Mining trade association, Bochum district administration
A WISE MAN BUILT FORWARD
Mining underground has long been particularly dangerous. Aside from the large and often devastating firedamp explosions, rock and coal falls have always been a particularly common cause of individual accidents that cost the lives of countless miners. The avoidance of such accidents was therefore a central topic of safety advertising in mining, and the medium of film had been used for this since the 1930s.
Miners setting a friction stamp, around 1950. © montan.dok/Bergbau-Archiv Bochum
FIMOGRAPHIC DETAILS
Producer: Ewald Film GmbH, Düsseldorf
Client: Mining trade association, Bochum district administration
Year of production: 1966
Runtime: 17 minutes
Format 16 mm light tone, black and white
Archive: sv:dok, documentation and research center of the social security institutions (Mining History Documentation Center (montan.dok)/Mining Archive Bochum)
MOVIE INFO
"A wise man builds ahead"
Still from the film "A clever man builds ahead". © sv:dok, documentation and research center of the social security institutions with montan.dok/Bergbau-Archiv Bochum
GO TO CONTENT
The dangers of longwall removal are presented in introductory cartoons and a combination of real and trick shots. Anyone who makes mistakes when inserting the friction stamps is threatened with falling stones and coal. The same applies when robbing the stamp, where the hanging wall can break. The film explains how to prevent accidents using individual work steps when handling the stamps. The technical progress in coal mining went hand in hand with new sources of accidents. From the 1950s, peeling mining machines became popular. This resulted in quarrying areas that had to be secured using special procedures. Another challenge for the miner was the transition from wooden to steel rams, which required new expertise to handle safely.
BACKGROUND OF FILM PRODUCTION
The film represents a transition in the communication of occupational health and safety issues. On the one hand, the story follows the classic pattern of "wrong action - consequences of an accident - correct action". On the other hand, the film borrows from the popular photo series "Father and Son" and breaks the seriousness of the dangerous scenes with humorous cartoons. The commentary remains instructional in tone, combined with catchy rhymes to the miners: "You see what can happen, but you're a smart man!"