PPE that is vital to keep your restaurant staff safe

Providing staff with the proper restaurant equipment and supplies is so important if you want to ensure the well-being and safety of employees. More specifically, restaurants, hotels and just about every other place of business requires some degree of PPE (personal protective equipment) to reduce the risk of injury and keep workers as protected as possible from potential hazards.

Common injuries experienced by employees in commercial kitchens include burns, cuts and sprains. For affordable, durable PPE browse through L&A Safety's catalogs or visit one of their branches in Milnerton, Vredenburg or Robertson.

Restaurant supplies that can help safeguard staff from unnecessary injury are:

GLOVES:

  §  Dishwashing gloves
Help protect the workers hands from hot water, as well as from abrasive chemicals that may be used in soaps and sanitizers.

  §  Cut-resistant gloves Made from special, strong materials that help prevent skin from being accidentally cut or sliced by a sharp knife.

  §  Freezer gloves
Insulated gloves with good grip designed to shield hands from frostbite, which can be a potential problem when spending a lot of time in freezers or walk in refrigeration storage units.

OVEN MITTS:

Prevents burns and are primarily used for placing and removing hot items from ovens, handling hot plates or dealing with other hot food or restaurant equipment.

APRONS:

Not only does this PPE keep a worker’s uniform clean, but it also provides an additional barrier between the employee’s body and dangerous substances like hot grease and oil.

ANTI-SLIP SHOES:

The floors in a kitchen are often slippery due to water and grease spills. Wearing safety footwear helps provide employees with better grip, which assists in the prevention of slipping and falling.

It is essential that your staff is educated on the importance of using safety gear and the proper methods to use it.

3 factors to help you understand and select firefighter gloves

Of all the clothing items worn by firefighters, perhaps the most misunderstood items are the gloves. Among garments, footwear and helmets, they are considered the throwaway item of the protective ensemble and are often given little consideration in their purchase.  

But hand protection during firefighting is so important! Burns and other injuries to the hand, though lessened over the years, still represent a significant proportion of all injuries. Where there are complaints about the different elements of the protective ensemble, often gloves top the list. Complaints include them being too bulky or too restrictive on hand movements. 

Hand protection challenge:

Protecting firefighters' hands from hazards is actually a relatively difficult challenge. This, combined with our reliance for working with our hands in a variety of tasks during firefighting, imposes tough trade-offs for permitting hand function while providing insulation from heat and protection from physical hazards.

Make sure you have the best gloves for the job – contact L&A Safety today!

In contrast, protecting the other parts of the body — such as torso, arms, legs and feet — with other items of clothing is significantly easier. To gain good protection, hand function and hand comfort is often reduced. This challenge has focused the glove industry to be creative with its selection of materials and development of designs.

Material selection:

Gloves use the same principles of layering materials as applied to garments. Firefighting gloves employ the same functional three-layer construction as turnout gear. For gloves, there is a shell, which may be either leather or textile. Inside the shell is a moisture barrier or barrier layer that may be separate or combined with a thermal lining.

All layers must work together to provide protection to the hands. However, in the selection of these layers there are trade-offs that dictate the use of certain materials to limit the reduction of firefighter dexterity, grip, and tactility.

Design considerations:

As great an impact as the selection of materials might be for glove function, glove design cannot be overlooked. There are several different ways that gloves can be constructed that relate to the way the fingers and thumb are set in the glove pattern. Seam location is critical in affecting hand function because inappropriately placed seams can cause poor fit and hand function.

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For a wide range of PPE, L&A Safety is your one-stop shop! Whether it be boiler suits, safety goggles, gumboots or hard hats - L&A Safety has it all.

The dangers of welding

Some health and safety welding regulations, such as; keeping clear of the fumes while gas welding, not to breathe the fumes and to ensure enough ventilation seem to be common sense, yet according to the Welding Information Centre there are on average 365 000 welding related injuries per year!

Such injuries include hot metal slag burns, injuries from flying particles, radiation exposure or exposure to fumes, vapours or chemicals.

Arc welding and cutting processes, as well as other forms of welding, produce radiation. The quantity of radiation could be small, but in some cases ultraviolet or infrared radiation can go undetected. Such radiation can cause eye damage or skin burns.

It is therefore necessary to use a welding helmet with the correct shade of filter plate, gloves and the correct clothing. For a wide range of safety equipment and clothing, including safety gear for welding – contact L&A Safety today and place your order!

Screen curtains can be used to protect other people in the vicinity. Safety glasses should have UV protective side shields. In addition, noise caused by welding can be hazardous, with temporary or permanent loss of hearing occurring. Ear muffs or ear plugs can be used as protection.

Electric shock from welding and cutting equipment is another danger that can result in injury or even death. When welding there are various components that are electrically energised, such as the welding circuit, the internal circuits, the reel of wire or the drive rolls.

Incorrectly installed equipment or equipment which has not been properly grounded is normally the cause of electrical shocks during welding. To avoid electrical shock it is important to follow the instruction of the equipment in use.

Employees should be trained on how to avoid electrical injuries. Principles such as not touching live electrical parts, having installations and maintenance done by qualified people, having the equipment grounded at all times and frequently inspecting power cords for open wires should be adhered to.

When conditions are less than perfect it is important not to work alone, wear insulating gloves and rubber soled boots, while making use of mats and insulated electrode holders. Of course, water should be avoided under all circumstances.

7 helpful tips for encouraging PPE compliance

PPE only works if you use it!

Whether you work in the electrical, oil or manufacturing industry, there are always challenges when it comes to personal protective equipment compliance. Creating a safe work environment is critical, so use these 7 helpful tips to encourage PPE compliance…

1. Establish and enforce a policy requiring the use of the assigned PPE. Make sure all employees are aware of the rules and the consequences if they break them.

