Not everyone can relate to the risks associated with heavy industries like logging or construction work, but most of us can appreciate what it's like to cut your finger slicing a lemon or to throw your back out making a bed.
Some of the most common injuries in the hospitality industry deal with exactly the same kind of injuries you might have in your home: cuts and burns in the kitchen, and slips, falls, and back strains in the laundry room.
When VIPS Industries, Inc. opened The Grand Hotel and Bentley's Grill in Salem, Greg McManus, vice president of operations, was confronted with just those types of injuries and was determined to make safety his highest priority.
"I realized I had a lot to learn," he said. "I got help from Jacquie Strand, SAIF senior safety management consultant; I was focused on learning, and she was focused on helping us."
Working with Strand, McManus began to assess what the business, which includes management of the Salem Conference Center, could do to improve safety. One of the first things McManus did was create a risk management team that would address all safety issues that affect the business. The team would be responsible for maintaining the company's safety standards, conducting safety meetings, and setting goals.
Heading the risk management team are Sherry Miotke, lead server, who oversees safety for Bentley's Grill, and Kathy Cartwright, executive housekeeper, who is responsible for The Grand Hotel. Both Miotke and Cartwright have been with the business since its opening. The Grand Hotel opened as The Phoenix Grand about five years ago, and Bentley's Grill opened about six months after that. Recently, VIPS Industries opened a second hotel—The Grand Hotel at Bridgeport—near the Bridgeport Shopping Village in Tigard.
Putting the brakes on cuts, slips, and falls
In the kitchen of Bentley's Grill, cuts are the most common injuries, so only those who are properly trained handle the knives.
"We hire experienced people who have culinary arts training," said Miotke, "and we provide cut-resistant gloves for a few specialized tasks. We also constantly remind people to think before they do anything and to stay focused."
When VIPS discovered that the floors in work areas at the conference center were slippery and posed a hazard to employees working in that area, VIPS invested the necessary dollars to remedy the situation.
"The flooring was durable, but had not been installed with safety in mind. We redid the floors with a nonskid surface," McManus said. "It's a bit harder to clean, but it's a lot safer."
When anything is spilled on the floor, one person must stay with the spill until a second person comes to clean it up or brings a safety cone to mark the location. And, in the dining area, slippery wooden steps created a potential hazard for falls, so nonstick rubber strips were added to the edge of the steps.
To further reduce the risk of slips and falls in the kitchen, mats cover much of the floor space there, as well as in the walk-in refrigerator and freezer.
VIPS requires employees to wear nonskid, rubber-soled shoes in both the restaurant and the hotel, and open-toed shoes are not allowed. Employees are sent home to get the proper shoes if they forget.
Easy does it
"Storage is a big safety issue," said Miotke. "We can't have things stored where they may fall and hit someone, or where employees have to reach for them at an odd angle."
In both the restaurant and the hotel, the heaviest items are stored on the middle shelves, with lighter things on the bottom. The top shelves are used for products that are light and rarely used. For example, stacks of sheets are heavy, so they are stored on the center shelves. Pillows and blankets are lighter, so they are stored higher.
Wet laundry is especially heavy, so the hotel laundry room is equipped with special carts that have spring-loaded bottoms. As laundry is removed, the bottom of the cart rises, keeping everything within easy reach.
"We also make sure that employees work together," said Cartwright, "instituting a team-lifting policy for turning mattresses, carrying tables, or any other work that requires heavy lifting."
Even with these precautions, housekeeping jobs can be physically demanding, so members of the hotel staff stretch regularly to help prevent strains and sprains. For 10-15 minutes every morning, after providing a safety tip for the day, Cartwright leads employees through a stretch-and-flex session to warm up the muscles and maintain range of motion. They repeat the stretching after lunch.
Basic training, even for experienced staff
Training, said Cartwright, is the key. "Even if someone comes in as an experienced housekeeper, we still train on the ba-sics: total cleanliness, ergonomics, safety, and sanitation. It's important to learn how to lift properly, since even small things can be a problem. We teach how to make a bed correctly—you can see a lot of problems from making a bed the wrong way, trying to turn a mattress alone, or improperly loading and unloading washers and dryers."
To protect staff from harsh chemicals and bloodborne pathogens, housekeepers wear gloves while cleaning the rooms. The same type of gloves might not be appropriate for all uses, so they consult the material safety data sheet (MSDS) to see what type of glove to use when handling specific cleaning products.
"We also train staff on how to remove gloves correctly," said Cartwright. The correct technique is to lift the edge of the glove at the wrist and pull it slowly over the hand, turning it inside out as it is removed.
Injuries waiting to happen
One of the main safety goals for 2010 is to focus more on near misses, even when they don't result in an injury. This includes any behavior that could be seen as risky.
"The team will use this as a tool for more accountability," McManus said. "We want to see what we can do to prevent an incident from causing an injury the next time. We will also provide training if necessary."
As an example, Cartwright tells about a housekeeper who was getting ready to walk down the stairs in a way that Cartwright felt was unsafe. It was a good opportunity, she said, to stop the housekeeper and explain what could happen.
"We want to make sure it doesn't happen again," she said.
And Miotke stopped a server assistant in the dining room who was trying to go through a door with two full trays, one in each hand.
"If one of the trays started to fall," said Miotke, "there would be no way to correct it. One hand needed to be free to steady the tray in the other hand."
Building a safety culture
Both Miotke and Cartwright credit a "Got Your Back" policy—also called a "Tough Caring Contract"—with helping create a culture of safety among the employees.
"Once a year at an all-employee meeting, we reread the 'Got Your Back' policy," said Cartwright. "We make an effort to help each other out. I'll overhear people saying things like 'That's a two-person lift; let me help you.' If I hear someone ask 'Who's going to help me?' I'll say, 'Good for you! That's what we want to hear.'"
McManus believes that the company's Quality Assurance Program (which makes sure anything worn out is replaced and anything broken is fixed), its focus on sustainability, and the recognition given to employees who come up with good safety ideas also help create a safety culture within the business.
"It shows the employees you care," he said. "You need buy-in from all the employees if you are going to achieve what you want."
"From the first time I met with the group at VIPS, they demonstrated their commitment to safety as a value," said Strand, "and management's commitment is critical to any safety effort. As long as they maintain safety as a value, they will see positive results."
