Day 131 - 06 Jun 95 - Page 65

     
     1        A.  No.  I think that is a slight misinterpretation, if
     2        I may say so.  The RIDDOR statistics are categorised by the
     3        type of accident that occurs.  The burn is the result of
     4        the accident.  Consequently, the result of a trip or slip
     5        could be a burn, for instance, or it could be an injury of
     6        another type.  But the RIDDOR statistics do not exclude
     7        burns.  They are of a different category altogether.  If
     8        you were categorising injury by outcome, you would have
     9        burns, fractures, sprains, and so on, but that is not
    10        normally done on RIDDOR statistics.
    11
    12   Q.   But in terms of the kind of maybe more commonplace burns
    13        which do not result in a RIDDOR reportable accident ---
    14        A.  Yes.
    15
    16   Q.   -- many of those may not be caused by a slip?
    17        A.  No.
    18
    19   Q.   They may just be splashed -- maybe someone splashed some
    20        hot oil, it may be people putting their fingers on ---
         A.  Could be.
    22
    23   Q.   -- flipping a burger?
    24        A.  Could be.
    25
    26   Q.   Or even cleaning a grill?  I do not know if that would be
    27        covered in the RIDDOR statistics?  The point is, the RIDDOR
    28        statistics only look at reportable accidents?
    29        A.  Yes; and, as I say, that category is of absolute causes
    30        rather than effect.
    31
    32   Q.   But you said that the RIDDOR accident statistics, which
    33        were started in 1991, provided a guide not only for the
    34        trends, but also for the much greater number of smaller
    35        accidents that are not reportable?
    36        A.  Yes, I did.
    37
    38   Q.   But if burns (and I am sure you would agree) are a major
    39        category of injury at McDonald's, whether minor or major,
    40        the RIDDOR statistics are not going to help very much, are
         they, apart from the ones that are caused by slips?
    42        A.  No.  But, I mean, effectively, what you are doing to
    43        prevent burns is very much a similar sort of activity.  You
    44        are saying, you must not have a slippery floor; you must
    45        say that people must do a job to schedule, to a set
    46        procedure.  Those are the sorts of things that stop burns.
    47        There is no sort of magic panacea that stops people
    48        touching a hot surface.  What you have to do is to make
    49        sure that jobs are done properly.  The RIDDOR statistics
    50        will help you identify any breakdowns in those.  But it is, 
    51        in any case, but one measure, as we have already discussed. 
    52 
    53   Q.   One of the major concerns about splashing oil -- would you
    54        agree -- is work being done too quickly?
    55        A.  No, I would not agree.
    56
    57   Q.   People putting their fingers on the grill?
    58        A.  I am sorry.  You talked about splashing oil.  Now you
    59        are talking about grills.
    60