Day 180 - 31 Oct 95 - Page 60
1 that health and safety were considered as secondary in the
2 provision of a 'quality service'."
3
4 Could you just, in your own expert view, state what you
5 feel the significance of this report and that quote in the
6 executive summary?
7 A. Well, I mean the Health and Safety Executive Report
8 does not mince its words, does it? Sorry, that is a
9 conjectural response. In my opinion, the Health and Safety
10 Executive Report does not mince its words. There is no
11 more authoritative body in this country on health and
12 safety work practices. This Company specific investigation
13 is, I believe, a shocking report for this particular
14 reason, that it goes to the heart of the work system in the
15 Company and finds it unsafe, in that potentially in the
16 relationship between customer, employee and safety the
17 hustle would tend to put safety at the wrong end of the
18 queue.
19
20 Q. In your statement -----
21 A. When I went to those restaurants, when I went on my
22 site visits, you know, I asked to go to a restaurant, to go
23 back of house (in the jargon), I asked to go back of house
24 in a busy period, and actually I was denied that. I went
25 to Seven Sisters Road, which we talked about earlier,
26 I went to Narrow Way in Hackney: "No, you cannot go back
27 of house in a busy period because it will interfere with
28 the operation of the restaurant". Fine.
29
30 If you analysed when accidents take place in McDonald's,
31 then I would like to suggest they take place in the busy
32 periods more than the quiet periods. It is in the busy
33 periods that the system of hustling along, skip running,
34 is, you know, is at its potentially most dangerous. How
35 many times, you know, how many times on training courses in
36 the hotel and catering industry has kitchen safety been the
37 subject of discussion? It is a fundamental thing. "Do not
38 run", and because I was not able to observe these stores at
39 their peak, you may think I was expecting not to see
40 hustle. I was wrong. The reason is this: The labour
41 ratios ---
42
43 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Just pause a minute. Yes?
44 A. -- which are defined in the profit unit, profit unit
45 activity document, see ----
46
47 MR. MORRIS: Sorry, what was wrong with the labour ratios?
48 A. Well, there is nothing wrong with them. It is just
49 that whatever the level of business you hustle.
50
51 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What do you mean by "hustle"?
52 A. Get on with it; skip run; move on the hop; you know,
53 you see people skipping round, sliding round corners; they
54 are on the rapid move to get their job done.
55
56 Q. Just pause a moment.
57 A. Simply the reason why the hustle prevails, almost
58 regardless of the level of sales, is that staffing levels
59 are tuned to sales, so that staff are working "hustle hard"
60 (if I can put it that way), staff are working hustle hard
