Work Health and Safety at Grill Cafe Assessment Answer

Introduction

The concept of work health and safety consists of the management of all the risks associated with workplace health and safety, which includes workers, customers,

visitors, and suppliers. The concept of work health and safety sometimes refers to occupational health and safety. The role of WHS has become crucial for every business these days as if the business fails in legislative compliance with WHS can result in legal prosecutions, and penalties and can increase the retrenchment of the staff that possesses useful skills (Alli, 2008) To ensure uniformity in adherence to ethical WHS practice government of Australia has developed a code of practice that guides businesses on ways to ensure health and safety standard at the workplace. These all codes and rules come under Work Health and Safety Act 2011. It guides through a set of effective practices to discover and manage the risk associated with the workplace (Queensland Government, 2023)

Through this research, various laws, policies, and legislation are being studied and different policies that an organization should follow at the workplace concerning the nature of business are being evaluated, for this hypothetical company that is being used in this context is an Australian-based restaurant chain grill cafe, which is involved in offering in-house dining and providing support services to their customer to enhance their dining experience. Its headquarter is located in Sydney the capital of Australia, and it has multiple chains around the country offering delicate and authentic Australian cuisines. The company is involved in strictly adhering the WHS practices. This report also identifies the various mechanism for assessing the risk, and the precautionary measure that one business should adopt and also discusses that area of concern in the restaurant business. I also discuss the existing organizational policies and norms that are presently followed in the company to prevent such uncertainties.

Legislative Requirements for the Organization

The legislation of Australia provides certain guidelines to ensure health and safety in the food retail business. It requires an employer to provide proper facilities that ensure the health and safety of the staff, this is applicable in the case of franchisers as well as franchisees, in which the management should be aware of the health and safety measures of the people employed at the workplace.

The policies and procedures by which grill cafes abide are taken from the legislation of multiple countries, this ensures the inclusion of health and safety practices of different regions at the workplace. The policies and procedures are as followed:

Covid precautionary guidelines: Due to the rise in coronavirus cases in the country, the priority of the restaurant should be to ensure virus free environment. For this purpose the proper measures for sanitation and cleanliness in the environment. The covid-19 protection measures like social distancing, regular washing of hands, and a proper facility for sanitizing are made available in the restaurant and dining area ( WHO, 2020). Grill Cafe abides with this norm and ensures its proper compliance during covid period.

 Apprentice and training: To ensure the safety at workplace proper apprentice and training are also provided to the workers that are involved in the business. This act is a precautionary measure to avoid uncertainties at the workplace. The training involves a proper assessment of the skills of the employees and developing them as per the standards through proper supervision and training. For successful training and apprentice, the proper training arrangement is made at the place of work, the workplace is also assessed by the registered training provider, who also assists in developing the training plan for the staff to ensure their performance as per the standards ( Queensland government b, 2023).

 Formation of a safety management system: For the Grill cafe that is running on a franchise and franchisor basis, it is important to comply with the HSMS i.e. Health Safety Management System. It provides support by developing the policy related to occupational health and safety (OHS) (HSWA, 2009). The policies for establishing the safety management system are described below:

The company should formulate a proper policy for ensuring occupational health and safety on the restaurant premises.

The franchisor should develop a manual stating all the practices of health and safety.

The proper training should be provided to the staff members to avoid risky events.

Ensuring that the franchisor obtains regular feedback from the franchisee to measure the performance of the organization's health and safety on the premises.

Providing the facility of a first aid system and proper management system in case of an unforeseen emergency.

Communicating effectively the guidelines of safety measures: Collaboration between the franchisor with the staff at the level of locality and consultation with government, industry, and union standards reduces the chances of workplace injuries, illness, and fatalities. Biding jurisdiction at a workplace increases cooperation among the staff and also facilitates consistency in the workforce. This is possible because of communication and the exchange of information on the best practices and local insights (Safe Work Australia, 2023).

