British Salt operations boss on ‘three Ps’ of safety

In this exclusive interview, head of operations Stephen Crabb told Food Manufacture ​that meeting a strict set of safety standards was as important in the business as fulfilling the massive demand for its products.

“We see that there’s three Ps in what we do, in terms of safety standards,” ​Crabb explained. “There’s people safety: nobody wants to come home from work injured, we all want to go to work and come home the same way.​

“There’s process safety in any factory. Ultimately, we are a food factory, so we have steam and temperature – these are high-risk processes as well.”​

Product safety ​

The final part of the equation that is integral for any company manufacturing consumer goods was product safety, Crabb said.

“We have responsibility for what goes off the factory and on to the shelves and into people’s homes,”​ Crabb added. “Our people have to have an appreciation of all of those ​[practices]. We’re always told to set realistic expectations, but when it comes to safety in all of those areas, there’s only one standard you can expect and that’s perfection.​

“It can’t just be an aim or an aspiration, we have to accept that that’s our job to make product that is safe for the people who are here and the people​ [customers] who actually use it as well.”​

Meanwhile, look out for our exclusive Me and My Team interview with Crabb, where he explains British Salt’s extraction process and why the level of purity his plant can get to has worldwide appeal.