Restaurant owners and managers are confronted with a slew of employment difficulties that demand their attention. Businesses in the service industry are rushing for replacement workers as a result of employees’ “great resignation” and the pandemic’s loss of over 800,000 lives in the United States.
As servers, bartenders, and wait staff, many restaurants are hiring people who have never worked in the hospitality industry. When it comes to navigating their new job, these individuals face a steep learning curve.
The maze of food storage spaces and food processing sites hidden behind the public area may startle them if their previous experience with restaurants had just been as diners. They may also be startled by how slippery and unsafe the floors in such places can be due to the grease used in cooking and frying, the soap used to clean dishes and kitchen surfaces, and even the flooring material used.
Each year, about 1 million customers and 3 million restaurant employees are injured as a result of slips and falls. Despite what you may have seen on those “funny video” television shows, slips and falls are not amusing. Head injuries, shattered bones, hip fractures, lacerations, spinal injuries, and serious burns caused by stoves or hot food are all possibilities. All of these injuries have the potential to leave a person in chronic pain for the rest of their lives. Each year, the restaurant industry spends more than $2 billion on these injuries, which are increasing by 10% per year.
To lessen the risk of slips and falls, use slip-resistant, high-traction flooring materials when expanding or remodeling existing restaurants or when establishing new restaurants. Keep the flooring material’s coefficient of friction in mind (COF). When walking on the surface, a COF of.60 suggests great friction, a COF of.50 shows adequate friction, and a COF of.40 indicates caution.
Specific kitchen-safety floor mats made of grease-resistant materials should be used. Spilled liquids and food drain through drainage pores in the mat and away from the surface.
At the entrances, brush-tip mats should be put to sweep dirt and debris off of guests’ shoes and boots. Add more highly absorbent mats to the building entrances when it rains or snows. Encourage employees to wear professional-grade footwear that is non-slip.
As a restaurant owner or manager, it is your obligation to keep your customers, clients, and workers safe. The accompanying material can assist you in learning more.