Ensuring health and safety leadership practices at the workplace: The employer should try to develop leadership roles that ensure a systematic performance of the health and safety practices in the organization, it should also include the partners that help in coordinating and regulating the system and enhance the implication. These practices are followed by the grill cafe franchisees to ensure the implementation of best practices.

Review of policies of Grill Cafe

A systematic review of the health and safety policies, procedures, and processes of managing the risk at Grill Cafe is been conducted below:

Developing a safe workplace with minimal chances of risk of health: All the employees of the organization should ensure ordinary precautions at the workplace. This policy covers the area where people in the organization should be made aware of the escape route in case of a fire emergency and the crucial directions. To ensure a proper escape if there is an emergency the corridors and doorways should be kept obstacle free every day. It also includes the instructions for disposal of waste and ensuring hygiene to ensure proper sanitation and reduce risks related to infection, and food poisoning (Health and safety act, 1975). The management is also involved in ensuring periodical maintenance of the equipment used in the kitchen. There is also a strict policy that prohibits smoking during working hours. These are the basic policy that Grill cafe chains adhere to to ensure the basic safety of their employee's health and safety against any emergency at the workplace.

Ensuring proper organization of kitchen equipment: Another policy of the Grill Cafe states the proper arrangement of the equipment in the kitchen and on the restaurant premises, also to ensure that they are properly maintained to prevent leaks of oil or water at the working surface, as it could result in injuries ( U.K.Gov, n.d)

Ensuring safety in manual handling: The things in the kitchen require manual handling from one process to another in some processes, the items carried can be difficult to move into a manoeuvre. So in this regards the staff should be provided special training for ensuring proper lifting by using proper techniques rather than performing unverified movements that can cause result in serious injuries at the workplace

 Offering instructions, and proper training and supervision for the health and safety of the staff: (Ahuja 2017) stated that inspection solely can’t reduce the non-compliance of food safety regulation as training and supervision is also essential aspect, the study suggests that it is essential to provide training on the safety procedures in the kitchen and ensure proper supervision while the staff is performing the work,

Setting up precautionary measures for fire, flammables, and other emergency cases: To ensure proper precautionary measures to prevent fire incident at the workplace the Grill Cafe have adopted and maintained a proper system that helps in the prevention of such incident. Thi involves a systematic maintenance program of the equipment in the organization that can cause a default and result in fire. This is conducted to prevent gas leakages, apply lubricants to the machinery as they might cause heat due to friction, take measures to prevent static sparks, etc. All these precautionary policies keep the workplace safe from fire (HSA, 2023).

Ensuring proper leadership and surveillance in the kitchen: In the study conducted by Freitas et al (2022), it was found that the main cause of ineffective application of the policies and norms is due to approaches used by the leaders that reflect their unpreparedness, and the lack of regular surveillance at the kitchen was another reason. By developing a proper leadership and surveillance committee the Grill cafe ensures effective compliance with the food safety practices in the kitchen.

Measuring Performance through Indicators

KPIs or key performance indicators provide a way to monitor the performance of an organization and enable the identification of lagging and leads in the performance. It enables tracking of the process and ensures that it is within the standards. It helps and assists the business to reach the targeted objective. It is used to measure various performance areas that can include any function of the business organization from marketing of the resources and accounting to health and safety. Health and safety KPIs are established to assist the company's ability to ensure the health and safety of the staff.

The KPIs of Grill Cafe Include

The number of incidents reported:  It includes measuring the amount of cases of accidents and injuries that are been reported by the staff or the management for the period. In Grill Cafe, there is a decline in the number of cases reported per three months due to the introduction of new health and safety measures at the workplace, as there is increased supervision that has increased the number of incidents reported.

Loss of timer during injury rate (LTIFR): It is a KPI that is formulated to measure the loss of working hours of an employee in proportion to the number of cases that occurred over the period. The injuries reported after the implementation of the health and safety policy have reduced the serious injuries that lead to a decline in the loss of working hour rate.

