Day 131 - 06 Jun 95 - Page 13
1 to carry out the mundane tasks, correlating activities and
2 so on, and having the people who actually take over the
3 management function for them.
4
5 If you have a staff of people flying about doing
6 inspections every month, for instance, or whatever it may
7 be, the problem is that the management team may take a step
8 back and let them get on with doing safety for them.
9
10 I think McDonald's at the moment have the balance about
11 right. Jill is backed up by regional safety advisers,
12 three people, and they are very well versed in company
13 operations, they are all undergoing specific health and
14 safety training; and that seems to be about the right sort
15 of balance. Certainly, it is the sort of staffing level
16 that I have experienced when working directly for major
17 companies.
18
19 Q. One other thing, before I ask you to look just briefly at
20 some documents, Mr. Purslow. We all know -- and you will
21 be pleased to hear we do not need you to help us any
22 longer, I do not think -- that there are certain kinds of
23 accidents which have to be reported by law to the local
24 authority?
25 A. Yes.
26
27 Q. Which we have called RIDDOR accidents?
28 A. Yes.
29
30 Q. We also know -- and I will show the figures in a moment --
31 that McDonald's keeps a record not only of the number, but
32 of the types and locations where those accidents occur.
33 A. Yes.
34
35 Q. Is there a value in that?
36 A. Yes, I believe so, because it gives one trends and,
37 obviously, helps you to identify if there is anything going
38 out of control. It is but one indicator, but it is a
39 valuable one, yes.
40
41 Q. We also know, Mr. Purslow, that McDonald's do not keep, in
42 a specific way in their central records, a record or
43 register of what one might call minor or non-RIDDOR
44 accidents.
45 A. Yes.
46
47 Q. Cuts, bruises, burns, and things like that that happen
48 day-to-day in the store.
49 A. Yes.
50
51 Q. Do you have a comment about that?
52 A. I would not necessarily expect them to do so. The
53 point is, with an organisation as large as McDonald's,
54 where you have such a large statistical base, the spread of
55 accidents that one gets through RIDDOR is likely to reflect
56 the spread of accidents at a lower level. In other words,
57 if you look at some of the work done over the years in
58 statistical frequency and health and safety, it suggests
59 that there is a certain range of likely outcomes from a
60 particular type of incident. One would expect the RIDDOR
