Another target I am setting for myself is never to be late, as this will not create a good impression and my report from the manager would probably be affected by it. I don’t have a problem with being late, in fact, I absolutely hate being late when going to places. However, I live about two and a half hours away from the café by public transport, so I plan for my mother to drive me down from Wembley to Palmers Green, and then I will take the route 121 the rest of the way to Enfield Lock, so hopefully the journeys in the morning will possibly only take about an hour and a half. Therefore every morning I intend to leave the house roughly at half past 7. I plan to get home everyday via public transport, so I believe that I will probably get home at around 7:00pm.
Account of the Activity
I was given a diary to complete whilst during the work experience, which I filled in the daily entries everyday at my lunch break. This diary can be found in appendix II, but I will now show how I researched the topic on Health and Safety in the workplace on each day, also including what I had written in the diary.
Week 1
Monday – I came into the café at around 11:00am, two hours after the normal time I was supposed to start, but I had a physics exam that same morning. The manager was aware of that however, because I had told him about it in the interview we had a few weeks before. I felt so nervous whilst I was on the bus on the way there; I didn’t know what to immediately expect. However, as soon as I walked in, the manager greeted me in a very friendly way. I was firstly given an apron, and I had to wash what was in the sink. I was shown that all the coffee/tea mugs had to be soaked in a special liquid that bleached off all the caffeine, before I washed them with liquid soap. I took a photo of this evidence, which can be found in appendix III. I also had to wash the nozzles of the brown sauces with water. I was told to sit and watch for most of the time, to get used to what I’d have to do the next day, and for the rest of my time there.
Before I had to go home, I was shown how to use some of the electrical appliances safely, and where to put things away when finished. This contradicted what the placement description (see appendix I) stated, because it said “No contact with hot oil or hot plate. Knives, microwave oven and food processor used under supervision… Student will NOT use kitchen equipment or be involved in any cooking.” However, I had been shown how to use them safely, and I was familiar with most of the appliances anyway, so I didn’t regard this as much of a problem.
Tuesday – I came in on time; just around 9:00am. I put on my apron, and was told just to clear the sink by washing the dishes. I had realised that it was just me who started at 9:00; the shop opened a lot earlier, judging by how many dishes that had already been used. The day before, I wondered if I was able to use gloves to wash up, so I asked the manager about this and indeed I did receive them. I was also told that I should’ve asked for them the day before, which directly links with my personal target of trying to speak up when I have a question or something to say; I learnt immediately that if I needed or wanted to know about something I really shouldn’t hesitate to ask. I took a picture of the gloves I used, which can be found in appendix VI. They were clean and waterproof and so therefore protected my hands during the day.
I learnt how to take the order of two people. I needed to take their orders down with a pen and paper, and then I showed it to the manager. I was surprised to find out that I had to make their orders myself, but I did it successfully and I served it to them. I had to smile and say thank you. It annoyed me how some of the customers were rather rude and didn’t say thank you back, but I learned to just get over it and carry on with the rest of my job.
Wednesday – Again, I came in on time. I had to wash the dishes firstly, to clear the sink for more incoming dirty dishes. Today I started cleaning tables and emptying ashtrays. I had to clean all the tables with a disinfectant and a clean cloth at around after lunchtime, when the majority of customers had stopped coming in. However, after a customer had finished eating and had left the café, I simply cleaned the table they were sitting at with a clean cloth to get rid of excess food. Evidence of me cleaning the tables with disinfectant can be found in appendix V.
Today I was shown how to make a cheese and ham omelette, and how to use the electric bread cutter. I also had to take an order next door. I had to sweep the whole café at the end of the day, to keep the floor clean and also so the manager could mop it after. I took a photo of the café being swept, which can be found in appendix VI.
Thursday – I came in at 9:00am as usual, I put on my apron, and I washed the dishes without even being told to because I knew that that was what I was expected to do anyway. Today, I was told to actually make an egg, cheese and ham omelette. I had to grate lots of cheese, so it could last a long time, and no time would be wasted grating not as much cheese regularly. Today, I was told to “use my initiative” meaning that if what I had prepared was good enough for me, it was good enough for the customer. This in a way linked into my personal target of gaining self-confidence – I needed to learn how to be confident with whatever I was sure was right.
