There are dangers associated with practically every business type, and restaurants are no exception. Make sure your employees and customers are safe from a wide range of potential risks by upholding established safety standards and creating the safest workplace possible.
Several key ways you can make your restaurant safer include maintaining food hygiene rules, keeping your floors clear, providing protective attire, and hosting regular safety training. Let’s dive into each of these a bit further, along with five other ways you can improve your restaurant’s safety.
Maintain Food Hygiene Regulations
Food hygiene is always critical–especially in places where food service is a primary function. Maintaining proper food hygiene and safety can significantly reduce the risk of foodborne illnesses.
Ensure your staff is aware of all necessary safety measures they need to take when handling food, including upkeep personal hygiene and understanding how to handle food for patrons with allergies or intolerances. This can reduce liability risks for both you and your staff.
Keep the Floor Clear
Employees must be able to move quickly and efficiently around their restaurant, which makes the likelihood of accidents higher than in other workplaces. One way to avoid potential accidents related to running around in a fast-paced environment is by keeping floors and stairways clear.
Don’t leave boxes, drop cords, or other items in walkways, and make sure to use floor mats in areas that are more prone to getting wet, like in front of sinks and outside bathrooms. Additionally, you may consider installing handrails by stairs to reduce falls.
Provide Protective Attire
Restaurants are one specific workplace where uniforms are almost universally required. Uniforms work to promote both a sense of unified professionalism and the overall safety of workers.
If employees don’t wear uniforms, the clothing options they select may be too loose and get caught on equipment, and if it’s too tight and restricts motion. Further, some fabrics may not prevent burns or other accidents the way the fabric restaurant uniforms would.
Additionally, proper footwear can prevent slip-and-fall accidents in addition to providing solid support for the feet so that employees can comfortably work throughout their shifts.
Be Aware of Fire Risks
In America, more than 60% of all fires are caused by cooking equipment-related incidents, and approximately 10% are caused by electrical distribution and lighting equipment–both of which are almost always found in kitchens. This makes fire hazards extremely high in restaurants.
You need to make sure your staff are aware of potential fire risks and know how to prevent them from occurring. Additionally, make sure your staff is trained to handle small fires and know where fire extinguishers and blankets are in case they need them.
Further, have proper smoke alarms and fire suppression systems in place so that employees and customers can easily be alerted when they need to evacuate the building.
Perform Regular Equipment Maintenence
Regular equipment maintenance can prevent a host of problems from arising and establish better safety standards for your employees. If your equipment isn’t working properly, you run a much greater risk of employee harm and other accidents.
Make sure you have a professional regularly check over all of your equipment and electrical features, including power cords, to ensure proper equipment maintenance is maintained. Never use equipment that is damaged, as the risk of an electrical fire may be much greater with damaged equipment than with working appliances and electrical features.
Host Regular Safety Training
One of the best ways you can promote employee safety across the board is by hosting regular safety training and demonstrations. These can be great tools for making your employees aware of certain risks and teaching them how to avoid problems. You can include everything from fire safety to emergency drills, evacuations, and more to normalize appropriate actions in dangerous situations.
Display Safety Signage
Proper safety signage can improve your restaurant’s safety in two ways. Primarily signage can make employees aware of certain safety concerns like wet floors or flammable chemicals. This can prevent slip-and-fall accidents and risks associated with chemical fires.
However, safety signage serves a secondary purpose as it can reduce the restaurant’s liability if an accident like a slip-and-fall occurs where proper signage is displayed.
Upkeep Proper Cleaning Procedures
When you implement proper cleaning procedures, you can greatly reduce the amount of risk in both your kitchen and dining areas. Cleaning processes can remove potential hazards like slippery substances on floors or bacteria on dishes, counters, or other surfaces. By establishing and maintaining proper cleaning procedures, you can make your restaurant safer for both employees and customers alike.
Get the Right Insurance Policy
If all other safety options fail, make sure you have a solid insurance policy in place to prevent–or at least reduce–your liability and financial burden if you face a lawsuit or related charges. Insurance policies can protect you on several fronts, including providing coverage for your work vehicles, building and property, worker’s compensation, and more.
Want to Make Your Restaurant Safer?
If you want to make your restaurant safer for your employees, consider implementing a few–or better yet, all–of these best practices.
And to learn more about maintaining safety standards or to speak with a professional about the best insurance types for your restaurant, contact one of our top-tier agents today!