Safety in the Workplace

Did you know that the Hospitality Industry has one of the highest rates of non-fatal falling accidents?  According to the National Safety Council, in 2013, Hospitality came in third (after Education and Retail) for the highest rate of slip and fall accidents with 18,900 cases being reported nationally.  That’s actually more than Mining and Manufacturing falls combined! During 2017 HSS experienced approximately 117 slip and fall injuries with an estimated cost of $1.6M!

HSS is committed to preventing on-the-job injuries to our employees as they come at a cost to both our injured employee and HSS.  For our employees, dealing with the pain of the injury can be physically and mentally difficult.  Injuries resulting in chronic pain can make a person feel hopeless and lead to a reduced quality of life off-the-job.  In addition, there is the possibility of lost wages due to temporary or permanent disability.  This can significantly add to the stress that the injured employee is already feeling.

For HSS, losing a good employee due to injury can result in lost productivity and failure to adequately service our clients.  There are also the costs associated with the training of a replacement employee if the injured employee cannot return to the job or loses substantial time from work.  If there are significant accidents, it will further lead to higher insurance premiums and claim costs resulting in reduced profitability and competiveness. So how do we avoid slip and fall injuries at HSS?

First, by training our employees on the specific actions and risks that may lead to slips and falls.  Training and re-training will keep safety on the forefront of everyone’s mind.  It is the responsibility of all HSS employees to adhere to the training and to help other employees they observe acting unsafely.

Second, we are evaluating the usage of properly rated slip resistant footwear and will be providing additional information on that in the near future.  Proper slip resistant footwear can reduce the risk of slips and falls by up to 80%.