Friday – I came in as usual - packed the dry dishes away, and washed everything that was in the sink already. I also had to wipe down all the tables with the disinfectant and cloth. Today, I observed that there were two Health and Safety posters that were very visible in the café – one inside the actual kitchen, and another smaller version of it hanging by the fire exit, which is also where the toilets are. An exact copy of the Health and Safety policy poster can be found in appendix VII. The fire exit was also very clear and the customers know exactly where it was, because it is also where the toilets are. There were no hazards blocking the fire exit or the main exit.
I had realised by the end of the first week that it was mainly me and the manager who worked together. I had learned that his wife usually worked there as well, but she had recently had a hand operation so she was unable to work. There was a man who lived nearby behind the café who came in and occasionally helped, but for the majority of the time it was me and the manager who worked together.
I had also realised how friendly the customers were. Most of very local customers even knew my name, and because of their friendliness, I was actually able to have conversations with some of them.
Week 2
Monday – I had become used to a weekly routine now. I came in, as usual, I put on my apron and I cleared the tables. I washed the dishes and dried them, and I did the same with the cutlery. This day was the first day after the national smoking ban was enforced, so I was no longer able to empty out ashtrays. This showed me that they abided with this rule of not letting customers smoke in the café. Today, I took pictures of how they arranged things in the fridges/freezers. As you will be able to see in appendix VIII, there is a separate fridge for the meat alone. All the cooked meat was stored at the top, and the uncooked meat was stored at the bottom. It is arranged like this because blood from the uncooked meat is drained straight to the bottom; it can’t contaminate meat which is already cooked, causing potential food poisoning. The uncooked meat was also covered in cling film to protect it from any leaking and to keep it fresh.
Tuesday – I started off as usual, by washing the dishes, cups and cutlery, and putting them away. I had to take two orders to the post office, two doors down. For the whole of last week, I had to learn how to serve the teas and coffees to the customers without looking at the cup whilst walking, because it showed signs of nervousness. This directly linked to my personal target of gaining self-confidence, and by this time, I could very nearly serve the teas and coffees without looking at the cup!
I took photos of evidence to show that the surfaces were cleaned every time we had finished preparing food on them, and evidence to show how we cleaned the stove after the end of each day. This can be found in appendix IX and X.
Wednesday – I started by washing the dishes and putting them away, as usual. I was also shown how to cut mushrooms properly, and where to store them safely. They were stored at the top of the fridge with the cheese and other non-meat foods, and were stored in a separate container from all the other foods to avoid contamination. Evidence of this can be found at appendix XI. At the end of the day, I was also told to sweep the floors, so it could be mopped later on.
Thursday – I came in as usual, put my apron on and put the dishes away. I took a few orders today, and I had to take an order next door. I helped prepare most of the orders, and served them. By now I had totally overcome the problem of looking down at the cup when I had to serve it to the customer – I gave it to them, said thank you and I never forgot to smile. This showed me that I had actually gained self-confidence, and by now I wasn’t as quiet as I was at the beginning.
I had to sort out the cutlery; when it was dry I had to roll them up in tissue ready for a customer to take. Mr Tamale was the teacher who came to visit me, and he asked me some questions about the work experience, and what I had gotten up to. He also asked some questions to the manager. Whilst he asked me the questions I showed him how to roll up the cutlery, showing him one of the skills I had learned.
Friday – Today was the last day of working here. I came in a bit late however, because there had been a fatal accident by Staples Corner that morning, and there wasn’t any way of avoiding it. However, I called in to say that I was going to be late, and it was fine anyway because they had heard it on the radio. Today was probably one of the busiest days, because we received so many customers at lunch, so I had a lot of washing up to do. I had become very used to multitasking over these past two weeks, so I feel that I dealt with the busy atmosphere very well – I couldn’t wash up throughout because we had a lot of cooking to do, so we shared the amount of customers we had to prepare food for and the manager wiped down the tables, whilst I washed up everything after. This was my evidence of good teamwork.
After around 2:00pm, we didn’t really get very many customers so I sat down with the manager and I interviewed him about how he kept the Health and Safety Policy, like I intended to in my planning. I realised that it would’ve been better for me to interview him earlier, like when I had just started working there, but the café was very busy most times, and we agreed to do it when we weren’t very busy, and that was one of the only times.
