Commercial kitchens are extremely active areas with kitchen staff moving around prepping and cooking. On the other side, attending staff in the restaurant outside also hustles around to ensure that customers stay happy with on-time serving. These activities can be dangerous if everyone is not careful.

The restaurant floors are a huge issue because of the slippery surfaces, especially if the workspaces are narrow and tight. The employees are at risk to slip and fall accidents. How can you ignore the ongoing ailments associated with their job including long shifts and extended hours of standing?

It is sensible to determine the problematic situations and try to reduce them as much as possible with proper solution.

Slippery floors

Kitchen hazard includes wet or greasy floor. Just one slip can cause mild to serious injuries, which can enforce the employee to take a leave of 6 days to several months from work. The kitchen floor gets slippery with ease. Accidental spills and natural condensation can transform a regular floor into a messy and slippery surface. Cleaning the floor can leave a residue of film and water but cleaning the mess in a busy kitchen as soon as there is a spill seems impossible.

Drainage mats are designed with slip-resistant material like vinyl or rubber. It offers your kitchen staff more traction. If there is an accidental spill the mat allows draining across the floor rather than pooling on the surface. To clean the mess, wipe the mat, pick it and wash away the residue.

Besides, in the commercial kitchen, it is sensible to take slip prevention steps at the entrance. Customers bring in snow, rain, and mud inside the establishment. This can cause slippery hazards, which are not dangerous for the customers but even your employees. You cannot help what the customers bring in but entrance logo mats can help. Ultimate Mats is a leading brand in the matting sector that has products, which help to absorb water and trap the dirt from the customer’s shoes. Thus, the floors inside the restaurant are kept dry and clean.

Extended standing on the hard flooring

Another health issue associated with commercial kitchen floors is spending hours cooking or hustling around. Standing can take a toll leading to excessive stress on the feet and calves. It is termed as ‘Ergonomic hazards’, which leads to leg soreness, muscle fatigue, and back pain. To avoid the constant pressure from hard surfaces on your body encourage regular breaks, so employees can rest their feet. Choose anti-fatigue mats, which offer employees sufficient cushion to relieve body stress as they work. A spongy material will make a huge difference, keep employees rejuvenated and productive.

Tips to enhance workplace safety

• Besides safety mats, there is a need for endorsing good footwear for that extra support and relief while hustling or working for lengthy hours.
• Keep areas clear to avoid tripping hazards. For example, someone’s feet can get caught in a loose or stuck out flooring, so ensure to address such issues.
• Choose mats with beveled edges, which ensure the carpet doesn’t stick out and lays flat on the ground.
• Educate the staff to use key callouts like ‘corner’ or ‘behind’ so that accidental collisions leading to injuries and slippery floors are avoided.

With appropriate training and tools, restaurant owners can lessen the injury and health risks!