Barnett, Ralph

Barnett, Ralph L. Minimum Safety Standard—An Oxymoron. Safety Bulletin 5, no. 3. June 1997... 

Ralph J. Smialowicz, Kathleen M. Brundage, and John B. Barnett... 

Born in St. Louis, Missouri on October 9, 1899, Ralph Shriner was the oldest of the two children of George B. Shriner and Edith Barnett Shriner. His father worked as an agent for the railroad for some years. Ralph and sister, Ruth, attended public schools in St. Louis. During the summers, Ralph worked on his Uncle Al s farm in Cuba, Missouri, in the Ozarks, southwest of St. Louis. His uncle also owned the Ford Model T dealership, and one of Ralph s jobs was to go to the freight yard with his cousin Jim, assemble the cars, and drive them to the sales yard. Thus, Ralph learned to drive at the tender age of 12. Uncle Al also became the owner of the local telephone company, after it went bankrupt, and Ralph and his cousin Jim became the line repairboys, learning how to fix the phones, climb the poles, and maintain the wires. In his teens, Ralph built his own radio receiver and transmitter and became a ham radio operator. He was active in the Boy Scouts, became an Eagle Scout, and later served as a scoutmaster. 

In the United States, meeting minimum requirements may not be enough. Ralph L. Barnett is chairman of Triodyne Inc. and a professor of mechanical and aerospace... 

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