Food Services ESP — 
Building a Quality Workforce

Health and Safety: Protecting the Individual Employee

Back Injuries and Hernias

Food Services jobs require frequent manual lifting, bending, stretching and pulling that can have damaging health effects. Back strains caused by frequent heavy lifting can lead to changes in the structure and function of the spine. Abdominal hernias and other abdominal strains can be acute and life threatening, or may develop over time and cause lifelong medical trouble.

These problems can be greatly minimized by matching employees to jobs they are more physically suited for. It is also very important to train employees in proper methods and provide them with proper equipment to lift and carry heavy and awkward objects.

Bloodborne Pathogens

Food Services ESP often risk contact with blood and other bodily fluids in their work with students. These materials may contain pathogens and organisms that can cause serious disease and even death.

The Bloodborne Pathogen Standard was created by OSHA in 1991 to protect private sector employees from anticipated occupational exposure to bloodborne disease. Major focuses for this standard are Hepatitis B virus (HBV), Hepatitis C virus (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of AIDS.

In 1993 the federal standard was adopted in some states. It is extremely important that Food Services ESP be aware of what standards exist in their state. Just last year, a Food Services Department in an Oregon school district was denied bloodborne pathogen inoculation for its members. These kinds of dangerous and dismissive practices by school administrations must be fought against by Food Services ESP.

Slips and Falls

Injuries caused by slips and falls can be acute and immediate, or long-term and insidious. They can result in major injury or even death. The major causes of slips and falls are hazardous conditions such as wet floors, icy or muddy walkways, food spills, uneven surfaces, raised edges or lips on walkways and equipment, rugs, runners, mats, poor lighting, ramps and steps poorly maintained, illness and fatigue.

Equipment

In most cases, Food Services employees must provide their own special equipment, clothing, and supplies. This policy discourages proper protection, ignores necessity, and communicates disinterest and disregard for Food Services employees. All Food Services members should constantly strive for more attention to this problem by supervisors and administrations.

What You Can Do

• Keep work environment clean and safe. Floors should never be slippery or cluttered.
• Traffic areas should clear of objects and clutter.
• Employees should never be encouraged to strain or carry loads that are physically too heavy for them. Another employee should help lift when the load is clearly too heavy for one. 
• Mechanical lifting devices such as hand trucks should be used.
• Employees should be able to rest when they are tired. Tired muscles are less coordinated.
• Employees should be offered training exercises for lower back pain.
• Freshly mopped or waxed floors should be blocked off to allow time to dry. Managers should provide adequate time to keep floors, steps, ramps and work areas clear and dry.
• Non-slip surfaces or mats and non-slip shoes should be provided to employees
• Safe clearance for foot traffic should be provided in areas where food handling equipment is used.
• Steps and ramps should have rails and guards. 
• Drawers should be kept closed.
• Trash should be disposed of properly.
• Electrical wires should not be run across areas where people could trip or fall.
• Lighting should be bright and angled to prevent glare.

Should you sustain an injury or develop a chronic problem, contact your UniServ representative right away. Inform your supervisor, obtain immediate medical attention and record and notify all appropriate personnel in order to document the injury.

Food Services ESP Associations should form a Health and Safety Committee to monitor conditions in the work environment, negotiate health and safety language, and meet with supervisors and ad-ministrations to have health and safety issues taken seriously. A School Safety Plan should be developed and adopted in order to safeguard members. Communication with parent groups and the community in order to gain support to eliminate hazardous situations should be initiated by the Local Association. 

To Section 9: Meaningful Training = A Quality Workforce