Posted By Hugh
Help1

I am employed a client HSE Engineer on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, based in northern Turkey.

Our contractor(Turkish) is starting to equip the site camp kitchen, which will service approx 250 - 450 persons. They are intending to use low level single gas burners, these are like the camp gaz type except the burner is 18 cm dia in a frame 40 cm high, for use to boil veg, soups etc.

I have carried out R/A;s which all rule out their use, burns and scalds, manual lifting, ergonomics and so on and so.

My question is, is there out there any information, procedure or directive that will back up my argument for none use of these burners?

Any help would be greatly welcome.

As a by the by within the next few weeks there is a high probability that the camp will be snowed in and I hate to think of the consequences of someone being scalded and I am unable to get them out for at least a few days. Yes we do have a fully equipt clinic and Doctors on site.

Any info will be greatly recieved/

Hugh

Posted By Zoe Barnett
Hello Hugh

I would suggest you approach this from a risk control angle rather than a risk elimination one -after all you are going to have to cook somehow - and as McDonald's can tell you, even if you've cooked it safely, hot food and drink is not without its problems. We have to accept that some things are risky and I would argue that to use risk assessment as a means of banning something outright is not the best way of winning hearts and minds over to a good proactive safety system throughout your organisation. (I once carried out an assessment following a series of accidents, made my recommendations and received a furious letter from a senior manager asking where he could buy five tons of cotton wool in which to wrap his staff. Nuff said.)

The development of a safe system is probably going to be your best way of getting round this particular problem - with all the appropriate training, inspections, equipment etc etc. The fact that you have a doctor and clinic really lessens the problems of scalding, but for a belt and braces approach you could ensure that they have adequate supplies of burns treatment equipment just in case. In the long run, the kitchen is likely to be the least of your worries so put your controls in place, monitor them, and spend your greater energies on the more significant hazards.