Warning over hazards in workplace kitchens

Potential danger lurks in the workplace kitchen, says Alan Preen, managing director of portable appliance test and inspection company PowerPlug UK.

Potential danger lurks in the workplace kitchen, says Alan Preen, managing director of portable appliance test and inspection company PowerPlug UK.

There was a time when, after the 'tea lady' had left the premises, the provision of an electric kettle was about the most that any employee could expect.

Things have changed considerably in the last twenty years, particularly due to the inventive skills of the white goods manufacturers.

Whatever you want to do with your food or drink, there is bound to be a special machine to perform the task.

Electrical gadgets abound in the domestic environment, and the workplace kitchen it is no different.

The problem has been exacerbated by the steady drop in prices of consumer products like kettles, toasters, microwave cookers, water dispensers, dish washers and refrigerators.

Everyone has these labour-saving and convenient devices in their homes and now they expect to find similar equipment at work.

What is more, canned and hot drinks vending machines have to be added to this long list of items that all need connecting to an electrical supply.

The two electrical sockets that were probably provided when the kitchen was originally designed are now totally inadequate for this plethora of equipment.

In addition, the devices tend to arrive unannounced.

Someone might just bring in a sandwich toaster, seize the nearest extension cable and start using it.

Management may well not be aware of its existence or of the other ten additional appliances until the electricity supply trips out.

In one workplace kitchen recently examined a total of 45A requirement was connected to a 32A supply.

Workplace kitchens have evolved rapidly and many are now extremely hazardous environments if not controlled by formal risk assessment.

Safety with electrical equipment is not just a matter for the office, the workshop or the factory floor.

Under the terms of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulation (PUWER) 98 Regulations it extends to every area of the workplace including kitchen facilities.

As well as all the hazards associated with boiling water, electrical shock, burning and fire, positioning of equipment and vending machines, the inspection and maintenance of all portable electrical appliances and fixed wiring must also be considered.

Equipment, whether in or outside the kitchen, must first be fit and proper for the job.

Staff must be adequately trained to use it and records of relevant training kept.

Appliances should be inspected and tested according to use.

The condition of kitchen equipment that is constantly moved and plugged and unplugged with great frequency is likely to deteriorate quicker than appliances which are infrequently disconnected.

The pattern and type of use is extremely important when considering the requirements of the safety legislation.

The introduction of a company policy relating specifically to the safety of kitchen, food and drink equipment, is probably the best course of action.

Within that policy should be statements about the purchase, use, testing and maintenance of all electrical items - no matter how insignificant or disposable they may seem.

Appliances designed for a domestic environment are often entirely unsuitable for the workplace and any policy should address this issue.

There is a whole raft of health and safety legislation which applies to the workplace kitchen and managers disregard it at their peril.

We live in an increasingly litigious society and one where it is undoubtedly better to be safe than sorry.

Next time you feel like a nice cup of tea, take a look round that kitchen.

Do you see any new unauthorised equipment? Are the leads/appliances in safe positions? Does all the equipment bear the correct test labelling? Have all the new appliances been inspected/tested as part of the Electricity at Work Regulation (PAT regime)? Are there any damaged leads, plugs, switches and or casings and is your competent person regularly formally inspecting all the appliances? Are you overloading or is there potential to overload the sockets and or the mains circuit? Have you carried out the statutory required risk assessment (under PUWER 98) on each of the appliances and taken any necessary 'control measures'? Do all the appliances meet your 'purchasing policy'? Are all the appliances designed and manufactured to the standards you as a company insist upon eg: are they independently assessed by such bodies as BEAB (British Electrotechnical Approval Board), ASTA or BSI with their world-famous product mark (kitemark) to name but three? Only if you can find satisfactory answers to those questions should you fill the kettle and plug it in.

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