Properly located restaurant equipment is the key to a safer restaurant
Restaurants can be a hazardous place to work. The combination of sharp knives, hot cooking equipment, cluttered walkways and a hectic workplace can result in a variety of injuries, small to large.
However, most of these injuries can be avoided with proper organization and restaurant equipment. The first step should always be to provide training. A large number of injuries in kitchens are burns caused by hot equipment. Take new chefs through the paces during an off hour of the workday to give them time to familiarize themselves with your kitchen. You should also make sure to provide a large quantity of clean chef's cloths so that kitchen workers have access at all times. The chefs cloths will provide easy ways to handle hot pans or equipment.
Including a large walk in cooler for food storage is another good way to keep a kitchen safe. With enough room to properly store foods, you can make sure that clutter is kept off the floors and out of workspaces, reducing obstacles for fast moving chefs. Proper organization inside the cooler will also allow for more efficient gathering of ingredients. This will reduce the amount of blind rushing to keep up with order volume, and allow chefs more time to act safely.
Dedicated equipment for often ordered items like pasta or rice will help free up space on busier pieces of restaurant equipment. With less dishes vying for attention on a commercial range, the chef working at the range will have a less hectic work environment, allowing them to pay more attention to personal safety as well as food safety and quality.
Investing in a commercial ice machine is a good way to improve safety as well. A properly maintained and organized ice machine will allow you to create large amounts of ice in an area separate from the hustle of the kitchen and service stations. This can prevent spills and loose ice from finding its way onto the floor in the path of a cook with dangerous equipment.
The wait staff can also be prone to danger to themselves and customers. Having enough food carts, and serving trays can be very important to keep waiters from attempting to carry more plates than they can handle. Overloading on dishes could result in an accident that would effect not only employees but customers as well.
Proper restaurant equipment and organisation can be a great start towards making your business a safer place.