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Health & Safety

Started by TONKA, 11-06-07, 05:06AM

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Duracell

#275
Quote from: The Mrs on 07-05-18, 02:07PM
A question for DCs please.

Maintenance on bays - do all DCs have this contracted out.
If your dc has this contracted out who has responsibility within your dc to check the bays and report any problems to the contractor?
How often is this done if at all?

Not asking for the fun of it,  this relates to a serious accident and would like the info to pass on to solicitor/barrister.
Thanks x

As I understand it Maintenance staff have what they call a First Fix routine, when a fault is notified by the process mentioned by grim up north, the maintenance team at the given location receive the job attend the bay, if they are able to fix the fault they do and log the job as completed, if they are unable to fix the fault then the maintenance person who attended the job escalates the job for a contractor visit.

As I understand it ( and I have checked to be sure) bay servicing currently lies with a contractor who comes in at set times each year to inspect all bays on a given site and report back any additional works to be approved by maintenance management.
I have it on good authority that Bay Servicing/inspection is currently under review. Also there is an additional insurance inspection yearly with a sliding category of fault which could lead to the bay being closed for use. Minor issues having a timeframe to fix.
If any bay is out of its insurance inspection period it cannot in any capacity be used.
Also the notifying of faults is very reliant on the user reporting any faults between service/inspection intervals. Neither the maintenance staff or contractors can't fix what they are unaware of.
Much the same as a motor vehicle, subject to MOT and Service intervals but essential maintenance as it occurs is reliant on the user identitying the fault to the appropriate people to get it fixed.

Sorry for the delay in response it took time to tease the info.
My Opinion is exactly that, Mine.  Based on my view of what I know , see and what I would do.
"Being a rep doesn't make a person right anymore than not being a rep makes a person wrong " 

Duracell.

The Mrs

Thanks for the replies. Interesting that servicing and inspection is under review, I probably know why.

Do you know if there is a checklist for inspections? Just wondering what 'inspection' means, is it just a visual walk around or hands on in any way? Not all problems can be seen. Also, if the contractor comes in at set times in the year do you know how long between visits?

Duracell

I'll tease some more info if I can.
My Opinion is exactly that, Mine.  Based on my view of what I know , see and what I would do.
"Being a rep doesn't make a person right anymore than not being a rep makes a person wrong " 

Duracell.

redcar renegade

My understanding of tesco policy is if some is faulty report it and it gets fixed. At Middlesbrough D.C the amount of bays with faults is a joke you report them and nothing gets done same with the double becker bay lifts contracter been told just fix faults dont service them no money in pot

loose_cannon

Hi,

I have a query relating to store health & safety. A large extra I work in does not have first aiders listed anywhere or indeed any health & safety representatives listed on their H&S policy poster (which is on a wall by itself in a corridoor from shop floor to warehouse, rather than in the more common staff areas). I thought it was a legal requirement for these to be listed, but I could be wrong.

I've tried raising with the store manager that this doesn't feel right, and that I have concerns that colleagues won't know who to contact in the event of an incident, but he's the type to chuck somebody else under the bus instead of take responsibility himself.

Does anybody know how/where I can raise this, and if it's even worth the aggravation? It feels too small-fry to go to HSE or the H&S audit company with, but at the same time, at this time of year with warehouses rammed to the brim there is a higher chance of accidents happening and I worry a colleague or customer may not get the care needed without this information available to them.

londoner83


jOHNji

#281
Hello

I have a question if anyone be able to help me that be great.

On Thursday the 5th march 2020. I got into an accident at work. I believe my store do not follow health and safety procedures when tipping delivery wagons.  We currently have a platform that rises and lowers to height of the truck and the the warehouse floor.  Instead of doing this the managers tell the driver to raise the truck so instead of using the platform correctly they raise the truck and avoid using the platform all together. (Quicker to get cages off)

At the time all managers were on shop floor.  We only have one guy helping the driver tip the grocery wagon,  who said to me himself he was never properly trained to do wagons.  Just was shown what to do and a manager said he was okay to do them.  This guy has been doing them for years by the way and so have nights by  not using the platform correctly.

As the driver unhooked the straps holding the cages in place. The driver was pushing a heavy beer/wine cage down. But the cage got stuck on a lip between truck and platform. 2 boxes of wine smashed on platform as a result. The driver then left the scene to go outside.  With no communication or warning on what he would later be doing.  As our warehouse guy removes bottles of wine.  I come onto the platform to help him with a bucket for the smashed glass.


We are both on platform picking broken glass off floor. When we hear staff in warehouse shout "WATCH OUT" to my horror the driver has raised the truck and the cages on the wagons weren't strapped.  2 beer/wines cages are now coming at me at speed. Our warehouse guy went for the one on the right. I had no choice but to try and stop the one on left. I got in front of it and with no luck due to the speed of it was only able to stop it by making it hit the side barrier of the platform. Which resulted in box of wine to fall off top of cage onto my planted foot.

I want to know what the best course of action is, and make sure situations like this never occur again.

