We Need Safe Restaurants
Common Hazards in Restaurants
Somewhere between 4 to 10 people will die today in restaurants. This will be repeated again tomorrow and the day after that and so on and so on. Before this calendar year is out, thousands will be dead; literally tens of thousands will be severely injured, harmed, and maimed; and millions more (over 30 million, in fact – that’s well over 90,000 people a day) will become ill or sickened from ingesting restaurant foods and beverages that were either toxic and unsafe for human consumption or intentionally contaminated.
What is going on in America’s restaurants?
Well, the best answer we can give you is this: The restaurant industry – the industry that we dearly love and have spent our entire careers working in – is covered up with incompetence and management neglect. Many of those placed in charge of restaurant premises and restaurant employees lack dangerous condition awareness, safety and security training, and basic day-to-day operational education. This perfect storm can work together to create hazards in America’s restaurants.
Some contributing factors to hazards in restaurants may include, among others, the following:
- Working at too fast a pace
- Using machinery or tools without proper training or authority
- Inadequate staffing
- Stress
- Fatigue
- Unsafe and improper personal hygiene
- Confusing policies and procedures
- Lack of management oversight and involvement
- Lack of training
- Poor communication
These are only a few of the possible contributing factors, but ultimately, all of them can be avoided or lessened for much less than the cost of someone being sickened, harmed, injured, maimed, or killed in a restaurant. You can find out more about restaurant industry standards and best practices and the responsibilities of restaurants under OSHA guidelines in Restaurant OSHA Safety and Security ©2016 or by visiting RestaurantOSHA.com.
To find out more about Restaurant Expert Witness, Howard Cannon – America’s most sought after expert witness in restaurant and bar matters, visit RestaurantExpertWitness.com