The hospitality industry is very physically demanding and requires attention to detail.  HSS has done a great job in proactively reducing injuries by our very aggressive approach to weekly safety training’s. Safety training’s have been key in the reduction of injuries, but we still have much work to do.  In 2017, 28% of all of our workers compensation claims were due to employees being struck by, and, or against what was around them.  This could be anything from furniture, doors, counters, walls, housekeeping carts, elevators, tools, etc.  When employees are in a hurry, they tend to stop paying attention to what is around them.

It only takes a split second for someone to bump their knee against furniture, hit their head as they bend over to clean the floors, or fail to move their fingers in time to avoid getting them smashed by doors.  What can we do to prevent these types of injuries? We have to make sure employees are following already established HSS policies and procedures.  Injuries occur when employees ignore these policies and procedures to do their jobs as quickly as possible.

The most effective way to prevent these types of injuries is for our supervisory staff to conduct Behavioral Based Safety Audits.  Taking the time to observe our employees as they work will allow us to identify the root cause of these injuries.  Some common causes of accidents include employees failing to use door stoppers, failing to wear required personal protective equipment (PPE), failing to remove hazards on the floors, failing to inspect tools before each use or simply rushing to complete a task.

Once unsafe behaviors have been identified, we can stop that behavior and coach our employees on proper procedures.  This will allows us to keep safety as a top priority and help us in proactively stopping work related injuries. Since we are already visiting our customers every single day, it is a perfect opportunity for our supervisors to take a few minutes to observe our employees working. We will not only be able to provide a better quality of service to our customers but will also help employees avoid work related injuries.