I was given some questions that we could consider asking some of the staff. It was about fire and accident procedures, so I thought that it would be appropriate to use it as a questionnaire. I asked the manager the questions and I wrote them down. I found out that there isn’t a Health and Safety officer, because it’s a family company; he owns the whole café. I found out from this questionnaire that generally, there aren’t very many hazards at all that could cause any fires and accidents. There was good ventilation because the back door was constantly open. This questionnaire can be found in appendix XI.
I also interviewed him with general questions about working at the café. This interview can be found in appendix XII.
Evaluation
My Findings
Health and Safety rules are very important in any workplace because without the practice of it, it can put people’s lives at risk. Especially because this workplace provides a catering service for the public, it was essential for me to find out if it was generally a clean environment.
I found out after the whole of the work experience what the Health and Safety Law actually stated (links can be found in the bibliography). I had come to find that the Health and Safety law was abided, whilst I was there. However, although it was visible, I had not been made aware of it; I had to find it myself. I was also “trained” on the first day by being shown where everything was, and I had to just generally get used to the café.
Here is an analysis of the questionnaire.
Referring back to the questionnaire “Fire and Accident Procedures” (see appendix XII); I found out that there is an adequate amount of fire prevention, and there aren’t many hazards. I had realised that there is great thought about the customers in case of a fire, because the manager stated: “there are two doors – the main entrance and the fire exit, at opposite ends of the room in case customers (or everyone) needs to escape.” However, I personally believe that there should be a fire extinguisher nearer to the kitchen, possibly in the kitchen.
The general interview with the manager (see appendix XIII) revealed that to be able to work at the café, you’d have to have the ability to cook, you’d have to be reasonably educated, you’d need the ability to communicate, over the years experience and most importantly, you’d have to be aware of general health and hygiene.
I made observations throughout the weeks whilst working there, and generally the café was clean. Overall the café practiced good hygiene, which was vital for this organisation.
My Research Activity
Looking back at all the methods of research I carried out, I believe that all my evidence is fairly reliable. I interviewed the manager himself, and I believe that he was the only person out of anyone else that I could’ve interviewed as he actually owned the cafe and knew most about it. The photos itself proved that good practice of hygiene were carried out, and the Health and Safety Law posters were visible around the café. I also observed for myself the certificates because of good hygiene that were hung up, proving that the café had undergone inspection and had passed.
However, I think that I could’ve made the results from the questionnaire more reliable, by probably making my own questionnaire with more questions to ask, other than fire and accident procedures. I took as many photos as possible to prove there to have been good hygiene practice, and I believe that it is all enough evidence overall, as working in the café was very busy for most of the time, so I had to collect as much evidence as possible whilst also to do my job properly.
Thinking back on the daily routine of working there, I think that my results would’ve been even more reliable if I had thought of asking a few of the very local customers (e.g. the customers who came in about three or four times everyday) what they thought about the café; if they personally thought that the café did a good job with abiding with the rules.
My Personal Targets
I am proud to admit that I had met my personal targets of becoming more self-confident and being able to speak up whenever I had something to say. I talked to the customers quite often as they were very friendly. What I was surprised about was the fact that I could hold conversations with the local customers; they even knew my name after the first week of my time there.
I picked up a lot of other skills whilst working there. I coped well with being around unfamiliar people, and although I was very tired at the end of each day, I feel that I dealt with working in a pressurised environment very well. I learned that for this particular workplace to be organised, it was actually rather vital to work as a team, especially at lunch time when it was the busiest. I learned that when working as a team, things run much quicker and smoothly. I tried my very best to stay focused and to listen to whatever I had been told to do.
I was only late on the last day, but I have stated the reasons why in the Account of the Activity. As I used public transport on the way home everyday after working, I used the London Underground as part of it. The manager offered to pay £1 everyday as part of my fare, and I kept some of the receipts I received to prove that I used the money to use the tube. This evidence can be found in appendix XIV.
I am glad I have experienced this kind of work. Although I still do not wish to go into catering when I’m older, I have gained so many skills that are very useful in the kitchen, and the one I learned especially is to “use my initiative”. Whatever I believe is okay, is okay for the customer. These skills will stay with me for the rest of my life.
