Personal Safety and PPE in Kitchen Environment

Personal Safety and PPE

Every kitchen employee must lookout for their personal safety as it is very important. Due to inadequate care and ignorance these issues may lead to physical, sociological, financial or socio-economical losses or even possible death, what could be more valuable than your survival?  

Therefore when working in a kitchen must take a good care and follow the required safety procedure.

Use a dry oven cloth, not a dirty wet tea-towel when carrying or using hot pots, plates or dishes. Wet cloths carry the heat straight through to your hands or skin and this will scald. If the item is really hot, you may drop the pot or plate and cause more burns by spilling the hot food or liquid over yourself or someone near you.

Use goggles and masks (PPE) when handling cleaning chemicals or any chemicals that may have strong fumes which may burn your eyes or throat. Some chemicals are corrosive and may burn your throat or lungs if inhaled which is very painful. The effect of these fumes is not always obvious at the time. After several years problems start to show. The long-term effects of some of these products may even result in permanent disability or death.

Use gloves when handling chemicals. Some chemicals can cause bad burns.

You should NEVER lift and pour chemicals from a large container into a smaller one. The large container may be too heavy and you could spill the chemical over yourself or and anyone standing near you. This may cause a very serious bum to one or both of you requiring emergency treatment somewhen possible death.

If you have to transfer chemicals from large containers into smaller containers, you should use pumps or taps.

When lifting always keep your back straight and knees bent and lift with your legs. A demo chart has attached in this manual for the easy access.

Make sure you are trained how to use the equipment properly and safely at your workplace

Personal protective equipment (PPE)

Some tasks we do can be dangerous if we do not protect ourselves such as when we are using chemicals or dangerous equipment. Many tasks we perform in a hospitality environment will always carry some degree of risk to our safety.

When equipment such as safety glasses, gloves, ear protection and safety clothing are provided it is in your own best interests to wear and use this equipment when carrying out these dangerous tasks

You may need to use PPE when: i- Using a chemical to clean cooking equipment - gloves and safety glasses

      Are working in transport area such as a storeroom with forklifts - Hi visibility vests must be worn.

      When using power tools to carry out maintenance work - wear gloves and safety glasses

      When cleaning using any chemicals – gloves, musk and possibly safety glasses.

      When disposing of glass into bins – gloves, safety glasses

      When working where heavy items are - safety shoes (steel caps)

Occupational Health and Safety in a Kitchen environment

Occupational Health and Safety

Each piece of equipment will have a different procedure to operate it and may have very important specific safety instructions.

Look at the manual for the equipment or ask your supervisor for specific details. However there are some general safety instructions when cleaning equipment:

      Make sure the power is turned off and the plug disconnected from the power point J- Make sure the pilot light of any gas equipment is turned off

      Use protective clothing such as gloves and goggles if the chemical or equipment requires such precautions

      Ensure ventilation is adequate to disperse any fumes

      Use the correct chemical

      Don't mix different chemicals

      If you are unsure how to use a chemical or clean a specific piece of equipment ASK!

      Read the MSDS

Removing excess chemical

After cleaning equipment ensure that you have rinsed the chemical off completely before you use the equipment to prepare or cook food.Many food contamination incidents have occurred when chemicals have not been properly rinsed off the equipment before food use.

Knives                                                                                                                                                                                          NEVER put dirty knives into a washing sink, detergent and suds will hide the knife. A person putting their hands in the sink may cut themselves on a sharp knife.

Floors                                                                                                                                                                                              When mopping floors they become wet and it is easy for an unsuspecting person to slip and injure themselves on a slippery floor. When mopping the floor ensure other workers in the area know that the floor is wet and place "Slippery when wet" signs out where people can see them.

Remember always COMMUNICATE THE HAZARD!

Sharp items

When disassembling equipment such as slicers be careful with sharp blades, the can and will cause severe injury if handled in an inappropriate way.

Remove electrical plug before disassembling electrical equipment

Electrical items

Always remove the electrical plug from the wall socket BEFORE cleaning an electrical item.

Water and electricity do not mix well and it may become very dangerous causing electrocution and possibly death.

Also if the item is accidentally turned on it may start to operate and may cause serious injury.