Standard questions for competence assurance forms You ll know that many of the elements of competence for your staff can be evidenced by questions and answer session to test people s understanding. From example questions that have been used by your colleagues we have collated some of the best ones and put them together for you to use. You ll see a group of example questions and standard answers for each competence below. Please note that the answers are meant to be generally applicable, and you should check any standards that apply to your particular area of work, just to make sure they are right for you. We want to keep adding to this resource to make your job in assessing staff as simple and useful as possible. If you d like to add to this or have any queries on what s here, please drop me a line at domenico.dambruoso@sodexo.com Thanks! Domenico D Ambruoso Learning and Development Manager
Competence - Food Hygiene What is meant by food contamination? Personal Hygiene Can you explain to me the importance of personal Hygiene and the dangers of poor Personal Hygiene in the role you do Or What are the personal hygiene practices we expect in any of the following areas: - Uniform? - Shoes / Safety Shoes? - Hats? - Jewellery? Identify 3 unhygienic practices to be avoided when preparing food How would you store raw meat in relation to cooked foods? Explain what is meant by the danger zone, in terms of food temperatures? Food contamination is the presence in food of any harmful substance or object, known as a food hazard. 1. There is a risk to of contamination of food 2. unpleasant for the customers and your colleges 3. All clothing must be clean and washed after each shift shoes to be kept clean 4. Hair to be covered by a hat or hair net and hat 5. all ways wash your hands after breaks and after have a cigarette and if handling different foods 6. No jewellery to be worn while at work 7. all way report any infection or if you feel unwell 8. all wounds and cuts to be covered with a water proof blue plaster Nose picking Coughing / sneezing Nail biting Scratching or touching face, head hair or ears Nail biting Licking fingers Smoking Chewing gum and drinking If possible, raw meat should be kept in a sealed container, and if storing raw and cooked meats in the same fridge ensure that raw meats are stored below cooked meats. Bacteria that cause food poisoning grow at temperatures between 5 c and 63 c. They grow most rapidly at a temperature of 37 c which is the normal temperature of the human body.
Competence - Food Hygiene Temperature Controls Can you explain to me the importance of understanding Temperature controls in a variety of areas of work and the role of the food safety management system on board? What would you do if a freezer, chiller, hot press etc. was found to be outwith the safe temperature range? Fridges All fridge s on the unit should run at a temp of below 5 degrees Freezers Freezers should run at a temp of below -18 Dishwasher The dishwasher should wash at a temp of 55 to 65 degrees and have a rinse cycle of above 85 degrees Times for temperature recording The temperature of fridges and freezers should be taken a recorded 2 a day Am & Pm The temperature of the dishwasher should be taken before each meal service and recorded Reporting Defects Any defects found should be reported to the chef Manager or if on night shift to the NCB Any defective equipment should not be used until it has been fixed or told to use once fixed by the chef manager Check the core temperature of the food at risk. If the core temperature is OK investigate an alternate store for the food. Alert a supervisor.
Competence - Food Hygiene What can you tell me about how we store our food on the unit? Use the first in, first out (FIFO in accounting) rule meaning that foods should be used in the order they are delivered. Date goods and place the new behind the old on your storage shelves. Keep all foods wrapped and clean. Each item in your walk-in refrigerator, freezer and your dry storage should be in a sealed labelled container or package with the contents and date received. Store raw meat and poultry in clean, sealed containers on the bottom shelf of the fridge, so they can't touch or drip onto other food. For Chefs / Chef Managers Explain the HACCP system, how it is managed and maintained Cooked and raw meat should be stored separately HACCP consists of seven important steps to ensure food safety The 7 steps of HACCP are as follows Assess hazards and potential risks. Identify critical control points including cross contamination, cooking, cooling, hygiene. Set up procedures to make sure safety is maintained at all critical control points. Monitor critical control points and use the correct signs, tools, and training materials to ensure this. Take corrective actions as soon as a critical control point is in jeopardy or when any violations are pointed out
by annual audit Set up a record-keeping system to log all of your flowcharts and temperature checks Keep up with the system to make sure it is working.
