A.J.
Acardino, Jr.
Class of 1999
Background:
A native of this ceremony's host city, A.J. Scardino, Jr.,
was born in New Orleans in 1934. During his youth, A.J. showed
an instinct and curiousness for determining how things worked
and how to fix them so they wouldn't pinch or bite when used.
After high school, he completed undergraduate studies at SLI,
which today is the University of Southwestern Louisiana (USL).
He pursued studies under the US Department of Labor, the US
Bureau of Mines, and many other institutions. He eventually
received his Ph.D.
Professional
Experience:
After graduation, he worked in the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs
Office where he worked with youth and the Junior Deputy program.
Fostering safety with emphasis on bicycle safety, school crossing
guards, A.J. rose through the department to rank of Captain
and Supervisor of Districts. There he improved safety for
the officers by introducing the first K-9 Corps in the Parish
and was responsible for implementing the first new officer
training program. He was a safety engineer for Avondale Shipyard
where he introduced the first, new employee safety orientation.
During his 41-year professional career, he has taught safety
at numerous university campuses and wrote technical chapters
for OSHA.
Career
Highlights:
A.J. conducted the first in depth study of work vests, personal
floatation devices for employees working around water. As
a result of those tests, vest were designed that would right
a semi-conscious or unconscious worker so they would not drown
by being face down in the water. He conducted a competence
audit in Egypt on a construction project which resulted from
the Camp David agreement between Israel and Egypt. A.J. conducted
the first in-depth study on safety surrounding containerized
cargo handling. The findings had an impact on procedures in
the maritime industry and led to the recognition that women
need a separate fall arrest harness.
A.J. was
the principle force behind the development of IPPI/VOSI V41,
Institute of Performance Procedures for Industry. The IPPI/VOSI
documents place the emphasis on what should be done, rather
than developing an instrument that works toward establishing
a minimum standard. Since publication of his technical writings
("Guy Derrick" chapter) on this issue, there has
not been a single fatality at any location using the guidelines
set forth in the document.
A.J. was
one of the predominate driving forces behind making the Safety
and Health Hall of Fame concept into reality. Family: A.J.
is married to the former Loislyn Blanchard and they have ten
children. According to A.J., it was a planned parenthood,
with five boys and five girls.
