Day 168 - 03 Oct 95 - Page 43
1 for the whole store constantly trips out and so you remove
2 the RCD cover.
3
4 Q. Wait a minute.
5
6 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Can I say again, whether it is right or
7 wrong, I am not at the moment, I do not think, having any
8 problem understanding it ---
9
10 MR. MORRIS: Yes.
11
12 MR. JUSTICE BELL: -- the fuse is taken out from time to time
13 while you had this recurring problem with the RCD system?
14 A. That is right.
15
16 Q. The time came when Clayton and McDonald's thought it had
17 been solved; on the basis that it had been solved there
18 could be no excuse for using the main fuse?
19 A. That is correct.
20
21 Q. Because you could not justifiably you say: "Oh, it is that
22 blasted system that has gone wrong again". It must mean
23 that there was some fault somewhere which ought to be seen
24 to. So if when you did your replugging exercise you could
25 not attribute the trip to a specific piece of apparently
26 faulty equipment, you had to live with the system being off
27 rather than take the main fuse out; is that right?
28 A. That is correct.
29
30 MR. MORRIS: But the memo issued was to all stores and all
31 stores would not be the slightest interested in Bath
32 problems, would they?
33 A. Well, presumably -- I cannot speak for the other
34 stores, by I can assume that other stores had similar
35 problems with the RCD units as they were -- I think the
36 problem came from the fact they tried to fit a standard
37 unit and a standard system to every store in the country,
38 and bearing in mind that every store is a different shape
39 and so on, I think that is where the problem started to
40 occur.
41
42 Q. But, in any event, according to Frank Stanton's memo -- if
43 it was Frank Stanton -- no-one should remove the trip
44 switch for RCD cover at all?
45 A. That is correct.
46
47 Q. In the memo did he point to any laws or regulations that
48 were being infringed?
49 A. No, he did not. From what I remember of the memo,
50 I think it was in the early months of this year or the late
51 months of last year, he made it quite specific, that under
52 no circumstances were they to be removed, and very few
53 people are in a position to argue with him and so .....
54
55 Q. If the Manager, or whoever, had checked all the machines by
56 resetting them and it had tripped out again, he would know
57 there was something wrong with the RCD system, that is what
58 you are saying, yes?
59 A. Or it might be a small, a very small fault on a piece
60 of equipment. Either way, you just perform the same checks
