Ensuring Safety In Your Restaurant Kitchen
- Written by News Company
Restaurants can be a dangerous place when it comes to health and safety, accidents, and ensuring the safety of your employees. Accidents and injuries can cost your restaurant substantial sums of money in compensation should something go awry, so it’s essential to ensure that your kitchen is running smoothly with plenty of cautious safety measures in place. Use this list to ensure your kitchen restaurant is as safe as possible to avoid any damage to your valued employees and your business.
Fire prevention:
With the high heat conditions that come with the nature of kitchen work, it’s essential that your restaurant is doing all it can to prevent the possibility of a fire occurring. These measures should include a kitchen filter that stops grease from entering the hood of your ovens, and that help keep your hoods as clean as possible at all times. Make sure the aprons, rags, and other fabrics are kept well away from hot surfaces and that electricity outlets are never overloaded with plugs. If you see equipment beginning to spark, smoke or show any signs of a problem, replace or fix them as quickly as possible.
Stop falls before they happen:
Because the kitchen in a restaurant can be a fairly chaotic environment, it’s easy for employees to get carried away running around and then slip, causing a potentially serious injury. This could cost your business dearly. Use slip resistant treatments or coating on your floors to prevent falls, and make sure the area is always kept clutter-free. You can also purchased specialised cleaning materials to ensure they reduce the risk of slipping, and utilise signs to let employees know when an area may be wet.
Prevent burns:
Burns are a common kitchen injury, both in the home and in the commercial sector, and they cause serious damage. Train your kitchen employees to avoid burns from the moment they begin working at your restaurant. Encourage employees to stand well back when a burn risk (like a braising pan) is hot, and make sure protective equipment is provided whenever necessary. Employees should also be asked to wear long sleeves to keep their arms safe and minimise the likelihood of burns on the job. You should also provide enough space in your kitchen for sufficient gaps between hobs to minimise burn risks.
Provide proper ventilation:
Ventilation is absolutely essential for any safe kitchen. Without the right ventilation, your workers will become smothered by heat and smoke, and will find it extremely difficult to do their jobs well. This is especially worrisome when long working hours are concerned and temperatures are high, as spending long periods of time in a very hot enclosed space can put employees at risk of serious illness. Use a good ventilation system to keep your employees healthy and comfortable so they can cook without feeling like they’re being cooked themselves.
Organise a safety training day:
Your employees will need to be trained on the proper health and safety measures to use to keep the kitchen a safe environment at all times. Schedule regular health and safety training days, especially when new members of staff have joined the team, where they can be taught about heavy lifting, food storage, proper food handling, and how to avoid hazards and work safely.
