Signs of

Even the most conscientious employers are aware that the machines they work with can be potential deathtraps. Managers do the best they can to reduce hazards, but they can only trust manufacturers to build equipment that is safe.

Caterers often argue that they have enough to worry about ensuring that a kitchen or hotel will pass an inspector's visit without wondering whether their equipment has been produced to a certain standard of safety.

Legally, this view has some justification. Section six of the Health and Safety at Work Act puts the responsibility for equipment safety onto the supplier and maker of machinery. Thanks to the European Union (EU) however, all this is changing.

There were few fireworks when the single European market came into being on 1 January 1993, but its significance in catering has been enormous. The process of conforming manufactured goods to common European standards can be traced back to 1987 with the advent of the Single European Act.

One example of change, which will no doubt go practically unnoticed by many, will occur on 1 January 1995 when the voltage of a British plug will change from 240 to 230 volts. This seemingly minor alteration means that a mixer bought in the UK will be able to be used anywhere in Europe.

Although altering equipment specifications causes concern to manufacturers, it has so far had little effect on individual caterers. But this could change. Their most familiar encounter with the EU are the six sets of health and safety regulations that came into force as the single market emerged.

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Six booklets containing details produced by the Health & Safety Executive were intended to combine the diversity of British health and safety law with the introduction of new directives from the European Parliament. They went far beyond a legal book-keeping exercise, however, adopting a very different approach to health and safety in the workplace. The regulations themselves describe this as "a change in the culture of health and safety".

This culture shock is detailed in the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations. Steve Walter, principal environmental health officer at Basingstoke and Dean Borough Council, Hampshire, believes that the main changes are the implementation of risk assessment and continuous review procedures.

Choosing safe and appropriate equipment plays a part in that overall management of health and safety. Employers have a duty of responsibility to everyone working on the premises, and that includes ensuring equipment is safe to be used.

precautions

In the event of an accident occurring on the premises, and any subsequent judicial finding that reasonable precautions were not taken, penalties can be high. A fine of £20,000 can be imposed in a magistrates' court for dereliction of duty, and if the case goes to a higher court the fine is unlimited.

It is almost impossible to be informed about the technical details and safety repercussions of every piece of equipment in use. So a quick and effective check of the safety of a machine is to look for a standard or mark of approval.

APPROVAL MARKS

Approval marks are a symbol to show an independent test has been carried out on a product. Although the most well-known of these marks is the British Standards Institute kitemark, many others exist. Often approval marks show that a machine complies with a certain British standard. That standard itself is not a guarantee of any safety.

A standard is a written requirement for a product, but it has no place in law. If there was a British standard which stated kettles heated water to 100ºC, it would not be illegal to sell a kettle which did not. However, if a kettle did boil water at 100ºC the manufacturer of that kettle could claim it followed the British standard.

The British Standards Institute (BSI), which controls standards in Britain, has almost 12,000 of them. Each one is identified by a number and relates to every conceivable type of product on the market.

Of the many different standards and marks of approval, the most common is one which shows Quality Assurance. This mark applies to industries as diverse as recruitment firms and makers of tin cans. Quality Assurance is a guarantee that a product you choose to buy will be of the same quality as a machine you see demonstrated. It does not give any endorsement of that quality.

Standards, certification of machinery and the law on health and safety are all changing as a result of the harmonisation of laws in the EU. British standards are being combined with Europe-wide standards so they can be recognised in the single market. All legislation on machinery safety is produced with that unification in mind.

SINGLE MARKET

The symbol of the single market will be the CE mark. Although it is not yet legally required to be placed on machines, for many this will be a requirement after 1 January 1995. Gas-fired ovens, electrical equipment and pressure vessels among other things must carry the mark when they are sold after that date. Any machine that does not carry the CE mark after that date cannot be sold in the EU.

To gain a CE mark, machinery must obey directives from the European Parliament. Although a directive only gives general guidelines or "essential requirements" for a machine, referral to the list of European standards will show whether machinery complies. Consequently, a larger role for standards can be expected in the single market.

Since the 1987 Single European Act, the driving force behind health and safety law is the progression towards the single market. As the European Parliament tries to iron out difficulties with the single market, more changes are assured. Although it is almost impossible to predict what those changes will be, one thing is certain; being ignorant of them will be no excuse. o

lSee next week's issue for a comprehensive reference guide to standards that affect catering equipment.