Day 127 - 23 May 95 - Page 19


     
     1        A.  With the reportable accidents, the RIDDOR ones, we do
     2        monitor how many we have, what type they are, and certainly
     3        slips and falls have been the No. 1 category since I have
     4        been in my position, although we have been able to bring
     5        them down from over 50 per cent to just over 40 per cent
     6        and that, although it is very difficult to measure, that we
     7        feel to a large extent is due to our moving to slip
     8        resistant floors, Ultro floors.
     9
    10   Q.   What floors?
    11        A.  Ultro floors.
    12
    13   Q.   That is a trade name, is it, Ultro?
    14        A.  Yes, it is a type of vinyl flooring that has carborunda
    15        and chips on the top.  We also now have tiles with the same
    16        sort of carborunda and chips on them that we use in
    17        walkways in our kitchens.
    18
    19   Q.   Take that as an example, Mrs. Barnes.  Having installed, I
    20        do not know if they are in all the restaurants now, but
    21        having installed Ultro floors, to help try to prevent slips
    22        and falls, are you now going to sit back and say: "Well, we
    23        have done everything we can to prevent slips and trips; we
    24        do not have to do any more"?
    25        A.  I do not think we would ever sit back and say we could
    26        not do any more because there is always new technical
    27        developments, new knowledge coming along, and there are
    28        always ways that you can improve that little bit more, no
    29        matter what area of any business with any operation.
    30
    31   Q.   Do you yourself keep an eye on technical and other
    32        developments in the area of health and safety?
    33        A.  I do.  I read three different professional magazines to
    34        keep up-to-date on what is happening, both legally and with
    35        technical development.
    36
    37   Q.   How many people work directly for you in your department?
    38        A.  Three.
    39
    40   Q.   Where are they situated?  Are they all in London?
    41        A.  No, they are based in the three regional offices, one
    42        in London, one in the Midlands and one in the North.
    43
    44   Q.   I am coming to the reporting procedures and structures
    45        later on, Mrs. Barnes, so I will leave that for the moment,
    46        if I may.  Going back to risk assessment, if I have
    47        understood you correctly, what you are really telling is
    48        that it is a kind of prevention?
    49        A.  It is.  It is trying to assess what the risk is, what
    50        the likelihood of harm happening is, and then taking steps, 
    51        controlled steps, controlled measures, to make that sure 
    52        that harm does not occur.  So it would be, for example, 
    53        training materials, training courses.  Our observation
    54        check lists that we use to train people have safety aspects
    55        built into them.
    56
    57   Q.   You have also told us that you can learn from particular
    58        trends that the RIDDOR statistics show up?
    59        A.  Yes, as well looking at specific accidents that might
    60        be unusual and we feel we can learn from, we also very

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