Dockers

DOCKERS, workers whose profession is the handling of all kinds of cargo at railway stations, in ports, at river landings, warehouses, etc. The handling of cargo may be done either directly by hand (on the back, on the shoulder), or with the aid of auxiliary devices requiring human effort (wheelbarrows, carts, small wagons), or with the aid of special mechanical devices (cranes, winches, electrically powered small wagons, etc.). At large loading and unloading points, the profession of docker is divided into a number of specialties: 1) according to the division of responsibilities in group work (docker-steevedores, signalmen, feeders, carriers, weighers, stackers, rollers, etc.) and 2) according to the type of cargo handled (coal dockers, salt carriers, fish dockers, dockers-removers, iron dockers, cement dockers, etc.).-The total number of dockers in the USSR, united by the trade union of local transport workers, amounts to 69,841 (as of April 1, 1928).-The professional hazards of docker work are associated with lifting and carrying excessively heavy loads and excessive general energy expenditure during the working day. The weight of cargo carried varies within very wide limits: most often from 70 kg (bagged cargo) to 200 kg (boxes, bales); however, there are also cases of carrying particularly heavy loads, weighing up to 300-400 kg. The necessity of carrying such heavy loads is due to the fact that most bulk cargo is packaged in very heavy and bulky units - packaging (boxes, bales, bags, etc.). The basic daily output norm for dockers, established by the Central Committee of the trade union of local transport workers, for carrying packaged goods weighing 50-80 kg on a horizontal surface, over a distance of 20 m, with stacking up to 1.5 m, amounts to 10.6 tons (600 poods); this norm is the basis for establishing the piece rate of cargo handled by a docker during manual work. With an increase in carrying distance beyond 20 m, when lifting on an inclined plane or stairs, when carrying heavy loads, stacking at a height of more than 1.5 m, and other conditions that worsen the work, the specified output norm is reduced by corresponding coefficients established purely empirically. Thus, with an increase in carrying distance to 40 m, the output norm decreases to 8 tons; if to this is added a rise of 2 m, then the output norm will further decrease to 6.3 tons. The physiological calculation of work to perform the basic tariff norm (10.6 tons) gives a value of about 100,000 kilogram-meters. The practiced coefficients for reducing the output norm with increasing carrying distance and when climbing do not fully cover the increasing energy expenditure under these conditions. Thus, an output norm of 5.2 tons at a carrying distance of 80 m gives work of 130,000 kilogram-meters. In practice, especially during the navigation season, the stated tariff norm is sometimes exceeded several times. The greatest demands on docker work are placed on the musculoskeletal system and the cardiovascular system; the greatest number of pathological changes can be expected from these systems. A very common phenomenon among dockers is curvature of the spine-kyphosis, or, more accurately, 'the docker's round back' (Khesin). According to Nikitin (1904, Nizhny Novgorod), 'round back' in an expressed form is found in 15.5% of all dockers, according to Smirnov (1922, Astrakhan) - in 30.5% and according to Khesin (1923, Moscow) - in 33.1%.-Another professional affliction of dockers is flat feet. According to Nikitin, 13% of dockers suffer from expressed flat feet, according to Smirnov - 12.1% and according to Khesin - 23.9%. The professional nature of flat feet among dockers is also confirmed by the fact that the number of sufferers from flat feet significantly increases with professional seniority (Smirnov, Nikitin). The frequency of hernias among dockers significantly exceeds the average figures for the entire population; hernias of the white line of the abdomen are particularly common. The professional nature of the disease hernias follows from the excessive strain of the muscles of the anterior abdominal wall when lifting and carrying loads. According to Khesin's data, hernia-type changes were noted in 26.9% of the examined dockers, including both sharply expressed cases and initial stages; in this number, hernias of the white line of the abdomen account for 14.1%, inguinal hernias in all stages - 12.6%. Golyanitsky (Astrakhan, 1922) found hernias in 16.6% of the examined dockers, 'distended abdomen' - in 41%. To the number of professional diseases of dockers can also be attributed varicose veins of the lower extremities, which occurs, according to Nikitin, in 29% of dockers, of which 15% in a severe degree. Changes in the cardiovascular system and lungs play no less a role than these surgical professional diseases. According to data from the examination of dockers in the city of Moscow (1923), 22.3% of them had myocardial diseases and 36% had arteriosclerosis.-Among dockers, alcoholism is extremely widespread: almost all dockers drink without exception, and in 50% of them the amount of alcohol consumed daily averages 1-2 bottles of vodka per person. The improvement of docker labor can proceed in three directions: 1) mechanization of loading and unloading operations, 2) rationalization of packaging and 3) establishment of a rational work regime. The most radical measure is the mechanization of loading and unloading operations. The most important means of mechanization are: a) cranes, b) pneumatic installations for bulk materials, c) conveyors for bulk cargo, d) electric accumulator carts, etc. Since mechanization of loading and unloading operations requires significant technical structures and cannot be implemented in a short time, the rationalization and standardization of packaging of bulk cargo toward reducing the weight of individual cargo units is of great importance. Finally, a rational hygienic work regime must be established at loading and unloading points to prevent fatigue in dockers by proper alternation of work and rest. The mandatory resolution of the USSR People's Commissariat of Labor of February 14, 1924 requires that when handling loads exceeding 80 kg individually, devices facilitating labor (wheelbarrows, carts, small wagons) must be made available to dockers. This same mandatory resolution establishes the need for short breaks during the working day ('rest periods'), which count as working time and in total amount to at least 1/5 of a docker's working day.