It’s a sad fact that poor standards of maintenance are a significant underlying cause of accidents in the catering industry. If you include accidents that happen during maintenance work itself and cleaning, almost two-thirds of accidents investigated in catering stem from maintenance. In many cases the problems are caused by a total lack of maintenance.
These accidents can be very costly, both in financial terms as well as in pain and suffering for the people involved. The majority of accidents that result from poor maintenance involve equipment, and others from the maintenance standards in the building itself.
Good standards of maintenance by competent staff ensure that commercial catering equipment performs well and reliably, and helps prevent accidents from happening. It’s also vitally important that the maintenance work itself is carried out safely.
The Importance Of Regular Inspections
Health and safety law requires that employers who work in hospitality and catering premises need to ensure that gas appliances, flues, pipe work and safety devices are maintained in a safe condition. They should always be inspected by a competent person in accordance with current industry practice.
The time between inspections may vary depending on the type of equipment and its use and should follow manufacturer’s recommendations. As a general rule inspections of catering equipment should take place annually.
Any hospitality and catering employers using contractors for gas work should always check that the contractors have a current relevant certificate of competence. This can be checked by asking to see their Gas Safe identity card.
