Employee

Health
and
Safety

Chapter 9

#1

OCCUPATIONAL

HAZARDS

- Most jobs in
the hospitality
industry are
physically
demanding.
This requires a

- Employees in customer
contact jobs are on their
feet for a full shift of 8
hours during which they
perform various tasks that
are demanding on the
body.
- The main concerns arise
out of physical workload;
excessive bodily motions;

On a Typical Day, skilled

employees in a hotel would be:
1. WALKING
2. STANDING
3. STOOPING
4. SQUATTING
5. KNEELING
6. STRETCHING
7. REACHING
8. TWISTING
9. CROUCHING
10. LIFTING
11. PUSHING

Walking:
Consider the miles that public
area
personnel will cover when
cleaning
the length and breadth of a hotel.
The gardeners will be
walking long distances to
care for landscapes and
gardens.

Standing
Most

hotel
employees are on
their feet in a full
shift. The
receptionist has to
stand behind the

Room

Stooping
:

attendants will need

to stoop to pick garbage
from floors; to clean
bathtubs and closets; and
to get linen from bottom
shelves of maid carts; to
tuck in corners of bed
sheets in guest rooms;

Squatting:
Gardeners

will need to
squat for hours while
preparing flower beds
and planting seeds.
Their work at the
nursery involves long
hours preparing flower

Kneeling:
Room attendants would

kneel while cleaning

bathroom floors. Public area
staff would do the same to
clean stubborn stains from
floors and staircases.

Stretching:
Linen

keepers and
storekeepers will
stretch to get supplies
from higher shelves.
Room attendants would
stretch to clean the
upper reaches of

Reaching:
All

employees will have to

reach for something or the
other. Waiters have to reach
to serve guests. Linen and
uniform keepers have to
reach for items in exchange;
the florist while doing the
flower arrangements; etc.

Twisting:
Public

area cleaners have to

twist their torso to clean
areas around them to
achieve maximum
productivity. So do cooks
who have to move
continuously between
kitchen equipments.

Crouching:
This

is required to clean
lower reaches of furniture
like dining table legs,
lower wardrobe shelves,
etc. Gardeners have to
crouch to tend to floor
indoor plants, etc.

Lifting:
Waiters

have to lift trays; bellboys

have to lift guest luggage; and room
attendants have to weighty linen
off beds and maid carts; housemen
have to lift heavy furniture and
carpets; public area housemen have
to lift furniture to re-arrange it;
gardeners have to lift potted
plants; and the list goes on.

Pushing:
Housekeeping personnel

have to push maid carts;

waiters, service trollies;
laundry personnel the
linen hampers, etc.

Suggestions to Reduce
Physical Stress
Lighter Equipment
Motorised Equipment
Modern Detergents
Job Rotation
Job Enlargement
Teamwork
Education and Training

#2

PREVENTION
Of

WORK
HAZARDS

PREVENTION OF WORK
HAZARDS
Areas where accidents take place:
Fall from slippery floors; make-shift
ladders; cluttered work areas; and
improper carpet lay out.
2. Cuts from broken glass in linen bundles
and garbage.
3. Back Pains from improper working
postures.
4. Muscle Cramps from improper lifting.
1.

5. Hazardous Chemical Breathing

problems and burns from the use of
hazardous chemicals and detergents.
6. Electrocution from live electric wires
and improper maintenance or use of
equipment.
7. Injuries due to improper work habits.

Proper Work Habits

Smoke

in designated areas only and

never in the elevator.
Ensure that elevators are not overloaded
and keep to the limits as indicated in the
cabin.
Use the correct equipment and
accessories for cleaning.
Do not operate equipment when not
trained.
Use accessories like gloves, masks, and
goggles when dealing with toxic material.

 Look

for broken glass when cleaning.

Dispose it in broken glass or razor blades.
Use the handrails while climbing steps.
Untangle cords of equipment before use
and keep them away from pathways.
Report any safety hazards if they cannot
be rectified by the self.
Rely on maintenance to complete fixing
jobs. They are the experts.
Check equipment for serviceability.

SUPERVISORS RESPONSIBILITIES
TOWARDS
SAFETY
1. Prepare

a safety manual that is

read and understood at the time
of induction of new employees.
2. Paste safety rules on walls at
strategic points in the work areas.
3. Reinforce safety rules in daily
briefings.
4. Ensure that all equipments
bought have the ISI stamp of
safety and reliability.

