Health and safety in restaurants is often overlooked because it is considered a non-high hazard industry when compared to other occupations. However, this does not mean life-changing injuries and illnesses do not occur in restaurants. In this article, we'll highlight the most common hazards in the restaurant industry and offer up some controls that will decrease the risk of having more injuries and illnesses.
Of course, you'll want to add to this list after a good inspection of your facility and a review of previous injuries or illnesses, which you can retrieve from your workers' compensation carrier.
A commonly overlooked safety issue with restaurants is ergonomics. The issues present themselves when a work station such as a dishwashing area or cooking area does not take into account proper body positioning and range of motion of the employee. Therefore, an inspection of each work station and some observation of individuals using these stations should be conducted in order to identify repetitive motions that could lead to injury. Sometimes, the purchase of new equipment or a complete re-design of the kitchen layout is required in order to eliminate the hazards. But it's still usually cheaper than a workers' comp claim for a repetitive motion disorder from working in an unsafe body position for extended lengths of time.
The purpose of a restaurant safety manual is to establish some basic policies and procedures for your restaurant that promote a safe and health workplace. A good restaurant safety manual will contain all the possible hazards your restaurant may face; allowing you to customize it to your specific restaurant by deleting or adding content yourself. Our restaurant safety manual accomplishes this and leaves room for you to add your own logo, letterhead, or other artwork you desire.