
You could say some days are busier than others, but the life of a restaurant is nearly always turned to full blast. Waiters and waitresses speeding across the dining room delivering piping hot meals to their customers. No one wants to mess with a hungry patron. The average restaurant kitchen is a mad house of food loving chefs trying to put together the perfect plate, and support staff trying to coordinate the whole dance.
All of this can make for the perfect meal and the perfect disaster. When things are slow and steady, making safe choices is much easier. When all you’re trying to do is deliver a plate of food from one end of the restaurant to the other, the fastest route always seems more efficient. This is where a busy night in the weeds can turn into someone getting seriously injured. Below are some simple and easy to do safety measures to keep you and your staff on their toes, the whole busy night.
- Require non-slip, water proof shoes.
This is so important as anything from water, ketchup, oil and more can easily spill on the floor. Ensuring all of your employees are wearing proper non-slip and waterproof shoes can keep their feet on the ground.
- Keep items out of the walkways
Push strollers to the side, tuck highchairs in to the table and don’t leave brooms or cleaning supplies out. Make sure when you, your employees and your clients are walking no surprises will trip them.
- Take more than one trip
Don’t try and take all of the dishes from a 10 party table back at once. Over loading with plates to deliver or take away can not only cause back injuries but risk of dropping the dishes increases tremendously.
The best advice anyone can give is to slow down and work smarter, not harder. On busier nights it’s better to over staff and have plenty of hands available to help, then to push your employees and risk potential short sighted safety pit falls. Putting together easy to follow safety precautions can help your employees and clients stay safe and keep your workers compensation premiums down.
If you want more information on how to implement some safety policies for your restaurant, contact us at 800.569.0118.