Day 006 - 05 Jul 94 - Page 05
1 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Is there any system within the company
whereby if figures are bucking the trend, you would expect
2 there is a system of reporting, whatever it be, whether it
be financial or safety or any aspect of the company's
3 business?
A. In terms of sales, in terms of growth, in terms of
4 openings on or behind a schedule, there are regular
reports that talk about those, regular presentations as to
5 safety. There will be -- what do we call them -- accident
report documents filled out at restaurant level where they
6 will be dealt with by the safety people and human
resources. Andrew Taylor will make presentations to the
7 board of directors on health and safety issues over time.
8 But the plan I spoke about yesterday, the financial plan
for a year, which is a bottoms up rather than top down
9 plan is given to every store. It shows on it, if I
remember the exact document, the results for this year as
10 compared to what the results were last year versus the
plan that the group had put together, so they can look at
11 three columns of numbers side by side and determine what
their pace is against what they said they do or versus
12 history.
13 Q. You said that the purpose of bringing this action was to
establish the truth?
14 A. I did.
15 Q. Would you say that statistics are a good way of knowing
what the truth is as regards performance, for example, in
16 health and safety?
A. I think they are, yes, they help.
17
Q. Although you have not seen the national statistics, say,
18 for last year, you do know they exist?
A. I am sure there is some analysis which takes place of
19 what happened in every restaurant -- maybe nothing did
happen in a given restaurant -- there will be some
20 discussion takes place about it. I have not seen any
specific numbers, no.
21
Q. But, as far as you can see, there must be some kind of
22 compilation of accidents report and things?
A. There will be records on a store by store basis of
23 what did or ----
24 Q. No, I mean at a national level, you do not know -----
25 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Can I look at it this way: What, if any,
question of further discovery is raised, I am anxious to
26 avoid is any question of ordering your company, for
instance, to disclose all records in relation to accidents
27 because, subject to any further argument, I take the view
that, although it might produce some information helpful
28 to the case -- I stress might -- the amount of work and
expense involved just would not be worth the product.
29
But, again subject to any argument, if every year or every
30 quarter there is some kind of distillation of information
from all the stores as to people who were burnt in the
