For the last three years our consultants have been supporting The Pig hotel group, known for their shabby chic properties, as they expanded their portfolio of hotels around the Southwest.
Acorn were involved before the hotels were opened in order to ensure that from day one the employees and guests were in a safe environment, this included preparing health and safety policies, carrying out Fire Risk Assessments, general risk assessments, safe systems of work as well as providing all the documentation that goes with any health and safety and food safety management system.
Our health and safety consultants are all experienced in putting together health and safety management systems suitable for those in the hospitality business including the writing of an appropriate policy and assist with carrying out and recording risk assessments.
As the lead consultant for this customer, I have a wealth of experience in the hospitality sector, and I’m able to use this to advise our customers, including how to set up a Food Safety Management System.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identifies that the main health and safety issues within the hospitality sector are:
- Slips, trips and fall
- Lifting, manual handling and upper limb disorders
- Contact with hot surfaces and harmful substances
- Dermatitis
- Cuts from knives
Further analysis by the HSE of accidents within the catering industry shows that the underlying cause of accidents is usually down to a failure in the organisations health and safety management system.
Theses failures often include:
- Equipment and workplaces being unsafe for particular tasks
- Safe procedures not being in place
- Equipment not being installed and maintained properly
- Staff not competent in the tasks
- Misuse of equipment
As with any employer the caterer must ensure they comply with the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 which places a duty on them to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that no person is exposed to risks to their own health and safety whilst in the workplace.
Therefore the management system in place must include a Health and Safety Policy statement and the arrangements in place for achieving the policy, assessment of the risks involved and the arrangements in place to control them and the training of employees to be able to work safely.
For further information, please call us on 0117 958 2070 or e-mail info@acornsafety.co.uk or visit our Hospitality and Catering page
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