Textile mill safety notice forbidding workers to climb over the mule headstock

Made:
1900-1940
Notice forbidding workers to climb over the mule headstock

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Notice forbidding workers to climb over the mule headstock
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Textile mill safety notice forbidding workers to climb over the mule headstock, around 1900-1940.

Working close to moving, often unguarded machinery, accidents were common amongst textile mill workers. The government eventually brought in laws and a factory inspectorate in order to regulate mill safety. However, many mill owners dodged regulations. They argued that it cost them money to build guards on machines and affected productivity to stop them for cleaning. Mill workers sometimes broke the rules too, often to save themselves time. This notice warns workers not to climb over the headstock, the metal framework of a spinning mule that contained the gearing that drove its moving carriage.

Details

Category:
Archive
Object Number:
YMS0544
Materials:
metal (unknown)
Measurements:
overall: 235 mm x 330 mm
type:
safety notice
credit:
Unknown provenance