Restaurant kitchens are busy places that can have a lot of hidden dangers. Along with hot cooking surfaces, kitchens contain many areas that can cause injury to your workers. With hospitality wages starting at a minimum, even one day away from work can be financially taxing and a loss of productivity for your kitchen.
Workplace illness and injury account for millions of dollars of loss for restaurant owners. You never want your employees to become injured and have to file a lawsuit with the help of Tiemann Law Firm to cover their losses. Keeping safety as a priority in your kitchen can help save you on litigation costs and keep your workers safe.
The main cause of injury in a restaurant kitchen is an unsafe environment. When designing your kitchen setup, you need to have safety guidelines built-in to provide the safest workplace. Let’s take a closer look at a few ways that you can keep your restaurant kitchen safe for your valuable employees.
Kitchen Footwear
While many restaurant owners are focused on creating a specific look and feel for their employee’s uniforms, little consideration is given to footwear. Having the right shoes in the kitchen can mean the difference between a money-making shift and a slip and fall accident. It’s important to include specifications for proper kitchen footwear as part of your company policy. Closed-toed shoes that have a waterproof material and non-slip sole can help keep your workers safe in the kitchen.
Non-Slip Mats
Spills are inevitable when your workers are working fast in the kitchen and moving from station to station. A floor that has greasy puddles of water can create a dangerous environment. Non-slip rubberized mats can help provide the right grip and stability that busy workers in the kitchen need to stay safe.
Ventilation
With grills firing, and ovens burning, the kitchen can be a place that is filled with odors, vapors, and dangerous smoke. To ensure that your kitchen staff can breathe easily, it’s important to have a proper ventilation system. Your kitchen staff has to spend countless hours working at their stations, and without the right ventilation, the kitchen can quickly become hot and unbearable. Proper kitchen ventilation is the law, and each system should be regularly inspected for any problems.
Fire Suppression
With open flames burning in your kitchen, the risk of fire can be high. Your kitchen needs to be properly outfitted with the right Fire suppression and sprinkler. You should have strategically placed extinguishers in your kitchen along with an overhead sprinkler system. Your fire prevention plan can help to save lives and your business. Additionally, you need to maintain systematic fire extinguisher inspections to ensure all the equipment is in working order.
Equipment Guards
Commercial grade kitchen appliances are a necessity for any restaurant kitchen. Machines like rotary slicers, dicers, and grinders are essential for food preparation but can also be the source of common injury. To reduce the risk of cuts or amputations, you should install the appropriate safety guards on all of your equipment.
Keeping your kitchen staff safe and happy should be the number one priority for all restaurant owners. Setup a Fire extinguisher in the kitchen so that you can reduce your cost of injury time, keep your kitchen running efficiently and continue to create a delicious menu for your clients.
