BEWARE - Flapjack Danger

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Posted on 22 May 2013

A triangular shaped flapjack thrown across a school dining room recently caused a minor eye injury to a pupil.  What did the Head Teacher do?..... the Head Teacher conducted a review of the texture and shape of flapjacks and concluded triangular shaped flapjacks should not be on the menu. The Head Teacher told kitchen staff that the shape must be changed to be either square or rectangular.  Elf “n” safety gone mad I hear you say! 

The Department of Occupational Health and Safety (DOHS) does of course review all reported accidents. However when it comes to a flapjack review (or indeed Millionaire’s shortbread) they are not likely to be banned in the Comus Restaurant, nor the Students Union.  Neither will the aerodynamic capabilities be assessed!  We are not seeking half-baked solutions.

However on a more serious note DOHS does encourage all staff and students to report accidents, unsafe acts and near misses no matter how trivial they may seem. By recording such events DOHS may be able to help prevent reoccurrence, identify improvements in our day to day activities and analyse any common trends.

Near miss reporting is particularly important.  These are incidents that are unplanned and unexpected but had the potential to cause injury if circumstances were different. You may have experienced the following and thought nothing more about it:

  • A person walking or cycling obstructs you whilst you were driving or vice versa the vehicle obstructs the cyclist or pedestrian
  • You trip or slip slightly on a frayed carpet, wet floor or raised paving slab
  • A falling piece of masonry hits the path in front of you
  • The automatic fire doors do not operate when the alarm is activated 

These are just a few examples. 

Remember if we are not aware of the problems we cannot take an interest and pragmatically address the issue. So please report near misses, unsafe acts and accidents. If it is an estate issue then don’t forget to contact the Estates helpdesk. 

For more information about reporting please see DOHS’s webpage at http://www.keele.ac.uk/dohs/a2z/accidents/

Watch out for the healthy asparagus spears too!

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