A commercial kitchen can be a hazardous place to work if there are not sufficient safety protocols. Your team is at risk of slips and falls, cuts and puncture wounds, and heat or chemical burns. Your restaurant can be at great risk for hazards involving fire, water, or natural gas. Since there are so many potential safety issues, it’s important to take proactive steps to
ensure a safe working environment
for your team members.
1. Invest in Safety
Safety is worth investing in. There are several ways you can make your commercial kitchen safer. If you have heavy-duty industrial mixers, grinders, or slicers, purchase and install kitchen guards on this equipment and have proper operation checked as a part of your routine planned maintenance program. Purchase no-slip kitchen mats to provide a safe, grippy surface for workers to walk on. Also, require and/or provide non-slip safety shoes. For knife safety, cut-resistant gloves can protect prep cooks. One of the most important safety investments you can make is in a sprinkler system for your commercial kitchen. When a sprinkler system is used in combination with portable fire extinguishers and fire blankets, most catastrophic fire damage can be avoided. Make sure these are maintained in accordance with your existing codes.
2. Clarify Safety Procedures and Protocols
You’ve probably heard the old adage that those who fail to prepare are preparing to fail. A restaurant succeeds or fails based on the quality of the systems it puts in place to protect its employees. Keeping employees safe is the responsibility of everyone in the kitchen. Owners, head chefs, and managers can set the tone around safety in the kitchen. If leadership takes safety seriously, that approach is more likely to be echoed by other employees. To make a plan for safety,
hold training sessions to orient team members to the proper use
of equipment
like deep fryers
and meat slicers. Don’t hesitate to hold refresher sessions if you notice tools or equipment being used in an unsafe manner. To provide a visual reminder of safety protocols, post-safe-use guidelines next to commercial kitchen equipment.
3. Clean Kitchen Equipment Regularly
Cleaning your commercial kitchen equipment regularly not only helps it function optimally but also protects employees from dangerous situations like grease fires and electrical shorts. Get in the habit of checking and cleaning grease traps, flushing drainage lines, replacing filters, and double-checking equipment thermostats in your kitchen. (If you’re not sure how to set up this schedule, our
downloadable Maintenance Checklist
will help you make sure you’re hitting each piece of equipment on a monthly basis.)
Commercial kitchen equipment that isn’t functioning properly is much more likely to be a safety hazard than one that has been regularly maintained. If you’re not sure when your commercial kitchen was last assessed, it’s probably time to set up a planned maintenance schedule. On a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis, an experienced service tech can assess the functionality of each piece of equipment, replace any worn or broken parts, answer your questions, and give you the peace of mind that you’re providing a safe working environment for your employees.
For Safety and Functionality, Stick with ATECH
ATECH understands the repair needs of individual restaurants as well as large, multi-site operations. We’re committed to maintaining your equipment and fixing anything quickly, efficiently, and effectively. We bring our commitment to integrity and expertise to every single repair we make. To find out how we can help your operation keep running smoothly, reach out to us today for a
planned maintenance quote.
Share On: