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Sections 13 and 14 - Seating Arrangements
Few difficulties arose. In shops where space precluded seating behind counters,
facilities were generally found in rear stockrooms. Flimsy and crowded seating behind cash
desks at exit points in self-service stores has been given careful consideration having regard
to the accident potential.
Section 15 - Eating Facilities
Only few employees in shops were found to eat full meals on the premises, although
as mentioned previously, without exception satisfactory arrangements were found to be
provided for the preparation and consumption in privacy of hot drinks and snacks.
Section 16 - Floors, Passages and Stairs
Large numbers of offences were disclosed and where previous warnings had been
given successful prosecutions have followed.
Defects included torn and worn linoleum, dangerous floorboards, no hand rails to stairs,
stocking of goods on staircases and many others. All these provide serious accident
potentials, particularly to female staff wearing high heels or carrying goods. Explanations on
these lines to magistrates have resulted in fairly severe penalties. In one case a woman fell
from a shop floor into a cellar through an unguarded trap door but luckily escaped serious
injury.
Sections 17, 18 and 19 - Dangerous Machinery
Close liaison with H.M.Factory Inspectorate is essential with regard to questions
relating to potentially dangerous machinery installed in premises subject to control under
various enactments by both local and central authorities. Bowl choppers and mechanical
saws in manufacturing butchers premises, food mixing machines in bakehouses and catering
establishments, hoists and lifts in restaurants are examples of the type of machinery which
present a danger hazard.
The fact that fifteen supplements have been added to the original Ministry circular on
the guarding and use of dangerous machinery illustrates the complexity of the subject. However,
the human element is still the most unpredictable factor in accident prevention, no
matter how fool proof the machine. Guards are frequently removed from food cutting machines
for cleansing purposes and not replaced. In a local bakery, in spite of a safety guard having
been fitted which had the effect of reversing the movement of a roller in a dough machine
when lifted, making it impossible for a person to trap his fingers, a youth for some reason and
with obvious difficulty, inserted his hand under the safety guard injuring his fingers under the
rol ler.
Section 21 - Noise and Vibration
The only complaints of noise from employees came from office workers regarding the
density of road traffic noise. A large number of complaints have been received from residents
regarding noise from industrial and other sources and these have been dealt with under the
Noise Abatement Act and Public Health Acts.
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