release mechanism. Nor did most of the workers have time to get their lifejackets.

The rescue response was quick and the operation consisted of:

However, despite all the assistance, rescuers - and those they were trying to rescue - were battling darkness, fog, high winds and waves, a strong current and sea temperatures of 4°C. Only 89 men survived. The collapse of the Alexander L. Kielland was the worst disaster in Norway's offshore history, with 123 workers dead.

The investigative report determined that the structure's collapse was caused by a fatigue failure in one of the platform's six bracings.

As a result of the disaster, all floating installations were called to land by the Norwegian Maritime Directorate for inspection, and new regulations were implemented, including more stringent structural requirements for rigs, improved release mechanisms for lifeboats, mandatory safety courses and the issuance of survival suits to all offshore workers.

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