Competence Manual Handling What responsibilities do employees have under the Manual Handling Operation Regulations 1992? (name at least 2) It s always important to think and plan the lift before carrying it out. Can you give at least 2 examples of things you should consider before carrying out the lift? You come across an item which is too heavy to lift by yourself. Give at least 2 suggestions of what you might do. At what age are you most likely to suffer back pain? Which is the worst position for your back? Employees have general health and safety duties to: - follow appropriate systems of work laid down for their safety - make proper use of equipment provided for their safety - co-operate with their employer on health and safety matters - inform the employer if they identify hazardous handling activities - take care to ensure that their activities do not put others at risk Check the weight of item Potential hazards in the area Your posture and position Route Investigate alternatives to carrying See if there are lifting aids that can help you See if there are colleagues that can assist Speak to your supervisor See if the item can be broken up into smaller lifting chunks Under 25 Bending forwards and twisting
Competence 2 Manual Handling Which of the following can cause back problems? Answer, all of them - Poor workplace design - Working in fixed positions - Driving - Poor posture Which of the following structures can be damaged by poor manual handling? - Nerves - Discs - Muscles - Ligaments Answer, all of them
Competence Safe Systems of Work What is your understanding of the It is a logical and practical approach purpose of a safe system of work on to documenting all the hazards, safety board (or on site)? precautions and safe working practices associated with all activities performed by employees. What would you do if a piece of equipment stopped working, or started to malfunction? Switch off, isolate and seek assistance from a supervisor. Do not use. Where would you find the unit or site s safe system of work? Site specific What fire fighting equipment and alarms do we have in place around our work areas? If there was a fire in your area of work, what would you do? Fire safety incident Can you explain to me what you would do if you came across a fire or smoke in the galley/accommodation Can you explain to me the procedure for reporting Defective Equipment as part of the Safe Systems of work? Site specific Site specific 1. First I would raise the alarm by hitting a fire alarm box or call the control room 2. Make sure that you hit the emergency shut down switch out side the galley/laundry 3. make sure the area is clear of all personal 4. if safe to do so and you feel comfortable to do so try to tackle the fire your self 1. First isolate the piece of defective equipment 2. Report to your line manager or the onboard REP 3. Place a do not use sign on defective equipment 4. Make everybody aware of the defective equipment
Competence Risk Assessment What is a risk assessment? Why should you conduct risk assessments? When should you do a risk assessment? How do I do a risk assessment? A systematic method of looking at work activities, considering what could go wrong and deciding on suitable control measures to prevent loss, damage or injury in the workplace. The assessment should include the controls required to eliminate, reduce or minimise risks. Our aim is to reduce risks as far as reasonably practical. Risk assessment helps you identify risks that we can put ourselves, our clients or others at through doing our work. Once we know what the risks are, we can put in place suitable controls. You should carry out an assessment before you do work which presents a risk of injury or ill-health, if there are changes to procedures or equipment or if advised my your supervisor. Start by: - identifying what can cause harm to people in your workplace; - identifying who might be harmed and how; - evaluating the risks and deciding on the appropriate controls, taking into account the controls you already have in place - recording your risk assessment; reviewing and updating your assessment What is a hazard? What is a risk? A hazard is anything that may cause harm e.g. chemicals, electricity, working from ladders, noise etc. Risk is the chance, high or low, of somebody being harmed by the hazard, and how serious the harm could be.
Competence - COSHH Complete the blanks C of S Hazardous to H Name 3 Golden Rules from the Sodexo CoSHH training. Name 3 items you would find on a safety data sheet Control of Substances Hazardous to Health 1. Use the right chemicals for the job 2. Never mix chemicals 3. Add chemical to water, not water to chemical 4. Use protective clothing & Equipment 5. Use dispensing Equipment where possible 6. Never taste or smell chemicals 7. Never use unknown chemicals 8. Always read the label 9. Store chemicals in original containers 10. Safely dispose of empty containers 11. Report chemical problems to supervisor 1. Identification of product and company 2. Composition/Information on Ingredients 3. Hazard Identification 4. First aid measures 5. Fire-fighting measures 6. Accidental release measures 7. Handling and storage 8. Exposure controls/personal protection 9. Physical and chemical properties 10. Stability and reactivity 11. Toxicological information 12. Ecological information 13. Disposal considerations 14. Transport information 15. Regulatory information
Competence - COSHH Different chemicals require different types of PPE to be worn. How would you know what PPE should be used for each different chemical and where would you find this information? It is important to store chemicals in the original containers, why is this and where should they be stored? - CoSHH Assessments - Safety Data Sheets - Label of the products Possible answers but not limited to: It s important to store chemicals in their original containers so that they are easily identifiable. All chemicals when not in use should be store in the CoSHH store located in the Hygiene store on Ground floor so that only authorised personnel can get access to them (site specific).