Day 127 - 23 May 95 - Page 41


     
     1        A.  By eliminating the risk, i.e. they do not work on
     2        electrical equipment, you are eliminating the risk of their
     3        getting any electrical shocks.  If you try and give them
     4        the training, then obviously it could only ever be limited
     5        training.  You could never train our managers to be
     6        electricians.  If we gave them the training, there would
     7        still be the possibility that they would make mistakes and
     8        shocks would occur.
     9
    10   Q.   Now the next page, page 7, you have written a summary of
    11        the main points for action.  I am sure you are familiar
    12        with them, are you?
    13        A.  I am, yes.
    14
    15   Q.   I will not read them out.  Just tell us, what is the thrust
    16        or point of this page 5?
    17        A.  This is really an exception page.  It is a summary of
    18        the things, if you would like, in a fault tree, which is a
    19        theoretical way of drawing out the causes to an accident.
    20        These are the things we should be looking at to improve,
    21        because with an accident it is never one thing that causes
    22        an accident; it is lots of little things that build up.
    23        This really is a summary of those little things that
    24        culminated in Mark Hopkins' accident and where we should be
    25        addressing the system.
    26
    27   Q.   Correct me if I am wrong, do we find on the next three
    28        pages -- sorry, 8, 9 and 10 -- an expansion of that line of
    29        thinking?
    30        A.  Yes.
    31
    32   Q.   You call it "response", and again I will not read any of
    33        them out, I just want to know whether, in fact, anything
    34        was done in response to your suggestions, recommendations
    35        or comments.  The first one is fixed systems.  What was
    36        done there?  I think you have already told us?
    37        A.  Yes.  The circuit breakers were fitted to all of the
    38        restaurants and installed in new restaurants as they were
    39        built as well.
    40
    41   Q.   How much overall, roughly speaking, did that cost the
    42        Company?
    43        A.  It cost one to one and a half million pounds.
    44
    45   Q.   Do you know of any other major company in the catering
    46        industry that has such a system in place?
    47        A.  No, and, in fact, at the time we went to Chris Purslow
    48        as an independent and said, "Well, what are other people
    49        doing?", saying we were considering doing this and he said
    50        there is just no way anybody else would consider doing 
    51        this.  It is far beyond what any regulations would require. 
    52 
    53   Q.   Now 6.2 is equipment, "better specification of the
    54        filtering machine cable and a suitable prodded plug".  Have
    55        you done those or not?
    56        A.  Yes.  They were sourced.  It took a little time because
    57        of shortening breaks down, most of the material is used for
    58        cabling; but eventually we were able to source a heat
    59        resistant cable and moulded plug.
    60

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