HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE SAFETY IN KITCHENS

1. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE SAFETY IN KITCHENS Welcome to an on-line health and safety training package intended primarily for staff who use communal kitchens within UofE buildings on the Little France campus. Information contained within these pages is intended for use by University of Edinburgh staff and students only.

2. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE SAFETY IN KITCHENS This on-line training package is not a substitute for any more detailed training that may be organised by area and service managers. Last updated: February, 2018

3. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE SAFETY IN KITCHENS Please take time to view the following material, and direct any urgent questions to your H&S Advisor, Supervisor, Manager, or the Little France Buildings H&S Manager (the contact details for whom are shown on the last page of this presentation). Thank you

4. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE SAFETY IN KITCHENS Accidents in kitchens are fairly commonplace in the home, where there are several potential sources of harm, including slippery surfaces, electrical and gas appliances, sharp knives etc, and where further complications may exist in the form of family members and others crowding around and generally getting in the way.

5. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE SAFETY IN KITCHENS The potential for accidents in one of our kitchens on the Little France campus should be very much less, since we are not likely to be using these to prepare meals on the same scale as we do at home, and many of the hazards present in a typical domestic kitchen will not be apparent in our buildings.

6. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE SAFETY IN KITCHENS Nevertheless, it is always sensible to exercise some caution when entering, using and leaving a kitchen.

7. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE SAFETY IN KITCHENS Before entering a kitchen, consider that there might well be someone behind the door carrying a mug full of hot liquid, so enter the room reasonably cautiously.

8. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE SAFETY IN KITCHENS Correspondingly, when you’re leaving the kitchen with your own mug of hot tea or coffee, consider that someone may be about to enter the room from outside, or you may be about to enter a corridor full of people.

9. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE SAFETY IN KITCHENS Fire Safety (1) • Keep quantities of combustible materials to a minimum, and use storage cabinets to keep cardboard boxes etc away from sources of heat. • Do not store flammable chemicals in kitchens. • Do not smoke, or permit smoking, anywhere in the workplace (most certainly including kitchens).

10. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE SAFETY IN KITCHENS Fire Safety (2) • Ensure that electrical equipment is properly maintained and subject to periodic safety checks, but also carry out regular visual checks yourself. • Attend induction training and fire safety training. • Know the location and correct use of fire alarm call points. • Understand the correct response to different fire alarm sounds.

11. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE SAFETY IN KITCHENS Fire Safety (3) • Know the location of fire escape routes, fire exits and Evacuation Assembly Points, and check periodically that you remain thoroughly familiar with these in your building. • Report faults and potential problems to the Fire Steward for your area.

12. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE SAFETY IN KITCHENS Electrical Safety • Ensure that all electrical equipment (including personal items) has been Portable Appliance Tested before connecting to buildings mains (check labels on appliances). • Never overload the supply (usually 13A load per socket; but check … it may be less).

13. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE SAFETY IN KITCHENS Electrical Safety • Carry out regular visual inspections of sockets, plugs, cables, connections and appliances. • Report faults immediately, and discontinue use of the appliance pending repair or replacement.

14. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE SAFETY IN KITCHENS Toasters With the exception of The Drum (the catering facility in the QMRI) and the kitchen in the Centre for Dementia Prevention, toasters areabsolutely bannedin all areas of our buildings, including other kitchens and rest rooms (mostly due to the smoke that inevitably issues from these when they are in use, and which regularly sets off fire alarms in other workplaces).

15. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE SAFETY IN KITCHENS Kettles • Locate the kettle where it cannot easily be overturned, and where water and steam will not come into contact with electricity. • Consider other aspects of electrical safety too in relation to the kettle. • Ensure that the kettle cannot be dragged accidentally from tables or shelves by snagging trailing electrical cables. • Take particular care where facilities are shared, and accommodation may be crowded, not to be jostled or bumped when pouring boiling water.

16. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE SAFETY IN KITCHENS Refrigerators • Care should be taken to ensure that fridges do not become repositories for time- expired foodstuffs, and all users should share responsibility for cleanliness of the fridge. • Electrical safety should be considered too, and fridges should be included in programmes of portable appliance testing. • Fridges in our buildings must never be used, even temporarily, for storage of chemicals and biological materials … or cats!

17. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE SAFETY IN KITCHENS Water Coolers • Water coolers should be routinely sanitised by users, and serviced regularly by trained engineers. • Personal drinking water bottles should not be refilled directly from water coolers, as it is almost impossible to do so without running the risk of contaminating the delivery tube of the water cooler.

18. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE SAFETY IN KITCHENS Microwave Ovens • Comply with manufacturer’s instructions, both in respect of operation of the oven itself and also related to cooking each food and drink product. • Consider aspects of electrical safety too in relation to the oven. • Remember that food and liquids taken from a microwave oven may still be heating for a few moments afterwards. • Do not place any metal items inside the microwave oven (including crockery etc decorated with metallic paints).

19. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE SAFETY IN KITCHENS Slip/Trip Hazards • Exercise particular caution around wet floors. • Clean up small spills yourself, perhaps by using paper towels. • Seek assistance if the spill is larger. • Avoid placing or stacking materials where people are likely to stumble over them. • Display signage wherever trip/slip injuries might occur.

20. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE SAFETY IN KITCHENS Shelves & Cupboards • And cat’s are not allowed into our buildings, far less are they to be kept on shelves or in cupboards! • Always conform to manufacturer’s specifications, and do not overload shelves or cupboards. • Secure storage units to a wall whenever possible. • Balance loading across the full shelf width, and place the heaviest items on the lowest shelves. • Take care when unloading shelves and cupboards so that they do not become imbalanced.

21. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE SAFETY IN KITCHENS Manual Handling If you envisage a need for a significant amount of manual handling within the kitchen, or you know that you are susceptible to injury from lifting, carrying and moving, you should seek assistance.

22. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE SAFETY IN KITCHENS Kitchen Layout • Do not assume that the existing layout is the necessarily the best layout. Take advice if necessary (Contact details for the H&S Manager are at the end of this presentation). • Aim to maintain a tidy kitchen and minimise the potential for accidents due to clutter and mess. • Cats are still not permitted in our buildings (Well done if you spotted the one in this picture)!

23. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE SAFETY IN KITCHENS Stretching and overreaching • Exercise care when reaching up to remove things from high shelves, etc. • Consider how heavy the load will be before you even attempt to move it. • If making use of stepping stools, ensure that these are properly and safely grounded, providing you with a stable platform from which to reach things more easily. • Don’t just use whatever is handy, such as a chair – it may well topple over while you’re standing on it.

24. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE SAFETY IN KITCHENS First Aid • Know how to contact a trained first aider, and the location of your nearest first aid box. • Report all accidents and “near miss” occurrences using the on-line form at: http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/health-safety/accident-reporting/accident-form

25. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE SAFETY IN KITCHENS You have now completed this on-line training package summarising health and safety factors applicable to kitchens on the Little France site. Please also attend any additional training that may be organised by your manager. Thank you

26. HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCE SAFETY IN KITCHENS Lindsay Murray Health & Safety Manager, The University of Edinburgh, College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine (Little France/Bioquarter Campus) Room SU225, Chancellor’s Building Ext: 26390 lgm@staffmail.ed.ac.uk