The formula for calculating LTIFR is:

 (loss of working hours due to injury * 1000,000 labor hours)/ Total reported working hours

Number of the case of equipment breakdown:  It is a KPI that is developed to measure the performance of equipment, it measures the impact of equipment breakdown on the number of orders delivered by the company in a month. It also measures the safety concerns associated with the equipment. Equipment that breaks down frequently is likely to cause injuries.

Corrective actions taken by management: The number of corrective actions taken by the management of the company reflects the concern of the company to address the health and safety issue in the organization. Grill Cafes management is actively involved in encountering the challenges associated with the issue associated with the health and safety of the organization. The Grill Cafe restaurant chain has recently installed extra ventilation systems to avoid overheating in the restaurant's kitchen due to the use of hot oils and electrical appliances like refrigerators and microwaves.

Overtime hours by an employee: This KPI measures the extra hour an employee spends working other than their regular hour. The amount of overtime work done by the employee can indicate its impact on the performance of the employee and the workplace's health and safety. The Grill cafe has limited the working hours that an employee can take to 120 hours a year to reduce the level of fatigue and stress among their staff,

Employee training: This KPI measures the number of hours a company invested in the training of their employees. It provides evidence of the amount of cost the company has incurred to ensure the health and safety of the employee. The Grill Cafe has provided 70 hours of training to their employees before they start working at an actual workspace, this ensures proper utilization of employees' skills at the time of actual performance as well as proper compliance with safety measures.

Organizational Factors and their Impact on Hazard Identification

multiple factors within the organization can assist in the identification of the hazard at the workplace. These factors are

1. Health and safety culture of the organization
2. The implication of leadership and management of the organization
3. Resources
4. Flexibility in communication
5. Workers' involvement and commitment
6. Training
7. Documentation
8. Degree of accountability

Relevant Stakeholders in WHSMS

The establishment of an effective safety management system in Grill Cafes increases the effectiveness of the management towards dealing with the health and safety risk of the employees at the workplace. It creates a sense of responsibility among managers and leaders in the organization for the effective implementation of the policy. This strategy also involves the staff as a part of the health and safety practices that involve the identification of hazards, effective assessment of risk, and process of control within the organization. The policy also involves delivering effective and value-adding insights to the management for the process of managing the risk and providing feedback. The officer involved in the monitoring of the WHS policy of the organization is involved in ensuring that all the areas of concern are kept under control. They also ensure that the restaurant is effectively complying with the requirements mentioned in the legislation and the policies of the company. The responsibility of the officer includes ensuring that appropriate resources are available within the premises to enable the smooth functioning of the business operation (Western Sydney University, n.d.).

Hazard Identification and Risk Control Measures

The process of assessment of the risk involves the following steps

Step 1: Identification of hazards

This involves a systematic consultation with the staff to obtain the ground reality of the workplace. This tends to help in identifying potentially hazardous situations that may create harm to the workforce in the future. The threat of hazards can be identified in the working environment of the organization, the equipment used in the business process, the nature of the task and design of the working process, and its management.

Step 2: Assessing the risk

This step involves measuring the implication of the risk to which the staff has been exposed, it also tends to measure the probability of occurrence of the hazards. The assessment of the risk guides in identifying the degree of risk involved, and the measures that will be considered effective and ensure proper control. It also provides assistance in determining the urgency of the action required to keep control over risk.

Step 3: Controlling the risk

After assessing the risk and determining its rating another step involves ensuring the effecting controlling of the risk based on the control effectiveness evaluation table.

Control effectiveness evaluation table

Step 4: Implement additional risk control

The next step after controlling risk involves the management tend to establish the measures that can enable eliminate the risk and minimize it to the maximum extent.

Step 5: Continuous monitoring and review

Identification of hazards, assessing the risk, and controlling it is a continuous process. The continuous review and assessment of the hazards and the risks over the period of three years increase the effectiveness of the measures established for controlling.

