Kitchen safety. Pt 1. Preventing cuts and strains (1969)

[Music] according to recent statistics the food service industry has three times as many accidents as the oil industry average Falls and machine injuries account for a large number but far too many accidents are those little cuts and strains some people just take for granted a lot of people just never stop to think that back strains and sliced fingers and sliced other things can be prevented they don't have to happen at all [Music] a commercial kitchen is literally filled with ways to cut yourself knives are the tools of the trade and the first rule is to use the right knife for the job and you don't carve with a boning knife or bone meat with a vegetable knife for a special job like opening oysters you use the knife specially designed for that purpose and you never open cans with a sight meat cleaver or anything other than a can opener the right tool for the job knives are safest and work best when they are sharp a dull knife is harder to cut with requires more force is more likely to slip than a sharp one the butcher's steel should be used in this manner notice the safety guys and the way the hands are held away from the body it pays to check your knives periodically handles as well as blade notice that the knives are kept in their proper place in a drawer or rack for safety and efficiency edges should be straight as well as sharp now suppose you have the right knife for the job and it's sharp enough but you have to lay it down if you do make sure it is left away from the edge of the table and in plain view a hidden knife is a booby trap the cutting board is an important safety device and should always be used it provides a solid base for your work it also gives the knife something to cut against a smooth surface such as the metal tabletop can cause the knife to slip out of control in a busy kitchen accidents often happen when you allow your attention to one [Music] this man has the right idea if a knife Falls don't try to catch it just get out of its way horseplay of any kind is dangerous in the kitchen but this is just plain suicide don't get involved in arguments or playing game with a knife in your hand it's as deadly as a loaded gun a [Music] large percentage of those sliced fingers come from unsafe handling of glassware in China a few simple precautions can prevent a lot of injuries for example never pass a broken glass to the dishwasher or to anybody else a special container for broken glass and glassware should be used it should not be mixed in with garbage and rubbish slivers and shards of glass are sharper the knives and harder to see don't pass them to someone else get rid of them [Music] make it a rule never to handle broken glass if possible clean it up immediately with a fan and broom the smaller slivers can be picked up with a wet paper towel which can be discarded injuries caused by lifting can also be prevented by a few common sense precautions learn to lift properly with your legs not your back stoop don't bend get a good grip keeping the load close to your body as you stand let the legs do the lifting and don't overdo it you don't have to prove your strength by doing a job that should take two men know your own limitations use a cart or dolly for large loads but don't pile things too high you need to be able to see over and around the load for safe handling safety is often a matter of just taking a few simple precautions or using a little common sense [Music] or follow a few basic rules it all seems easy enough but safety is a habit you have been worded every day with the right attitude and a few simple rules cuts and strains can be prevented if there's always the worker who thinks it just has to happen that is part of the job the guy who takes chances and depends on luck to see improve how do we get through [Music]