Kitchen restaurant hazards: spillages and leaks

Kitchen restaurant hazards: spillages and leaks

For a health and safety officer combating potential workplace injuries, you’d be hard pressed to find somewhere as hazardous as a restaurant kitchen. The environment is incredibly fast-paced, and there’s so many things that happen each day that can put your employees at risk.

spill on restaurant kitchen floor and worker stood in puddle while using electrical equipment, possibility of electric shock

As you know, part of a health and safety officer’s job is staying on top of these risks. Sometimes, though, this is easier said than done. There’s so many common risks. From blocked fire escapes to damaged electrical wiring and everything in between. You constantly have to stay on guard to make sure everyone is safe.

Liquid spillages and leaks

There is some good news, however, as one of the most common dangers can also be the easiest to solve. It’s likely that staff be working with various oils, fats and liquids on a day to day basis. If employees don’t take care with these they can end up spilling or splattering onto the floor, leaving a dangerous area for their colleagues.

kitchen worker carrying a big container of food and about to slip on pool of liquid on floor, restaurant health and safety cartoon

Water can also easily escape the kitchen dishwasher as your staff change the racks, and sinks and basins can easily overflow leaving puddles on the floor. It’s natural for staff who work long hours to want to rush through the pile of dirty dishes as quickly as possible, but it can be hazardous for the rest of their team.

Similarly, if staff are in a hurry when transporting oil around the kitchen, the contents will likely land on the floor. In cleaning any spillages, mop buckets can easily be overfilled with water and cleaning liquid, or left scattered about in the kitchen haphazardly. It’s also really common for trips to occur with an abandoned mop bucket.

Reducing the risk to your employees

While spillages can be really common, there are a few tips and tricks you can implement right away that can help make your kitchen a safer working environment:

  • Require employees to wear non-slip footwear
  • Install flooring materials that have good grip
  • Implement a safe transport method for oils and other liquids that move frequently around the area
  • Use equipment that prevents liquids from escaping, like special mop bucket lids
  • Use brightly coloured materials to draw employees’ attention to potential hazards
  • Create visual cues around the kitchen that highlights any danger

Your could also design a comprehensive training manual for staff, and advise them of what the health and safety best practices are. One way to help increase the ‘stickyness’ of your training is to include visual imagery. Although lengthy training sessions and coaching are important, you also want a method that will actually resonate with your employees long after they leave the workplace.

One visual medium you should consider is cartoons. These work tremendously well, especially if they convey the information in a humorous way. I have designed a cartoon that highlights the many common restaurant healthy and safety risks, which is also light hearted and fun. You can find out more details about this cartoon here. I also offer a bespoke service, so if you have something else in mind or would like custom work done please contact me here and we can discuss.

The above cartoons are extracts from my ‘restaurant-kitchen-health-and-safety-cartoon’ which you can purchase from this link: http://www.cartoonmotivators.com/Restaurant-Kitchen-health-and-safety-hazards.html

What incidents have taken place in your office?

What incidents have taken place in your office?

office health and safety hazard spotting cartoon, woman in extra high heels, falling down uncovered manhole, over reaching on ladder

In the course of a busy day, who hasn’t attempted to carry too many things at once in order to hurry through a task or overloaded a power-socket to make sure that all of the necessary electrical appliances were operating? Collectively, it’s a humorous take on the various health and safety issues that can cause serious problems in the workplace, but taking each issue individually on its own merits, it’s a handy reminder of how to not to behave in the workplace.

Workplaces cannot afford for employees to suffer an injury in the workplace. An injured person who isn’t in work means that the company is light an employee with their work being left untouched or leaving other people to shoulder the burden of their absence. This may impact on the level of service provided to the end consumer or it may result in a company having to hire temporary staff to cover their absence. The thing about staff members suffering an injury in work, these issues are only the beginning of a company’s troubles.

Health and Safety Cartoons – Childhood Memories

Health and Safety Cartoons

Using health and safety cartoons has been proven as very beneficial and effective, especially in the workplace. The cartoons grasp people’s attention quickly and the messages they’re sending are understood easily and within seconds. This can help save a person’s life or prevent losing a limb so it’s an investment that will definitely be worth your money. If you use a professional cartoonist to create customized health and safety cartoons for you, your entire workforce can benefit.

guy stood back on a ladder admiring his work - he doesn't realise he's going to fall off the ladder

Childhood Memories

One of the reasons for the effectiveness of the health and safety cartoons is that we all grew up with cartoons and have learned how they function. The cartoons are also something we all like(d) to watch so they’re real attention grabbers. The audience likes cartoons and many industries are using this fact to make successful advertising campaigns. Cartoons get the message across within a few moments, and the message can be comprehended by many people. On the other hand, if you only use written text, many won’t bother to read it and a portion of those who do read it may not understand it. In addition, a professionally drawn health and safety cartoon will also contain a pinch of humor to lighten up the atmosphere without minimising the dangers that are lurking. When the cartoon is skilfully made, the concept is clear and the message is strong and effective.

Lowering the tension

Again, the cartoons we watched as children made a positive impact on us. They were filled with humour and made us feel good. In the same manner, using health and safety cartoons around the workplace can help reduce the tension and make people more relaxed, counting the happiness and fun associated with cartoons. These cartoons can also work as conversation starters and get people to talk about them. That’s something a dull message or a sign can never do. You can get your workers to unite around it with humor but with a serious underline meaning.

 

How to get the most out of the health and safety cartoons

How to get the most out of the health and safety cartoons

worker incorrectly lifting heavy motor bending his back and not his knees. Buttons from his overalls ping off hitting colleague in the eye who's not wearing PPE

Health and safety cartoons can deliver a major impact, but only if they’re made by professionals who already have experience in the area. A good and customized health and safety cartoon will work specifically for your workplace and it can help save lives and protect your property from damage, hence saving you significant amount of money. Get your health and safety cartoons from Richard Duszczak, cartoonist for hire to get your message through in a lighthearted way.