POWERGRAMS

21 Several weeks after I began researching the history of Alabama Power Company in January 2003, I pulled a box from a shelf in the Corporate Archives and started reading through the papers and ledgers. Almost immediately, I realized that these files began with detailing early accidents during the building of Alabama Power's first dam at Lock 12 on the Coosa River, later named for Capt. William Patrick Lay. There were other statistics on accidents at other construction sites as well, and some occurred during the building of transmission and distribution lines. While I did not count all of the incidents in the ledgers, many involved minor injuries, a number detailed serious accidents and a few recorded loss of life. One report states that in the first year of construction on Lay Dam, there were 382 accidents and six deaths. As the 20th century began in the United States, construction and industrial development increased. Power generation facilities, steam plants and hydroelectric dams were being built, and transmission and distribution lines began to crisscross America, as electricity became a necessity of life. With this construction activity, the number of accidents became alarming. Many were serious or fatal accidents. The safety standards and programs then in place were simply inadequate. Out of these experiences grew an increased focus on the safety of workers. Industries began to move away from the attitude that accidents were just part of the price of progress. During the construction of Lay Dam, the contractors, MacArthur Brothers Co. of New York, had a contract with Dr. P.I. Hopkins of Clanton to provide medical services with an assistant. The company built a small building that was an outpatient clinic for minor accidents. Serious injuries were treated at the hospital in Clanton. When Alabama Power began constructing dams even more distant from towns and hospitals than Lay Dam, executives realized that the health and safety arrangements needed strengthening, and small hospitals were added to the construction villages. Injury to Alabama Power workers weighed heavily on President James Mitchell, who was deeply grieved over any injuries or loss of life. He had a genuine concern for the families of men who would never come home again, as well as those men who would face a disability due to injuries. Mitchell knew that these lost men were talented and trained individuals who could not be easily replaced by Alabama Power and whose loss was devastating to their friends and families. Tom Martin, then general counsel for the company, was a strong supporter of safety, too. All accident reports came to his desk. When Lay Dam was almost complete in 1913, Mitchell hired W.R. "Bill" Loyd to manage a new casualty department. Loyd began a safety training and educational program in line with the mission of a national group, the National Safety Council (NSC), which had been established in 1907. The National Safety Council envisioned the country's leading industries coming together to fight carelessness, and make safety a significant part of every company's commitment and every worker's knowledge and awareness. The NSC used the slogan "Safety First." Loyd attended early NSC meetings and became a national leader in the safety movement. With the support of Mitchell, employee safety education and training became top priorities at Alabama Power. For many years, Dr. S.R. Benedict was Alabama Power's chief surgeon, and he worked with Loyd and the Casualty Department to develop programs to encourage employees to work safely. With the appearance of Powergrams in 1920, Loyd wrote regular articles on safety, detailing every new aspect of the safety program of Alabama Power. He stressed working carefully and outlined new methods to prevent accidents. He wrote essays on the best-known first-aid practices to use immediately after an accident. On-site nurses and doctors were available to provide diagnoses and medical treatment. For many years, Alabama Power and Benedict held seminars for doctors on the latest surgery or first-aid treatments for industrial accident victims, and the findings were printed and distributed through the state's medical community. Benedict developed techniques for treating electrical shock that were successful in resuscitating and saving the lives of workers. Loyd and Alabama Power supported the NSC, which grew nationwide to represent 6 million workers. Marcus A. Dow, the president of the council for many years, noted in the 1920s that there were many skeptics who jeered the safety movement and said it could not be successful. Through the years, Alabama Power continued to improve its safety program, culminating with "Target Zero" in 2004, which has been recognized across Southern Company and the nation as a model program. BY LEAH RAWLS ATKINS HISTORY Lay Dam under construction in 1913.

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