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Safe Serving & Busing Operations for Restaurants
Loss Control Bulletin #33
Employees that perform serving and
busing functions in a restaurant are exposed to a wide variety of hazards and
working conditions. At times, the work
must be done at a very rapid pace resulting in increased possibility of injury.
Injuries sustained by these workers tend
to fall in the categories of slip and fall
injuries, cuts, and muscular strains; all
capable of producing loss time injuries
that can develop into costly claims to
the insurer and ultimately the employer.
Fortunately, with planning, training, and
implementation of some basic safety
rules, many of these injuries can be prevented.
Planning for injury prevention to the
serving staff is best accomplished during the early stages of designing or redesign of the restaurant facilities. Although ideal conditions are seldom possible to achieve, the plan should address
as many of the following conditions as
possible:
Provide smooth, durable, slip resistant flooring materials.
Eliminate the need for servers to
have to use stairs in any part of the
busing process.
Provide good illumination throughout the path of travel used by the
serving staff.
Avoid creating server traffic paths
that will also be heavily used by
customers accessing exits, lounges,
or rest rooms.
Provide traffic paths that are wide
enough to accommodate service
carts or that allow traffic flow in
both directions.
Eliminate bottleneck areas or likely
collision points.
Install wide view mirrors in high
traffic areas where travel around a
corner is required.
Install swing type doors with see
through windows in openings leading from the kitchen to the dining
area.
Provide wheeled carts for servers to
use for delivery of food to the tables or at minimum, provide service trays that can be readily set up
near the table to be served.
Provide wheeled carts for busing
personnel to remove dirty tableware.
If carts are not to used for busing,
consider selecting lighter weight
dinnerware so as to reduce the potential for strain injuries to busing
staff.
If carpeting is installed in the dining area, promptly repair any damaged sections.
Provide security lighting in dark
areas leading to employee parking
lots.
Provide security cameras to deter
robbery attempts.
Safety training is another important
means of reducing injuries to serving
and busing staff. Injury prevention
training should include:
Initial safety orientation for every
new restaurant employee, including
a complete tour of the restaurant
facilities, and emergency exits.
Providing every new employee
with a copy of the restaurant’s written safety rules and procedures.
Providing every new employee
with training for safe lifting and
serving procedures for serving customers and when removing dirty
tableware.
Posting on a bulletin board, copies
of written instructions for the entire
serving staff to follow when traveling between the kitchen, dining,
and dishwashing areas.
Providing guidelines for maintaining a safe working pace during
busy time periods.
Providing guidance in the selection
of comfortable, slip-resistant footwear.
Providing training in sanitary procedures to follow that minimize
possibility of spreading germs or
potentially harmful bacteria.
Providing training in procedures to
follow in the event of a holdup.
Safety rules must be thoughtfully
crafted to address specific conditions
and potential exposures found in a particular workplace. Once adopted, rules
must be clearly communicated to all
employees. Most importantly, rules are
only effective in preventing injuries if
they are consistently enforced throughout the workforce. Servers and busing
personnel need to be familiar with all of
the safety rules adopted by their employer. The following list should be
used as a primer to develop specific
safety rules dealing with food service
exposures:
Selection and required use of comfortable and slip resistant footwear;
The guidelines provided in this bulletin are only intended to provide an overview of some of the more important steps that can be taken by restaurant management to establish
a safe workplace. The guidelines are not considered exhaustive of all measures and controls that can be implemented by management to address all potential loss or injury
producing causes. Ultimately it is the responsibility of management to take the necessary steps to provide for employee and customer safety.
© Copyright 2001 by Republic Indemnity Company of America
All rights reserved. -- Updated: Tuesday April 4, 2006
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Safe Serving & Busing Operations for Restaurants
Loss Control Bulletin #33
prohibit the use of high heeled
shoes.
Require prompt reporting and clean
up of spills throughout the premises.
Require immediate reporting of all
injuries, however minor, to an immediate supervisor.
Require the use of serving and busing carts if operations permit.
If serving carts are not used, establish a maximum safe limit of the
number of serving plates that may
be carried to the tables in a single
trip. The weight of the dinnerware
is the critical factor in setting the
safe carrying limit.
Require prompt reporting of trip
and fall hazards and immediate correction of hazards.
If equipment with moving parts or
other dangerous machinery is used,
prohibit employees from wearing
loose clothing or jewelry that may
become entangled.
Require the use of rubber or other
non-porous gloves during clean up
operations, etc.
Establish and post on a bulletin
board safety and health rules on
proper clean up procedures specific
to working and walking surfaces,
equipment, utensils, cookware, dinnerware, cutlery, etc.
Establish and post safety and health
rules pertaining to hand washing,
smoking, food and beverage consumption while on duty and on
breaks.
Establish rules prohibiting storage
of materials in walkways, stairs,
etc.
Post written rules for safe handling
of knives, broken glass or dinnerware.
Post written rules on safe operation
of trash compactors or other similar
devices.
Provide proper initial and periodic
re-training to all staff members on
proper lifting procedures for heavy
items.
Provide initial and periodic retraining to every staff member on
safe use of cleaning agents and recommended personal protective
equipment.
Establish rules and procedures to
address employee security prior to
and following restaurant service
hours.
Provide initial training and periodic
retraining to every staff member on
procedures to follow in the event of
a robbery.
Prohibit horseplay on the premises
and in employee parking lots.
The above list does not include all possible conditions that may require the
need for safety rules in your workplace.
Additional rules should be developed to
address your restaurant’s particular operations and exposures. If you require
additional assistance, please contact
Republic Indemnity’s loss control department.
The guidelines provided in this bulletin are only intended to provide an overview of some of the more important steps that can be taken by restaurant management to establish
a safe workplace. The guidelines are not considered exhaustive of all measures and controls that can be implemented by management to address all potential loss or injury
producing causes. Ultimately it is the responsibility of management to take the necessary steps to provide for employee and customer safety.
© Copyright 2001 by Republic Indemnity Company of America
All rights reserved. -- Updated: Tuesday April 4, 2006