Hazards in the Restaurant Business

The hazards that are normally observed in the restaurant business include slips, trips, falls, and fire hazards. Jahangiri et al. (2019) stated that around 84% of work-related injuries are observed among restaurant workers, this is because of incidents caused due to knife cuts, and the most common category of injuries observed in the restaurant workplace includes injuries by burns, falls, slips and trips. To prevent such kinds of injuries the WHSMS policy of the Grill Cafe involves offering health and safety services that include training, and equipment to ensure protection at personal safety. Fire risk elimination is a major concern, especially for the restaurant business, as they are involved in offering the services such as food and beverages that involves the use of fire. Hanan et al. (2020) stated that a small flame of fire can create a detrimental effect on-premises, to ensure protection against the risk of fire Grill Cafe has adopted necessary fire precautionary measures.

Conclusion

The report discussed about various legislative requirements and their interpretation in terms of the stated organizational policies. The legislative guidelines that are inclusive to the policy of the company include the formation and implementation of covid precautionary guidelines, providing an adequate amount of time to employees for an apprentice program and training, and a formation of a management system that ensures safety, surveillance, and compliance of WHS practices. The report further reviews the Grill Cafe policies and its implication at the workplace. It narrates the action that Grill Cafe is implementing at their promises, it includes the development of a safe workplace with minimal chances of risk of health, ensuring proper organization of kitchen equipment, and ensuring safety in manual handling. Apart from this, it involves offering instructions, proper training, and supervision for the health and safety of the staff, Setting up precautionary measures for fire, flammables, and other emergencies, and ensuring proper leadership and surveillance in the kitchen. Further, it elaborates on different performance indicators that enable the identification and monitoring of the performance of health and safety policies implemented within the organization. The different stakeholder's role in ensuring the proper implementation of the WHS policy is also been defined.

This research report summarises the measures policies, and actions adopted by Grill Cafe to implement an effective workers' health and safety policy at the workplace.

References

Alli, B. O. (2008). Fundamental principles of occupational health and safety. (2nd ed.). International Labour Office. Geneva.https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_093550.pdf

Business Queensland (2023). Responsibility when employing apprentices and trainees.Employers Obligation. https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/employing/hiring-recruitment/apprentices-trainees/about/employer-obligations/responsibilities

HSWA (2009). Managing health and safety in food retail. (1st. ed.).https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0027/15696/managefoodsafety.pdf

Safe Work Australia, (2023). Australian work health and Safety (WHS) Strategy 2023-2033. https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-02/Australian%20WHS%20Strategy%202023-33.pdf

Freitas, G., Stepjanie, R. & Stedefeldt, E. (2022). Why do kitchen workers not practice what they learn about food safety. 155 (1), 111114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2022.111114

Ahuja, P. K.(2017). Design and construction of eating establishments for ensuring food safety. In Food Safety in the 21st Century (pp. 355-369). Academic Press.https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-801773-9.00028-5

Health & Safety Authority (HSA), (2023). Fire prevention.https://www.hsa.ie/eng/topics/fire/fire_prevention/

U.K. Gov. (n.d.). Guidance on food safety and kitchen hygiene. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/704952/HS_10.2_Food_Safety_and_Kitchen_Hygiene.pdf

Chan, K. T., Lee, R. H. K., & Burnett, J. (2001). Maintenance performance: a case study of hospitality engineering systems. Facilities, 19(13/14), 494-504. https://doi.org/10.1108/02632770110409477

Western Sydney University (n.d.), HAzard identification, risk assessment, and control procedure .https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/12917/12917_Hazard_Identification,_Risk_Assessment_and_control_Procedure.pdf

Jahangiri, M., Eskandari, F., Karimi, N. Hasanipour, S., Shakerian, M. & Zare, A. (2019). Self-reported, work-related injuries and illness among restaurant workers in Shira city, Soth of Iran. Ann Glon Health. 85(1). 68. https://doi.org/10.5334%2Faogh.2440

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