Occupational Safety and health can be important for moral, legal, and financial reasons.

All
organisations have a duty of care to ensure that employees and any other person who may
be affected by the companies undertaking remain safe at all times. Moral obligations
would involve the protection of employee's lives and health. Legal reasons for OSH
practices relate to the preventative, punitive and compensatory effects of laws that
protect worker's safety and health. OSH can also reduce employee injury and illness
related costs, including medical care, sick leave and disability benefit costs.

REASONS FOR OCCUPATIONAL STANDARDS

There are three main reasons that have been generally accepted as why moves to improve
occupational safety. As the name suggests, it is the idea that the workplace is as safe as possible for
those who work on it. This means that a great deal of scrutiny is foisted upon every aspect of the
workplace because danger can come from a wide variety of things

1. MORAL - It is the idea that no-one should have to risk their health for the sake of work, and
that any risks at work can reduced or eradicated altogether.
2. ECONOMIC- If someone is injured at work, then it can cost the whole society a great deal of
money. Primarily, it can cost the taxpayer a lot of money because of medical costs
ASSOCIATED WITH ANY INJURY.
3. LEGAL- Firms are legally required to invest in occupational health and safety in order that
they never face legal proceedings resulting from an injury in the workplace.
HAZARD IDENTIFICATION AND RISK CONTROL

Accidents are preventable, as long as you take a proactive approach to health and safety. By
implementing a system of hazard identification and risk control, you can prevent workplace injuries
and diseases.

1. IDENTIFY HAZARDS – Consider the area of your workplace when looking for hazards. Think
about conditions or work activities that could put your employees or guests at risk.
For example, you might find hazards such as unguarded machinery in the kitchen or a wet
floor in the front entrance of your workplace. Ask your staff if they have any specific health
and safety concerns.

2. ASSESS THE RISKS - Once you have identified a hazard, evaluate the risks associated with it.
There are two basic questions to ask when considering a hazard: how likely is an incident
and how serious would it be if it occurred? A risk assessment will help you prioritize the
hazards so you know which ones to deal with first.

Once you have identified the hazards and assessed the risks, look for ways to control them.
The basic types of controls are elimination or substitution, engineering controls,
administrative controls, and personal protective equipment.

 ELIMINATION OR SUBSTITUTION
Whenever possible, eliminate hazards so there’s no risk of injury. Ask the following:
Is the task necessary to begin with?
Can the hazardous part of the task be removed?
Can the task be done in such a way that no workers are exposed to the hazard?

If you can't eliminate the hazard, substitute a safer material or process. Ask the
following:
Can a different machine or tool be used?
Can a less hazardous material or chemical be used?
Will alternative practices reduce exposure to the hazard?

 ENGINEERING CONTROLS
Engineering controls are physical changes to the way tasks are done - for example re-
designing workstations or modifying equipment to make it safer or more ergonomic.

 ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROLS
Administrative controls are changes to the way work is organized and performed. This
can include planning, organizing, and scheduling of resources and staffing.

Safe work practices and procedures are an important form of administrative control.
  PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE)
PPE provides protection against hazards. It should be used when other safety controls
are not practical, or in addition to other controls. For example, to help prevent slips,
trips, and falls make sure your employees wear slip-resistant footwear.

Figure 1. Occupational Safety Hazards

SOLUTIONS FOR HAZARDS IN FOOD SERVICE

Figure 2. Solutions for Hazards in Food Service

HAZARD # 4 HEAVY LOADS

Heavy Loads, especially those that are unstable (for example, enclosed weight that moves, such as
bottles of liquid) increase strain on the muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves in the neck, upper
back, arms, lower back and pelvis. To reduce the hazard of very heavy and/or unsteady loads, there
are many things owners, managers and workers of a restaurant can do.

• Use cats to move food production in and trash out.

• Use equipment to assist with pours.
• Store heavy loads between chest and shoulders.
• Organize work to reduce reaching, bending, pulling and squatting.
• Get help form co-workers when handling bulky or heavy loads.
• Clear your walking path of objects and debris hen handling heavy materials.
• Make sure the walking path is not slippery.
• Bring the load you are carrying as close as possible to your body.
• Keep your head and torso up.
• Free your fingers and toes from underneath a box or load before placing it down.

HAZARD # 5 FORCEFUL USES OF YOUR HAND MUSCLES

Forceful use of your hand muscles can result in injuries in back, shoulders, arms, wrists and fingers.
There are many things that can be done to reduce the force needed to do everyday tasks:

• Use large, rubber coated handles or knives, spoons, ladles and forks to increase friction.
• Use carts or hand trucks; buy lighter tools; buy tools that allow workers to keep their wrists
straight.
• Grip objects, tools, equipment and knives with the whole hand, not just a few fingers.
• Pick up items form the bottom, using the whole hand. Avoid using only a few fingers.
• Make the handles thicker on small tools; put tool down when not in use.
HAZARD #7 BURNS

To reduce burns from hot surfaces (grills, stoves) hot oil and grease, there are many things owners,
managers and workers should do.

