Mention safety at a food factory and you are likely to be bombarded with an array of manuals and given a tour of the latest user-friendly equipment. So if companies are so clued up on the subject, then why do a quarter of all manufacturing injuries occur in the food industry?
Admittedly, the injury rate has dropped by 35% since the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) launched its Recipe for Safety initiative, in 1991, but there were still over 7,000 injuries reported in 2004/5 in UK food manufacturing.
"Once the hardware has been fitted, and staff are aware of the safety procedures, the next step is the human angle," says HSE head of food Richard Morgan. He says it is crucial to make employees understand why safety is so important, but warns that this will take time. Fifteen years isn't that long to shift people's attitudes, claims Morgan. "When I was young, we all went out drink driving - it was the done thing. Now it is totally unacceptable. Attitudes to wearing seatbelts and smoking are also changing, but it is a slow process."
Head of accident investigator Radlett Consultants Dr Malcolm Bailey says attitudes to safety vary from country to country. "The Germans take safety more seriously than we do and the Americans sue everyone in sight - it's big business there!"
He claims that UK firms don't take safety seriously enough and view slipping as a joke. Because slipping is associated with cartoons and comic books, it is related to humour, he says. But when you're old, slipping is no laughing matter: "It's a major accident - you fall and you're an invalid for life," he says.
Crawley-based Pasta Reale has only reported one slip in the last seven years and health and safety manager Paul Raine puts much of the firm's good safety record down to protective gear: "We buy decent footwear because you get water and flour on your boots and you're on a skating rink," he says.
However, Raine is well aware of the importance of getting staff directly involved in safety awareness. "We have local safety groups on each site made up of supervisors and floor staff. The other employees find it easier to approach someone on their own level and it means I have eyes on the scene when I'm not around," he says. "The company message on health and safety isn't just a poster on a board, it's a two-way communication."
Mark Varley, health and safety advisor at Deans Foods, agrees that it is vital to get the entire workforce focused on safety. "If you're relying on one person to police the situation, it will never work," says Varley. If people are only expecting to be checked up on from time to time, they will only wear the safety gear when they have to, he claims. Deans puts all its supervisors and team leaders on accredited health and safety courses. "If it isn't driven down by senior managers, it's no good - we work from the top," he says.
Varley explains that his role isn't just about recording the number of accidents that occur: he also audits and reviews the company's safety performance and reports to the managerial board. "The quality of accident investigations and risk assessments act as a barometer," he says.
"It's no good saying to a manager: 'reduce injuries by 50%'," claims Varley. Instead, he uses interactive training techniques to help staff understand why hazards happen and how to prevent them. "A lot of the safety training isn't technical knowledge, it's how you can win people over," he says. "The idea of attending a health and safety course isn't going to get everyone springing out of bed in the morning but, because it's inhouse, we use our own experiences and photos - that makes it real for people.
"You can get the right floors, walls and ceilings, but ultimately, you have to get the people switched on."
So how can manufacturers motivate staff to follow the safety system? Mark Colvin, at lean manufacturing consultancy Leanpal, suggests directly involving employees in safety procedures. Allowing staff to allocate a home for each piece of equipment encourages ownership and stops people causing hazards by leaving things in the wrong place, he says.
"Food companies are very focused on the day-to-day running of the business, because there's relentless pressure to keep production moving, and they can become blinkered to internal issues," he adds. Workers sometimes risk their safety for the sake of the business by attempting to fix machinery without taking precautions, he claims.
If a machine is unreliable, Colvin recommends a hands-on approach to critically analyse the safety of the equipment. "You can stop the machine and ask the team to clean it. While doing so, they can feel for any loose nuts and bolts and have direct involvement in the inspection." He says that this method works because, unlike poster campaigns, it engages people. "You put a poster up on the wall and after a while it becomes wallpaper," he adds.
Tom Chambers, safety, health and environmental manager at convenience foods group Greencore, says that it is the responsibility of large manufacturers to lead the way on health and safety in the workplace.
All risk managers at the company have the option to study for a masters degree in occupational health and safety management at Portsmouth University.
The firm has also been educating staff on behavioural safety, instead of reprimanding them when they make mistakes. "There's no point in punishing people because that doesn't change their opinion," he says.
Chambers is also keen to help the industry as a whole move forward. He has just become the chair of the newly formed Food and Drink Industries group at the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).
The group is made up of 15 representatives, including food manufacturers, the HSE, insurers and solicitors. "We're working on a Menu for Safety, which will be a practical response to the HSE's Recipe for Safety," says Chambers. The plan is to take each item on the HSE's agenda and try to illustrate simple methods businesses can use to meet the requirements. The group will have its first meeting on May 24.
While progress is clearly being made, however, insurance firm Mitsui Sumitomo claims manufacturers still have their priorities wrong. "There's a perception that making sure safety measures are taken will get in the way of production, but quite often it improves efficiency," says the company's risk engineering account manager Roger Bacon.
He is also concerned that workers don't think about the consequences of their actions. "If a meat mincer gets jammed, workers are often happy to shove their welly down the top of the machine and you can see what's going to happen, once the blockage is dislodged!" he says.
Bacon stresses that companies which aren't strict on safety risk losing consumer loyalty. Not only is there the harm to the employee to think about, but "employers mangling employees looks immoral and will also have consumers wondering what goes into the food", he claims.
"Ignoring safety can lead to a tarnished image, and could be particularly damaging if you have a big brand name to protect." FM
Sound advice on noise
The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, which came into force on April 6,
require manufacturers to do more to reduce risks from exposure to noise at work, instead of relying solely on hearing protection.
HSE chief executive Geoffrey Podger has plenty of advice for companies. "Employers should consider changes of process, engineering controls, changes of workplace layout, or controlling the amount of time individuals spend in noisy areas," he says.
Further information on the Regulations is available at http://www.hse.gov.uk/noise
KEY CONTACTS
HSE 0141 275 3000IOSH 0116 257 3100Leanpal 01600 890 845Mitsui Sumitomo 0207 977 8373Radlett Consultants 01923 858 323