Close Close

Please Select Your Location

American Family Insurance currently serves 18 states; however, not all products are available in all states.
Please select your location below to view the products American Family Insurance offers in your area.

Please select a state below.

Safety Advisor Newsletter - Restaurant

Restaurant

Below you will find the most current Safety Advisor Newsletter articles for restaurant businessowners. If you're looking for a past article, please see our restaurant archive.

Open For Business

Open for Business

For some of us, most of our New Years resolutions have already been broken. But it is not too late to make one that can help keep your business in business in case of a natural disaster. Open for Business is a business continuation program that will help keep you in business despite a disaster. It’s free, easy to use and maybe the best resolution you'll ever make.

At least one-fourth of all businesses that close because of a disaster never reopen. That's why American Family in cooperation with the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) offers a variety of tools in its Open for Business® series for small business owners to both reduce their potential for loss should disaster strike and to reopen quickly should they be forced to close.

To get started building your own secure and personalize disaster recover plan, access the IBHS website and register through the interactive online version by entering the access code AMF5561

003003 – 02/08

back to top

Don't "Slip Up" When It Comes To On-site Safety

Don't Slip Full Article

Slips, trips, or falls account for 12 to 15 percent of all Workers' Compensation costs. Don’t let the safety efforts in your workplace slide; use the advice in this helpful and thorough article to help ensure that it’s your accident numbers, not your employees, that are falling.

002998 – 02/08

back to top

Sharpen Knife Safety Practices to Cut Employee Accidents

Knife Safety

Knives and broken glass are unavoidable dangers to restaurant workers. However, with the proper training and safety measures in place, most costly accidents can be avoided. Read the full article to learn how.

Cuts/Knives
Potential Hazard
Knives are frequently found in the serving area. Servers may be expected to use knives to cut bread or other items they bring to the table. Occasionally, broken glass also creates a hazard in the serving area.
Server Cutting Bread
Possible Solutions
Workers Safety Solutions
Employers have the primary responsibility for protecting the safety and health of their workers. Employees are responsible for following the safe work practices of their employers.
  • Do not use a glass to scoop ice (it can break from the cold ice, causing cuts to the server and glass in the ice bin); use a metal or plastic ice scoop for placing ice in glasses.
  • Do not pick up broken glass with your hands; use a broom and a dustpan.
  • Use cutting boards for safe cutting and chopping.
  • Avoid talking with co-workers or customers while using a knife.
  • Focus your attention on the cutting task while using a knife or other sharp utensil. Distractions increase your risk of getting cut.
 Glass Do not use a glass to scoop ice.
  • Learn to use a knife safely:
    • Cut in the direction away from your body.
    • Keep your fingers and thumbs out of the way of the cutting line.
  • Place dirty knives in a designated container for cleaning, rather than storing in sinks. Wear heavy-duty gloves while cleaning sharp utensils.
Dust pan and broom Use a broom and dustpan to clean up broken glass.
Employer Safety Solutions
Employers have the primary responsibility for protecting the safety and health of their workers. Employees are responsible for following the safe work practices of their employers.

Follow OSHA Standards including:

  • Ensure employees use appropriate hand protection when hands are exposed to hazards such as cuts, lacerations, and thermal burns. Hand Protection Standard [1910.138(a)].
Consider implementing recommended safe work practices, including:
  • Keep knives sharpened and in good condition; dull knives tend to slip and may cause injuries. Inform workers when knives are newly sharpened.
  • Instruct employees on safe handling, use and storage of knives, including designating a location or container to store knives and other sharp equipment.
  • Train employees to store knives with the blades all facing one direction.

The following information is from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

002995 – 02/08

back to top

Implement Fryer Safety Steps to Avoid Getting Burned

Fryer Safety

Frying foods puts workers at serious risk of injury, but there are steps that both you and your employees should know to lessen the danger. These essential dos and don’ts from OSHA will help keep everyone out of harm's way.

Deep Fat Fryers
Deep Fat Fryer
Potential Hazard

Do NotRemember: Child Labor Laws do not permit employees younger than 16 to cook, except at soda fountains, lunch counters, snack bars, and cafeteria serving counters.