Thanks.

lucgeo

What!! This sounds like a comedy of errors ??? Is this for real ???
Live for today. Learn from yesterday.

genome

So many things wrong there and if true then everyone involved needs retrained. Including the management.
 

Nomad

Report the accident and make sure it is documented.  Get a copy of the safe working practice for back door which should explain exactly how lorries should be unloaded/loaded.

Keep a record yourself of all that occurred inc dates and times.

If you have suffered injury start a claim.
Nomad ( Forum Admin )
It's better to be up in arms than down on your knees.

Long gone

#285
Was the driver foreign by any chance? Nothing bad about that just looking at the lack of communication you'd be surprised how many drivers I've seen that can't understand a word you are saying.

From my experience and I don't know if this will be helpful, but when I first started for the company around 12 years ago you had a team of people help empty the wagon. We were specifically told not to enter the back of the trailer but let the driver drag cages down and then you drag them to the cage area to be sorted in the warehouse. As the staffing levels dropped it got to a point it was only me helping one person tip 3 lorries in a shift and it was only ever me that did it until I had an accident where the lip of the dock leveller was at an awkward angle on the lorry and everything you dragged off caught it. It was OK with cages but with stacks of produce etc it made them collapse and one fell right on to my foot. I am surprised I didn't break my foot but I had to go to hospital the day after it get it checked out as I couldn't put my foot to the floor, and I had 4 days off work. Thankfully 2 of my days off came together so it only worked out as 2 days absence.

I had ZERO training regarding emptying lorries as Tosscos excuse was you didn't need it. I also injured myself because I didn't have steel toe cap boots on as I work on the shop floor and our store manager at the time made us wear shoes that were more dress smart then work smart. I kicked off when I got back and the compliance manager at the time told me it wasn't up to Tesco to provide boots unless you SPECIFICALLY worked in that area. After that I was contemplating taking them to court and suing them but my naivety at my age and uncertainty of losing my job put me off and I just got on with it, but I got took in the office numerous times for refusing to help with lorries afterwards as it was a safety risk to me. They stopped asking me after I threatened them with ACAS and I told them I was going to see a solicitor ( lied but it worked)

Now as I liked the people I worked with I helped out in the future but was a lot more cautious and I had to buy my own work boots just in case anything happened again. Tesco in simple terms...DO NOT CARE and my loyalty to the company disappeared after this.

In regards to your situation it seems like you've had issues pulling cages off ( perhaps a similar issue to my accident where the leveller wasn't snug to the wagon , the driver has undone the straps securing the cages and gone into the cab to raise the suspension so the wagon is at an angle and then the unstrapped cages have come towards you at speed. Now even if this was a cage of bog roll hurtling towards you....DO NOT under any circumstances try and stop it. If it's a cage of wine then forget about it ! This is the sort of thing that sounds like a serious accident /death waiting to happen. All it takes is for you to attempt to try and stop it and the trajectory of the cage alone will knock you over and possibly fall on top of you, and then what? Tesco in the news announcing a death of a colleague because of poor practice. Tesco earns enough to replace damaged items and if they break it is not your fault. It seems the driver is at fault for non communication and you could be at fault for simply not being trained correctly and understanding the risks. If you haven't had any training, demand it from management that they train you correctly, that you are fully aware of your risks and what dangers there are and that you have safety boots on. If they refuse you don't do it unless you feel you have to because like me you wanted to support your colleagues because they were struggling on their own.  As I say, I had zero training , no managers told me anything, the guys in the warehouse told me everything I needed to know and with experience I knew what to do alongside them. It was only because of naivety I was a yes man and used to say everything but it's only until accidents start happening you realise. The health and safety at Tesco is appalling, they just don't care.

lucgeo

#286
Ok...if this is for real...first off contact your H&S rep as a matter of urgency, if they are not instore, speak to a rep, and ask them to note the accident and advise when the H&S rep will next be available. In this instance it shouldn't be of interest to them whether you are a union member or not, but if you are, then ask them to document the accident (not incident), then ask them to secure any CCTV footage of that area at the time of the accident.
Print off what you have stated on here, for your own recall of the accident. Get the names of everybody who witnessed the event, including the driver. If you don't know the driver, get a copy of the delivery sheet, the driver will be easily identified from the delivery consignment paperwork. Your H&S rep will do this for you.

Now Tesco will probably say, you weren't supposed to be there...you answer you were following their own "clean as you go" policy, and the broken glass was a potential risk to the warehouse colleague.
If the warehouse man has not had proper training, then on no account does he suddenly agree to sign anything that suggests he has had training.
If this procedure is common practice' against Tesco policies, then it needs to be highlighted.
Did you suffer any injury to your foot, if so, even if just bruising, make an appt with your GP to note the injury in your records, as once any swelling goes down, potential further pain could become evident, requiring further investigation.
Live for today. Learn from yesterday.

hesketh

If you are not the official, trained and properly PPE equipped back door person DO NOT get within 2m of the vehicle.

NEVER try to stop or catch falling stock trays or cages.

