EMPLOYEE SAFETY AT WORK

Some eight years ago, my buddy and colleague at work started complaining about back pains and within a year the pain became unbearable. Like professional football player with recurring groin injury, he had to end his illustrious career in the hospitality industry prematurely. Of course this has been the lot of hotel workers who by virtue of their jobs are exposed to hazardous situations and unsafe environment. It is becoming increasingly difficult for hotel employees to perform at the optimal level with obvious risks they face while on duty. This piece will summarily explore the vast terrain of employee safety and regulation procedures and compliance.

We must however first agree that keeping employees safely in work environment is one of the vital ingredients in keeping medical cost of employees down. Keeping medicals down will have tremendous impact on balance of profit. Having established that, management must embark on education and training of employees in this regard. This training will cover good body movements, slip, trip and fall prevention and material handling procedures. In brief, the goal of good body mechanics is to keep the spine in natural state as much as possible. Material handling procedures will expose employees to luggage handling and usage of fragile equipments. Slip, trip and fall prevention is not as obvious as it appears but cannot be adequately dealt with here.

Structurally, management must ensure proper lightings around the work area, head room must be cleared and legible signs posted in conspicuous places describing work in progress like, ‘wet floor’ or ‘fresh paint’. Management should be discerning when picking active agents for cleaning for housekeeping and the laundry. There a lot of chemicals out there that can cause skin irritation, burning and even in extreme cases emit harmful fumes. Providing employees with animated posters that preach safety and health regulations at work is a sure way of minimizing occupational hazards.

  From employees’ point of view, safety at work is a top priority. As a receptionist in my early days at the industry I used to stand for average 10 hours in a day. Our body is a sophisticated recording machine that will at one time play back all abuses we may have subjected it to. Believe me, this took its toll. So, employees should take the following precautions while on duty;

• Make sure entries, exits and hallways are clear of obstructions.
• Be careful when storing supplies and tools. Do not stack them on top of lockers or moveable containers and return every item to its right place. Pile them levelly for storage, with flat, stable items on the bottom, each layer cross tied and nails or other pointed objects unexposed.
• Tools and items stored from racks or hooks should not be directly overhead walkways.
• Maintain and clean tools and report defective equipment to supervisors.
• Lay out extension cords, hoses and tools in a way that minimizes the risk of tripping.
• Prevent fires by disposing of packing material, emptying waste bins daily and disposing of oily or greasy rags in the right place.

Lastly, remember that the most effective precaution is that one predicated on common sense. We can be contacted for capacity development. Work safe.

Patrick Adegbamigbe

Hospitality Consultant

234 80 57736980