Day 131 - 06 Jun 95 - Page 48

     
     1   Q.   You said somewhere in your report -- I cannot remember
     2        where it was now -- something like burns are endemic in the
     3        catering industry?
     4        A.  They are, yes.
     5
     6   Q.   The implication was that McDonald's should not really be
     7        singled out for especial criticism; it is something that
     8        happens in the catering industry and should be recognised?
     9        A.  If you are taking hot things out of an oven, people
    10        occasionally burn themselves on the inside of their arm.
    11        It is not unusual to see chefs with a series of burns on
    12        the inside of their arm, regrettable though that may be,
    13        but, nevertheless, that is endemic when you are handling
    14        hot things.  It is as simple as that.
    15
    16   Q.   That would be the same, of course, for wet or greasy
    17        floors; it is something which -- I cannot remember the word
    18        used -- is unavoidable in a kitchen environment?
    19        A.  Well, inevitably, things are spilt and so on, and
    20        there is a constant need to be cleaning as well, so you do
         get wet floors.  It is the same phenomenon, incidentally,
    22        in food factories; you have similar problems.
    23
    24   Q.   Apart from the burns and slips, are there any other
    25        specific accidents, if you like, or hazards or risks which
    26        are associated with the kitchen environment, whether it is
    27        McDonald's or whoever?
    28        A.  Well, with the general kitchen environment, you would
    29        look at knife accidents.  That would be lower with
    30        McDonald's, because they do not have so many slicing
    31        operations, not so much chopping and so on.  But,
    32        certainly, knife accidents is something else one would
    33        regard as a possibility, and I suppose -- well, yes, burns
    34        would cover contact with hot liquids, and so on and so
    35        forth.
    36
    37   Q.   Cleaning chemicals, contact with cleaning chemicals?
    38        A.  Well, it is a fairly low severity ratio under normal
    39        circumstances.  You can have bad accidents with things like
    40        caustic, if you are using caustic.  But in most kitchen
         environments, although it is obviously a risk, it tends to
    42        be of comparatively minor severity.
    43
    44   Q.   Are there some industries, many industries -- I do not
    45        know -- which industries are well known in your field of
    46        activity for being pretty low risk environments?
    47        A.  I am sorry.  Could we -- I just have to ask you your
    48        definition there.  Are you talking about industries with a
    49        particularly good safety record, or are you talking about
    50        industries which inherently have a low risk attached to 
    51        them? 
    52 
    53   Q.   Probably both, but I mean -----
    54        A.  Let me give you an example of what I am thinking.  The
    55        chemical industry, by and large, has a very good record in
    56        terms of reportable injuries.  On the other hand, it is
    57        very high risk, in as much as if they have an incident, you
    58        are going to blow up southeast Scotland, or something.  So
    59        there is a very major risk there.  But the numbers are --
    60        they have significantly fewer reportable accidents than