Day 131 - 06 Jun 95 - Page 66
1 Q. Both of those may result in a burn. A major cause of that
2 may be that work is being done too quickly?
3 A. I do not see how work can be done too quickly. The
4 product still has to be cooked in a set period of time.
5 I do not follow your drift on that, I am afraid.
6
7 Q. OK. Let us start again then. If people work too fast ---
8 A. Yes.
9
10 Q. -- in a kitchen environment with hot surfaces, splashing
11 oil or whatever, then that would be a major concern to you,
12 would it not, that people were working too fast?
13 A. I do not know how you would define "too fast".
14
15 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Why do you not put the question which was
16 being put to Mr. Atherton and Mrs. Barnes (and to which
17 they gave different answers) which was whether you would
18 expect the faster people work and are expected to work, the
19 greater the risk of accidents?
20
21 MR. MORRIS: (Pause) I am sorry. I thought you were asking the
22 questions.
23
24 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Mr. Atherton said he thought that would be
25 common sense, and Mrs. Barnes said she did not think that
26 would follow at all.
27 A. It would not necessarily follow, my Lord. It depends
28 on the operation and so on. I still do not see how you
29 define what is "too fast", working under these
30 circumstances, when you are conducting a set operation.
31 You are running a grill; you are putting burgers on the
32 grill; you are taking them off. I do not really see where
33 the problem comes.
34
35 MR. MORRIS: People can only work up to a certain speed, can
36 they not?
37 A. Yes.
38
39 Q. Beyond which, they may be panicking, cutting corners, doing
40 unsafe things; would you accept that?
41 A. The point is, there is no way it can be done. You have
42 a set piece of equipment and you have set things to cook on
43 for set times, and you have people to man those pieces of
44 equipment. I do not really see how you begin to cut
45 corners and do the things that you are alleging are done.
46
47 Q. But do you accept the principle that part of safety concern
48 of an expert like yourself will be that work scheduling
49 should give people plenty of time to act carefully and
50 surely and follow the procedures?
51 A. Work -----
52
53 Q. Yes. If they have to do it too fast, they may have to cut
54 corners, take risks, et cetera. That would be a standard
55 theme of any safety expert, would it not, in this country?
56 A. Work scheduling must ensure that a job is done
57 properly; and "properly" includes both quality, safety, and
58 so on and so forth; it is an integral part of it. As
59 I say, when you are frying chips or making a burger, I do
60 not see how you cut the time down.
