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)