Day 131 - 06 Jun 95 - Page 09

     
     1        A.  Indeed.  I am retained by several hotel chains.
     2
     3   Q.   Are you able to compare your experience of those other
     4        companies with McDonald's?
     5        A.  Yes, I am.
     6
     7   Q.   On that comparative basis, how do McDonald's make out?
     8        A.  I think McDonald's rate very well.  Their units are
     9        well designed; their people are well trained; hazards are
    10        recognised and, as far as is practicable, controlled.
    11
    12   Q.   Do you have any experience -- going way back, if you like,
    13        to 1964 and beyond, when you were working in the Midlands
    14        as an EHO -- do you have any experience of factory floors?
    15        A.  Yes; and, obviously, I have dealt with factory
    16        workshops over the years, and still continue to do so from
    17        time to time.
    18
    19   Q.   This may be a not a very good question, Mr. Purslow, and
    20        please tell me if it is not.  Looking at industry as a
         whole, how dangerous do you think fast-food catering is for
    22        the people that work in the restaurants and the kitchens?
    23        A.  I think you have to compare it with something like the
    24        food manufacturing industry.  It is always difficult to
    25        compare, because one is never quite sure in terms of
    26        statistics.  But if we take the published statistics from
    27        the Health and Safety Executive, they say that the risk of
    28        reportable accidents within the food industry is, I think
    29        it is 31 per 1,000, something like that, per 1,000
    30        employees.  If you can compare that with the sort of
    31        figures that McDonald's achieve -- which I understand last
    32        year was something like 12 per 1,000 employees -- I think
    33        you will see that other industries are certainly more risky
    34        in terms of numbers of accidents.
    35
    36   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  That is per annum, is it?
    37        A.  That is per annum.
    38
    39   MR. RAMPTON:  Does that depend to some extent, those figures you
    40        have given, on the efficacy of the reporting by the
         particular companies?
    42        A.  Indeed so.
    43
    44   Q.   We have heard from Mrs. Barnes -- and it has not been
    45        disputed -- that their reporting rate for RIDDOR accidents
    46        was about 80 per cent when she started out and is now
    47        approaching 90 per cent.
    48        A.  Yes.
    49
    50   Q.   Do you have a figure for that sector of industry overall? 
    51        A.  The HSE say that, nationally, they consider 
    52        under-reporting of accidents is something like one to 
    53        three; in other words, for every one accident that is
    54        actually reported there are three reportables that actually
    55        occur.  The figures for the fast-food industry, they have
    56        stated, is something like one to six nationally, and for
    57        hotel and catering generally; in other words, for every one
    58        accident that is actually reported there are actually six
    59        that should be.  So the food industry is somewhat better
    60        than hotel and catering; and one would expect that, because