PROFILE OF ACCOMMODATION AND FOOD SERVICES WORKERS’ DEATHS, INJURIES, AND ILLNESSES

5.3.1 DEATHS

There were 134 occupationally related deaths among accommodation and food service sector workers in 2005. The retail sector accounted for 4.9% of the service industry deaths (2736). Table 5.1 shows the percent values from each major category of those deaths.

5.3.2 INJURIES

There were 77,620 reported injuries to accommodation and food service sector workers in 2004. This was 9% of the total injuries for the service industries (850,930). In Tables 5.2 through 5.5, the distributions of the nature, body part, source, and exposure (accident type) of the 77,620 injuries are presented.

5.3.3 I^LLNESSES

In the accommodation and food service sector there were 9200 cases of occupation-ally related illnesses; this is 6% of the total for the service industry (see Table 5.6).

5.4 OCCUPATIONS

5.4.1 HOTELS ANDOTHERACCOMMODATIONS

The vast majority of workers in this industry—more than 8 out of 10 in 2004—were employed in service and office and administrative support occupations. Workers in

TABLE 5.1

Occupational Death Cause by Percent for the Accommodation and Food Service Sector

Cause Accommodation and Food Service Sector (%)

Highway 13

Homicides 63

Falls 7

Struck by 0

Source: From Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor.

Workplace Injuries and Illnesses in 2004. Available at http:==bls.gov.

TABLE 5.2

Nature of Injury by Number and Percent for the Accommodation and Food Service Sector

Nature of Injury Number Percent

Sprains=strains^a 25,780 33

Fractures^a 4,350 5.6

Cuts=punctures^a 12,740 16

Bruises^a 7,450 10

Heat burns^a 6,130 7.9

Chemical burns 330 0.4

Amputations 140 0.2

Carpal tunnel syndrome 540 0.7

Tendonitis 0 0

Multiple trauma 3,150 4

Back pain 2,480 3.2

Source: From Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor. Workplace Injuries and Illnesses in 2004. Available at http:==bls.gov.

a Five most frequently occurring conditions.

TABLE 5.3

Body Part Injured by Number and Percent for the Accommodation and Food Service Sector

Body Part Injured Number Percent

Head 4,440 5.7

Eyes 1,600 2

Neck 710 0.9

Trunk^a 20,780 27

Back^a 12,780 16

Shoulder 4,100 5

Upper extremities^a 24,520 32

Finger^a 10,350 13

Hand 6,090 7.8

Wrist 3,180 4

Lower extremities^a 16,310 21

Knee 6,360 8.2

Foot, toe 3,440 4

Body systems 750 0.9

Multiple body parts 480 12

Source: From Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor. Workplace Injuries and Illnesses in 2004. Available at http:==bls.gov.

a Five most frequently injured body parts.

TABLE 5.4

Source of Injury by Number and Percent for the Accommodation and Food Service Sector

Sources of Injuries Number Percent

Parts and materials 1,240 1.6

Worker motion=position^a 8,870 11

Floor, walkways, or ground surfaces^a 21,010 27

Handtools^a 6,430 8

Vehicles 3,360 4

Health care patients 0 0

Chemicals and chemical products 450 0.5

Containers^a 3,010 3.9

Furniture andfixtures^a 2,080 2.7

Machinery 1,040 1.3

Source: From Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor. Workplace Injuries and Illnesses in 2004. Available at http:==bls.gov.

a Five most frequent sources of injury.

these occupations usually learn their skills on the job. Postsecondary education is not required for most entry-level positions; however, college training may be helpful for advancement in some of these occupations. For many administrative support and service occupations, personality traits and a customer-service orientation may be more important than formal schooling. Traits most important for success in the hotel

TABLE 5.5

Exposure=Accident Type by Number and Percent for the Accommodation and Food Service Sector

Type of Accidents Number Percent

Struck by an object^a 12,090 16

Struck against an object 6,000 7.7

Caught in or compressed or crushed 1,950 2.5

Fall to lower level 2,880 9.4

Fall on same level^a 19,670 25

Slips or trips without a fall 3,000 3.9

Overexertion^a 12,380 16

Lifting^a 8,020 10

Repetitive motion 1,400 1.4

Exposure to harmful substances or environment^a 7,890 10

Transportation accidents 1,890 2.4

Fires and explosions 0 0

Assaults=violent acts 750 0.9

Source: From Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor.

Workplace Injuries and Illnesses in 2004. Available at http:==bls.gov.

a Five most frequent exposures or types of accidents that led to an injury.