These are Tesco's rules, approved by someone far higher up the food chain than your Store Manager. They cannot be overridden at local level and your union rep will sort any transgressions by "managers" with agendas that put your safety somewhere below their KPIs.

If you are feeling forced or coerced to unload vehicles without the proper training or PPE then involve your union H&S rep. or Shop Steward, and refuse until you have.

It is not a "Reasonable request" if it compromises your safety!

From a Driver and H&S rep
Don't take life too seriously, no one has ever gotten out alive!

NightAndDay

Just to add, consultants and general counsel are normally your policy makers, and yes, they're head office level.

Redshoes

There is a S&L check to say colleagues are signed off at back door. I forget if its weekly or daily. When an accident happens part of the recording of the incident should be a copy of the S&L book. As it's now gone digital this will no longer need to happen as its recorded anyway and not just in store. This is why the S&L has had a whole refresh. The books had become a ticking exercise. The training records are also now online so it's all recorded out of store.
We have deliveries turn up when back door colleague is on a break but we have more people trained. All managers are trained too. These people will not have safety shoes. I have known drivers check this but not for ages.

lucgeo

If they don't have safety shoes they don't tip the wagon, end of!
A manager without safety shoes, broke his foot once doing it because CA refused....SM told him he had no business being there without proper gear...got a reprimand and was put to sit on checkouts until it healed.
Live for today. Learn from yesterday.

hesketh

#291
The PPE requirements used to be on the Store Risk Assessment. Drivers would often refuse to unload unless they were met.

However, when Tesco denuded the Express stores of staff, leaving them opening "One and One", they removed that portion of the SRA as it was virtually impossible to comply. All we can do now is to advise or remind store staff and "managers" of the requirements.

When it all goes wrong and someone is hurt the driver will attest to the lack of PPE and any other transgressions.

Everyone bemoans Tesco's lack of Health and Safety compliance, but the truth of the matter is that the rules are there to protect you. Head office receive regular reports saying that everything is complied with so that is what they believe. If you allow "managers" to bully or coerce you, or take it upon yourself to circumvent the rules, then the blame is yours.

You only have one butt, and it's cracked already, keep it covered!
Don't take life too seriously, no one has ever gotten out alive!

Gill

Is any other store been told we now have to pack customers bags
I think this is health and safety  >:( we are still going through a pandemic and I think touching people bags are a risk ....I caught covid in tesco and think they are not thinking about our safety at this time the virus is still out there

Batmanjo

Quote from: lucgeo on 07-03-20, 12:10PM
Ok...if this is for real...first off contact your H&S rep as a matter of urgency, if they are not instore, speak to a rep, and ask them to note the accident and advise when the H&S rep will next be available. In this instance it shouldn't be of interest to them whether you are a union member or not, but if you are, then ask them to document the accident (not incident), then ask them to secure any CCTV footage of that area at the time of the accident.
Print off what you have stated on here, for your own recall of the accident. Get the names of everybody who witnessed the event, including the driver. If you don't know the driver, get a copy of the delivery sheet, the driver will be easily identified from the delivery consignment paperwork. Your H&S rep will do this for you.

Now Tesco will probably say, you weren't supposed to be there...you answer you were following their own "clean as you go" policy, and the broken glass was a potential risk to the warehouse colleague.
If the warehouse man has not had proper training, then on no account does he suddenly agree to sign anything that suggests he has had training.
If this procedure is common practice' against Tesco policies, then it needs to be highlighted.
Did you suffer any injury to your foot, if so, even if just bruising, make an appt with your GP to note the injury in your records, as once any swelling goes down, potential further pain could become evident, requiring further investigation.

Well said Lucgeo
You can also request and CCTV quite easily email CCTV.requests@tesco.com they have to supply within one month always good for a back up to any incident/accident.

Mark calloway

IF training records haven't been filled in and an accident happens,whos at fault?

Redshoes

#295
Training is all nine now and automatically dated.

[admin] :question:[/admin]

grim up north


Mark calloway

We have a large chilled container outside, it needs a metal ramp putting on to get the cages out. Last week there was nearly a serious accident when a heavy cage almost fell off the ramp. A guy slightly hurt his back. He told the manager and the just said "are you ok"  no accident report or anything.  Should we have training to unload it? Also none of us wear safety shoes as we are only shelf fillers.

oldfashionedplayer

get the colleague to raise that it needs to be put into the accident book, also report it it through the protector line etc, colleagues MUST be backdoor trained and wear the correct equipment when going into and from wagons / trailers, the shutter does in stores also tell you this that proper equipment and trained colleagues are only permitted to use use the doors etc.

so report it, if you remember the time add that too, and mention it to your store forum and health and safety rep, you'd be surprised how quick they'll start fixing things once they start getting threats of fines (our store recently got investigated for the ramp safety)

penguin

It needs to be phoned through to the accident helpline, or noted down in the safe and legal records on mpro or whatever it is called and then phoned through later it it happened out of hours, accident books as such are no longer used in stores.
Do not let anyone tell you there is not a decent job and life beyond Tesco.

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