Fires and falls: Can accidents be stopped in the food factory?

In a brand new webinar 'Safeguarding your factory and supply chain', sponsored Alcumus SafeContractor, four expert speakers will try and answer that question.

They will teach viewers about the health and safety (H&S) obligations placed on food and drink manufacturers and provide advice for ensuring that external contractors and suppliers are compliant.

Meanwhile, they will share personal experiences from previous incidents and talk about the crucial lessons learned.

Sign up here for access to this exclusive event​​​, which airs at 11am on 10 September 2024.

Incidents will happen, be prepared

Elliot Kenton, a partner at law firm Weightmans and H&S expert, will discuss the level of risk facing food and drink firms.

After laying out the figures, Kenton will argue that incidents are, on some level, inevitable. Therefore, it is incumbent on manufacturers to be prepared.

Proper preparation includes policies, risk assessments, training, response protocols and the use of technology. Meanwhile, any past incidents but be investigated so that lessons can be learned.

Kenton will then move on to discuss the role of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in protecting workers from injury at work and handing out fines and prosecutions when firms are at fault. Finally, he will share some ‘top tips’.

Risks need to be controlled

Next up, hear from Clare Bottle, chief executive of the UK Warehousing Association (UKWA). Bottle will look at H&S risks from the perspective of a warehouse operator or manager, using past examples to illustrate what can go wrong.

She will highlight fire, racking collapse, rooftop work, electrical supply and material handling equipment as some of the major areas of risk within a warehouse before laying out the role of the UKWA in supporting its members in mitigating these threats.

Some of the negative outcomes Bottle has witnessed in the past include operational disruption, stock loss, reputational damage, financial penalty and loss of life.

She will break down all of these scenarios and share conclusions in each instance.

Lesson learned from a factory fire

Jeff Marston, group safety and environmental manager at AB Agri, will speak third. He will first explain the role of AB Agri with Associated British Foods before discussing a fire that occurred at its facility in Cupar, Scotland.

Marston will diagnose ‘what went wrong’ at the facility, looking at the contractors on site at the time, in-house procedures and the plans that were in place. Then, he will explain the journey AB Agri has been on since, the new measures that have been implemented as a result and the improvements that have been made.

Finally, he will talk about the lessons learned from the incident and share his advice for other food and drink manufacturers.

Health, safety and ESG best practices

To bring everything together, senior vice president for supply chain compliance at Alcumus SafeContractor Anthony Hanley will discuss best practice for safeguarding your supply chain.

After discussing the core role of Alcumus SafeContractor, Hanley will talk about the main problems it is solving within the food manufacturing sector. He will touch on regulatory compliance, ESG responsibilities, modern slavery, supply chain disruptions and digitisation, among other areas.

Hanley will then focus on ‘best practice tips’ around regulation, data insights, contractor and supplier sourcing, training and collaboration with supply chain partners. To finish, he will explore the growing role of technology in mitigating risks and saving F&B businesses money.

To register for free and watch this exclusive webinar, follow this link to our registration page which has further information about the event and the speakers involved.​​

Can't make the live event? Register anyway! All webinars will be made available to registrants after their broadcast date as on-demand sessions.