5. Organise continuous safety

training. Involve experts like
the equipment
manufacturers; occupational
safety department of the
government; fire safety
officials; and the municipal
health department.
6. Build safety into all job

8. Include safety inspection

in the supervisors daily
cleaning checklist.
9. Declare rooms and public
areas unsafe for sure till
safety faults are rectified.

10. Make sure that safety

equipment and accessories are
always in stock.
11. Ensure that toxic chemicals
are stored in closed cupboards
and properly labelled.
12. Ensure that all waste disposal
containers are leak proof and
maintained in sanitary
conditions. Waste disposal

13. Make sure that locker rooms

have proper washing and
shower facilities, with adequate
supply of soap and towels.
Locker rooms must be kept clean
and dry at all times.
14. Ensure that employees
consume food and beverage in
the staff canteens and not the
public areas.

Keep appropriate signs at

hand to caution guests and
employees towards safety.
Signs include caution signs
like Wet floor, labels for
detergents and toxic
material; safety instructions
on equipment.

16.

#3

FIRST
AID

- It is important for all employees to know

about first aid as they could be the first
ones on the spot to give immediate
attention to a guest or employee. It is part
of the overall safety programme. Many
hotels organise training classes. Large
hotels may have their own basic clinic with
a qualified nurse. The first step is to have
a first aid cupboard or box in a central
location in each department. The
cupboard could be located at the desk
control room; reservation back-office;
chefs office; engineering control room;
bell-desk; etc. For easy accessibility.

Cupboard (ka-bord)
Cupboard should
be cool, dry, and
clearly
captioned for
easy
identification.

The cupboard normally

contains the following items:

. Clinical
Thermometer

2. Bandage roll , 1, and 2

3. Sterilised Gauze

4. Bed Pan and Urine Bottle

5. SAFETY PINS

6. Tincture Benzoin
is often
applied to skin
before applying
tape or other
adhesive
bandages.
-

7. Dettol

8. Crocin Tablets

9. Mercurochrome

10. Antiseptic Creams

11. Cotton Wool

12. Adhesive Dressings

(Band-aids)

13. Tweezers

14. Rubber Sheeting

15. Tincture Iodine

used both to disinfect
wounds and to sanitize surface
water for drinking.

16. Junction Violet Solution

17. Burnol or Furacin

18. Fruit Salt

19. Aspirins

FIRST AID
STEPS

1.

2.

3.

4.

5. Fracture
(a)

Immobilise both limbs by

tying both legs and the arms
across the body respectively.
(b) An alternative is to get two
boards and tie legs/ arms
between them.
(c) Send for the doctor.

6. Heart Attack
(a)

Call for a doctor immediately.

(b) Do not move person from the
room.
(c) Clear the room of people.
(d) If critical, try artificial
respiration by mouth-to-mouth
method.

7. Object is Eye
(a)

Do not rub the eye.

(b) Use an eye bath with warm water to rinse
the eye.
(c) If no improvement is noticed, check eye
against the light and locate foreign matter.
Remove it with the corner of a clear
handkerchief.
(d) If foreign matter is embedded in the eyeball
do not try to pick it out. Drop two drops of
castor oil in the eye, cover the eye with a soft
pad, bandage lightly and take to a doctor.

8. Sprain
(a)

Apply dry bandage

firmly wrapped round
the affected part and
soak with cold water.
(b) Rest the limb.

9. Shock
(a)

Rest the patient by laying

him or her on a couch
(b) Loosen clothing.
(c) Give warmth with hot
beverage and hot water bottle.
(d) Keep the surrounding area
silent.

Local Occupational Hazard Authorities

issue certain rules and processes:
1.

2.

3.

Employers have to build in the safety

guidelines issued by the authorities and sign a
declaration of compliance. Authorities make
announced and unannounced inspections to
ensure this on a continuous basis.
Employers have to declare the person/s who
are responsible for implementing and
monitoring the safety rules set by the
authority.
Employers have to declare the job positions
that are exposed to hazards. They have to
write the safety procedures for these

5. Employers must permit inspections announced or

unannounced to the authoritys inspectors.