2. Take about PPE when appropriate in safety meetings. Identify hazards and explain how specific PPE is designed to protect against them.

3. Ask employees to give their personal reasons for wearing PPE. For example, getting home safe and sound to their families, avoiding injury and because it’s simply the smart thing to do.

4. Ask for employee input concerning PPE. Listen to complaints and reasons for not complying.

5. Post signs indicating what PPE is needed in each work area.

6. Provide statistics and descriptions of accidents that have occurred in the workplace because workers weren’t wearing PPE.

7. Make sure supervisors monitor PPE use daily among all their employees and don’t overlook noncompliance for any reason.

What other strategies would you use to encourage PPE compliance? 

Contact L&A Safety for a wide range of PPE and other safety equipment. From hard hats to boiler suits and respirators - L&A Safety has it all!

Hard Hats – Why it is one of the most important pieces of safety equipment

Millions of hard hats are worn every day. In fact the hard hat is one of the most recognizable pieces of safety equipment in the industrial workplace. It is also one of the most important pieces of safety equipment.

Why is it so important? Well, it protects the brain!

Hard hats are commonly used in many types of workplaces to protect employees from head trauma caused by falling objects, electrical hazards or accidentally falling and striking their head against an object.

There are different types of hard hats; however all of them reduce the force of impact resulting from a blow to the head. Visit L&A Safety's website or pop into one of the stores to browse through the wide range of safety equipment, including high-quality hard hats.

The outer portion of the hard hat is the shell, which often has a peak that extends forward or a brim that extends outward around the entire lower shell. The second component is the harness, which attaches to the shell to maintain the hard hat on the wearers head. When a force strikes a properly fitted hard hat, the force is distributed throughout the entire hat. This prevents the force from concentrating all at one point.

Always inspect a hard hat when it is new and first put into use, prior to each days use and after an incident has happened. When inspecting a new hard hat, ensure that it is the proper hat for the job and make sure all parts are included.

When expecting your hard hat before you use it, look for gouges; cracks; deterioration; chalking or discolouration; flaking; suspension properly attached to the shell; all straps in good condition; cleanliness; suspension and the shell. If your hard hat is damaged, the entire hat needs to be replaced!

The hard hat is so important because it is specifically designed to individually protect an employee’s when all other methods of protection cannot.

The Do’s and Don’ts of breaking in your work boots

Being comfortable in your work boots is important. When you break in new working boots, the boots literally conform to the shape of your feet. The majority of new boots will not perfectly fit your feet straight out of the box, but you can get the perfect fit by following these Do’s and Don’ts…

DO	DON’T
§  Test the fit	§  Ignore pinches and hot spots
§  Walk around at home	§  Submerge boots in water
§  Apply leather conditioner	§  Apply direct heat
§  Take your boots to work	§  Kick leather boots off when you get home

If you’re looking for a reliable company that can provide you with quality PPE, including work boots, then L&A Safety is the place to visit! From boiler suits to waterproof and safety boots – L&A Safety has it all.

Here are some key points to take home…

- DO make sure any new boot you might buy has a warranty
- DO start breaking in boots by wearing them at home - DO increase the time you spend wearing them before bringing your work boots to a job site
- DON’T take shortcuts like soaking your boots in water or placing them in front of a heat source

Breaking in your work boots is very important if you want your boots to fit right and last a long time. Always remember, many common shortcuts for breaking in boots can lead to ruined leather.

The ins and outs of disposable gloves

Do you think disposable gloves are all the same? Well, you’re wrong! There’s actually an array of thin, stretchy gear for your hands that you can toss into the bin at the end of the day.

Whether you work in food service, the medical industry, security or any other – affordable, durable gloves are important! Here are a few pros and cons of what’s on the market today.

1. Most disposable gloves are thin
Your hands can sense temperature and manipulate a wide range of objects, so it’ll be hard to get through the day without the use of them. But put on a thick, heavy pair of welding gloves and good luck trying to fill a prescription bottle or pick up a dainty cupcake.

Although most are quite thin, disposable gloves are also available in thicker sizes. This makes them appropriate for jobs where you need a sturdier touch, but still need your sense of touch.

2. Different materials for different jobs
While most of the population has no problem with latex gloves, some people do suffer terrible allergic reactions. This is why nitrile and vinyl gloves are two other popular, alternative materials.

Nitrile is one of the most common disposable glove materials and it is appropriate for everything from light janitor work to medical jobs. It is a flexible material that offers good touch sensitivity and is commonly used in food handling, veterinary, security and dental work.

3. Disposable gloves are stylish
Okay, so you might not wear them for a night out on the town, but at your job, did you know that you aren’t limited to standard colours?

Disposable gloves come in a wide range of colours, from pink and purple to black and, of course, traditional blue. Maybe you prefer a certain colour or maybe your line of work uses different colours for different jobs. Whatever the reason may be, disposable gloves come in a rainbow of colours.

4. They keep improving all the time
Technology keeps improving disposable gloves, so your choices keep getting stretchier, more resilient and better overall. Some are contoured for a better fit and dexterity, and some have cornstarch inside so they don’t stick to your skin. Some even have vitamin E and lanolin inside to keep your hands baby soft. And, if you work in the food processing field, some disposable gloves have a magnetic property so the risk of losing a small piece in the food is minimized.

As long as people need inexpensive hand protection, disposable gloves will have an important job to do. If you need to get yourself a pair of affordable, durable disposable gloves – L&A Safety is your one stop store for a wide range of PPE.