Workers who cook in restaurants are especially at risk of burn injuries while cooking with or cleaning deep fat fryers or vents above fryers. Burns can occur from contact with the fryer itself or from hot splashing oil, or when straining the oil or moving the fryer. 

Workers may also be exposed to carbon monoxide poisoning from malfunctioning exhaust systems on portable fryer units. Symptoms include headaches, confusion, nausea, and dizziness.

Possible Solutions
 
Worker Solutions - Burns
Employers have the primary responsibility for protecting the safety and health of their workers. Employees are responsible for following the safe work practices of their employers.
Do NotRemember: Child Labor Laws do not permit employees younger than 16 to cook, except at soda fountains, lunch counters, snack bars, and cafeteria serving counters.

Non-slip Shoe
Non-slip shoe

Class K Fire Extinguisher
Class K Fire extinguisher
  • Use caution when working around hot oil.
  • Get trained in the proper use and maintenance of your deep fryer.
  • Observe all safety procedures and wear all protective equipment provided for your use while preparing hot items.
  • Use gloves and scrapers and other cleaning tools with handles provided by your employer.
  • Use the correct grease level and cooking temperatures for your deep fryer.
  • Keep stove surfaces clean to prevent grease flare-ups.
  • Avoid reaching over or climbing on top of fryers and other hot surfaces. Clean vents when oil is cool.
  • Keep floor surfaces clean and dry to prevent slipping or falling onto hot surfaces. Wear slip-resistant shoes. Floors should be cleaned often with grease-cutting solutions.
  • Do not work closely to hot fryers when the floor is wet.
  • Do not spill water or ice into oil. Do not store employee drinks by deep fryers. They could be easily bumped into the hot oil and cause a flare-up.
  • Do not overfill or pour excessive amounts of frozen fries into deep fryer at one time. Overfilling causes excessive splashing and bubbling over of hot oil.
  • Do not pour excess ice from fry packages into the fryer.
  • Do not overheat the oil; use only manufacturer's recommended cooking temperatures.
  • Do not move or strain hot oil containers; wait until the oil is cool!
  • Do not store oil on floors by grill area. Someone could slip and fall into the oil.
  • Extinguish hot oil/grease fires by using a class K fire extinguisher.
Employer Solutions - Burns
Employers have the primary responsibility for protecting the safety and health of their workers. Employees are responsible for following the safe work practices of their employers.

Consider implementing recommended safe work practices, including:

  • Consider replacing older deep fat fryer models with newer models that have exhaust vents in closer proximity to the fryer, built-in grease filters, improved grease-disposal systems, automatic food-lowering devices, and vat covers.
  • Use the appropriate quality oil for your fryer. Some employers have found that using higher quality oils reduces the amount of splashing during deep frying.
  • Install slip-resistant flooring near hot surfaces and cooking appliances.
Employer Solutions - Burns
Employers have the primary responsibility for protecting the safety and health of their workers. Employees are responsible for following the safe work practices of their employers. 

Consider implementing recommended safe work practices, including:
  • Educate staff and management to recognize and respond to the symptoms of CO poisoning. For more information see:
    • Carbon Monoxide Poisoning from Gas Fired Cooking Units in Food Preparation Locations. Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 131 KB PDF, 2 pages.
    • Avoid the hazards of carbon monoxide poisoning by training maintenance staff about the specific procedures needed to prevent CO poisoning.
Accessibility Assistance: Contact the OSHA Directorate of Science, Technology and Medicine at 202-693-2300 for assistance accessing PDF materials.

The following information is from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

002996 – 02/08

back to top

Want More?

We have additional customized safety information for your business.

These recommendations were developed using generally accepted safety standards. Compliance with these recommendations is not a guarantee that you will be in conformance with any building code, federal, state or local regulation regarding safety or fire. Compliance with these recommendations does not ensure the absolute safety of your occupation or place of business. It is the property owner's duty to warn any tenants or occupants of the property of any safety hazards that may exist.

American Family Mutual Insurance Company and its Subsidiaries
Home Office - Madison , WI 53783
amfam.com
© 2008