6. Employers must inform the concerned employees
about the hazards in their jobs.
7. Employers must declare the chemicals and
detergents stored in their property as also their
storage conditions. They must keep physical
inventories and dates of issue. Chemicals include
detergents alkali, emulsifiers for degreasing,
flammable material like polishes and cleaners,
fungicides, adhesive materials and pesticides.
8. Employers must label all such toxic materials and
mark them with the symbol X.

9. Employers must procure safety manuals from

manufacturers and make them available to employees.
10. Employers must conduct safety training programmes
and keep records of all such training for inspection. They
must list the names of all employees who go through
these training programmes.
11. Employers must display safety signboards and safety
instructions in prominent places. Some of these displays
are provided by the authority itself.
12. Manufacturers must supply the employer with details
of ingredients in chemicals supplied. They must also
mention the potential hazards on users, e.g. Health, fire,
explosive, radiation, etc. And safety precautions to be
taken.

#4

FIRE

PREVENTION

 Fire

prevention includes those steps that

are taken to ensure that fire does not
occur. One of the most important
requirements for fire prevention is good
housekeeping.
The chief engineer, on the other hand, is
the chief fire officer to fight fire in the
hotel. He lends support in fire prevention
by organising and supervising fire drills for
all staff. He is responsible for the fire
fighting equipment and training his
maintenance team to work as fire patrols
as well as fire-fighters.

Fire Prevention Methods:

Stairs

In most hotels, the stairways

used as the service stairway is also the
fire escape stairway.
Care of Fire Extinguishers Fire
extinguishers may be rarely or never
used. However, when they are needed, it
is an emergency, and they must always
be in working order.
Fire Regulations These regulations
should be printed, framed, and posted
adjacent to every extinguisher and on

Fire Prevention Methods:

Fire

Detection Systems All hotels

nowadays have to comply with fire safety

regulations. This requires certain
equipment to be installed as also people
training.
Different methods of detecting
and dealing with fire:
*Fire Alarm Systems
*Smoke Detection Systems

Fire Prevention Methods:

Fire

Doors Fire doors are provided,

especially in long corridors, to seal off a section
of corridor affected by fire.
Fire Drills The HR department and the
maintenance department should create an
internal fire brigade around employees.
Fire Protection Checklist The manager of
each hotel should either personally supervise
the use of a Fire Protection Checklist or
delegate the responsibility for examining the
checklist after the engineering department has
made a survey.

Fire Fighting:
Classification

of Fires:

Class A Fires occurring in ordinary dry

combustible materials such as wood,

textiles, paper, rubbish, etc. These fires,
the quenching and cooling effect of all
quantities of water or solutions
containing a high percentage of water
are of first importance.
Class B Fires caused by inflammable
liquids such as oils, grease, petrol,
chemicals, etc.

Fire Fighting:
Types

of extinguishers
Class A Fires require soda acid extinguishers,
which eject water under gaseous pressure when
they are inverted. They involve fires of wood
and paper materials.
Class B Fires require carbon dioxide fog or
foam extinguishers for liquid, grease, and oil
fires.
Class C Fires require carbon dioxide fog as
the preferred extinguishing agent since it is non
conductive. This is used for electrical fires.

Fire Fighting:
Distribution

of extinguishers
Class One Extinguishers These are placed in
areas of light occupancy such as offices or
light. There should be one fire extinguisher for
every 5000 square feet.
Class Two Extinguishers Located in high
occupancy, where fires of a broader extent
may be anticipated, such as kitchens, boiler
rooms, etc.
Class Three Extinguishers Positioned in
hazardous work areas such as woodworking
shops, upholstery shops, paint shops, etc.

Suggested Procedure

Close windows and doors of the room in which the fire

has started; Ascertain the extent and seriousness of the
fire; Ring the fire alarm box or call switchboard operator
for internal assistance; Inform the telephone operator
and give a quick accurate description of the location of
the fire as well as location of extinguishers.
Employees of the maintenance department should
proceed to the location of the fire with extinguishers from
their department as rapidly as possible; consider it their
duty to remove all combustible or volatile material.
The first consideration must always be for the safety and
peace of mind of the guests. If the fire is in a guests
room, the guest should be evacuated immediately. It is
recommended that the emergency stairs be used for
evacuating guests.

#5

Workplace Emergency