• Use splashguards around hot surfaces.

• Use materials handling devices, such as rolling carts with handles for moving vats.
• Use dry potholders and mitts.
• Use pours assist devices.
• Have burn fast aid kits.
• Dry food before placing in hot oil.
• Never leave hot oil unattended.
• Use lids and covers.
• Keep liquids away from fryers.
• Turn off stove when not in uses.
• Place food ain boiling water slowly to reduce splash.
• Use long oven gloves or mitts for deep ovens.
 • Do not open cookers and stream oven when they are under pressure.
• Open lids away from you.
• Get help when handling heavy containers of hot liquid.

HAZARD #8 CUTS AND LACERATIONS

Cuts and lacerations can be caused by knives and unguarded machines. To reduce the risk of these
types of injuries, the following can be done.

• Make sure that machine guards are installed on all meat slicers, mixers, baking machines,
and similar types of equipment.
• Never remove machine guards when in use.
• Never operate any machine unless you are trained in its use.
• Never cut meat in a slicer once it becomes too tin; use a knife to complete the cutting.
• Cut and slice away from the body.
• Keep knives sharpened daily.
• Store knives properly in knife racks, not metal or plastic containers.
• Use a damp cloth under cutting board to reduce movement of the board.
• Do not place knives near the edge of the countertop.
• Separate broken glass from trash.
 FIRE HAZARD

Cooking fires are the primary cause of home fires and home fire injuries. The majority of
cooking equipment fires start with the ignition of common household items (i.e., wall
coverings, paper or plastic bags, curtains, etc.

Figure 3. Solutions for Hazards in Food Service

RESTAURANT KITCHEN FIRE PREVENTION

 Inspect sold fuel cooking appliances on a monthly basis.
 Have cooking appliances in low-volume kitchens inspected quarterly.
 Have cooking appliances in moderate-volume kitchens inspected twice a year.
  Have cooking appliances in high-volume kitchens inspected quarterly.
 Equip cooking appliances with non-combustible grease filters.
 Place only non-combustible, easily cleaned racks, trays, spacers, and containers
inside ovens.
 Vent cooking appliances to the exterior of the building.
 Empty all grease containers at least once a day.
 Install appliances at an adequate distance from other surfaces.
 Train all kitchen staff on the hazards of fuel-air combustion, explosive materials, and
ignition sources as well as how to operate equipment properly.

IN CASE OF A FIRE

Many fires that start in the kitchen are caused by overheated grease or oil.

• Grease fires are put out by smothering the fire; that means not letting air get to the fire.
• Cover the pan or fryer with a tight fitting lid.
• Do not pour water onto a grease fire; it will make the fire worse.
• Do not carry the burning pan or fryer to the kitchen sink or outdoors.
• Grease fires can be put out with a fire extinguisher.
• Provide a multi-purpose fire extinguisher for your kitchen.
• If the fire spreads rapidly, call the fire department.

ERGONOMICS REDUCES INJURIES

Ergonomics is the science of designing the workplace to fit the worker, rather than expecting a
worker to fit into the job that has not been designed correctly. A poorly designed workplace puts
workers at risk of getting hurt. These physical hazards include:

• Unnatural and awkward body positions

• Continuously performing the same motion over and over again during a work shift.
• Standing for long periods of time in one spot.
• Manual handling (lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling, carrying, holding, filling, emptying) of
heavy and awkward boxes, crates, trays, equipment or garbage.

In fixing the problem, there are three ways to work safer:

1. Eliminate the hazards so the co-workers can’t go near them.

2. Change the way work is done by workers so there is less contact with hazards
3. Put protective equipment on the workers bodies.
WHAT IS WORKPLACE VIOLENCE?
It is any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening disruptive
behaviour that occurs at the work site.

SAFE WORK PRACTICES

Safe Work Written safe work practices provide employees with instructions on how to carry out
specific tasks and how to protect themselves against known hazards. Practices

How can work guidelines and policies make work healthier?

• Adequate rest breaks, less overtime, paid sick days can reduce the amount of time your
employees are exposed to the health hazard.
• Better staffing can reduce how much your employees have to get done.
• Fair and equal

References:
Yeung, M. (2019). Edric Publishing House. Risk Management with HACCP
Hopkin, P. (2018). Fundamentals of Risk Management as Applied to Safety, Security and Sanitation