TABLE 5.6

Occupational Illnesses by Number of Cases and Percent for the Accommodation and Food Service Sector

Illness Type Number Percent

Skin diseases and disorders 3300 36

Respiratory conditions 800 8.7

Poisoning 100 1

Hearing loss 0 0

Others 5000 54

Source: From Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor. Workplace Injuries and Illnesses in 2004. Available at http:==bls.gov.

and motel industry are good communication skills; the ability to get along with people in stressful situations; a neat, clean appearance; and a pleasant manner.

Employment is concentrated in densely populated cities and resort areas. Com-pared with establishments in other industries, hotels, motels, and other lodging places tend to be small. About 91% employ fewer than 50 people and about 56%

employ fewer than 10 workers. As a result, lodging establishments offer opportun-ities for those who are interested in owning and running their own business.

Although establishments tend to be small, the majority of jobs are in larger hotels and motels with more than 100 employees.

Hotels and other lodging places often providefirst jobs to many new entrants to the labor force. As a result, many of the industry’s workers are young. In 2004, about 19% of the workers were younger than age 25, compared with about 14% across all industries.

Service occupations, by far the largest occupational group in the industry, account for 65% of the industry’s employment. Most service jobs are in house-keeping occupations—including maids and housekeeping cleaners, janitors and cleaners, and laundry workers—and in food preparation and service jobs—including chefs and cooks, waiters and waitresses, bartenders, fast-food and counter workers, and various other kitchen and dining-room workers. The industry also employs many baggage porters and bellhops, gaming services workers, and grounds main-tenance workers. Other occupations found in the accommodation sector are building cleaning workers; chefs, cooks, and other food preparation workers; food and beverage serving and related workers; food service managers; hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks; gaming cage workers; gaming services occupations; lodging managers; recreation andfitness workers; and security guards and gaming surveil-lance officers.

Workers in cleaning and housekeeping occupations ensure that the lodging facility is clean and in good condition for the comfort and safety of guests. Maids and housekeepers clean lobbies, halls, guestrooms, and bathrooms. Janitors help with the cleaning of the public areas of the facility, empty trash, and perform minor maintenance work. Workers in the various food service occupations deal with customers in the dining room or at a service counter. Waiters and waitresses take customers’ orders, serve meals, and prepare checks. Hosts and hostesses welcome guests, show them to their tables, and give them menus. Bartenders fill beverage orders for customers seated at the bar or from waiters and waitresses who serve patrons at tables. Cooks and food preparation workers prepare food in the kitchen.

Many full-service hotels employ a uniformed staff to assist arriving and departing guests. Baggage porters and bellhops carry bags and escort guests to their rooms.

Concierges arrange special or personal services for guests. Doorkeepers help guests into and out of their cars, summon taxis, and carry baggage into the hotel lobby.

Hotels also employ the largest percentage of gaming services workers because much of gaming takes place in casino hotels.

Office and administrative support positions accounted for 18% of the jobs in hotels and other accommodations in 2004. Hotel desk clerks, secretaries, bookkeep-ing and accountbookkeep-ing clerks, and telephone operators ensure that the front office operates smoothly.

Hotels and lodging managers or general and operations managers in large hotels often have several other lodging places employing many different types of managers to direct and coordinate the activities of the front office, kitchen, dining room, and other departments, such as housekeeping, accounting, personnel, purchasing, publi-city, sales, security, and maintenance.

Hotels and other lodging places employ a variety of workers found in many other industries. Maintenance workers, such as stationary engineers, plumbers, and paint-ers, fix leaky faucets, do some painting and carpentry, see that heating and air-conditioning equipment works properly, mow lawns, and exterminate pests. The industry also employs cashiers, accountants, personnel workers, entertainers, and recreation workers. Also, many additional workers inside a hotel may work for other companies under contract to the hotel or may provide personal or retail services directly to hotel guests from space rented by the hotel. This group includes guards and security officers, barbers, cosmetologists, fitness trainers and aerobics instruct-ors, valets, gardeners, and parking attendants.

Although the skills and experience needed by workers in this industry depend on the specific occupation, most entry-level jobs require little or no previous training.

Basic tasks usually can be learned in a short time. Almost all workers in the hotel and other accommodations industries undergo on-the-job training, which is usually provided under the supervision of an experienced employee or manager. Some large chain operations have formal training sessions for new employees; many also provide video or online training.

5.4.2 FOODSERVICES ANDDRINKINGPLACES

The food services and drinking places industry, with about 8.9 million wage and salary jobs in 2004, ranks among the nation’s leading employers. Food services and drinking places tend to be small; about 72% of the establishments in the industry employ fewer than 20 workers. As a result, this industry is often considered attractive to individuals who want to own and run their own businesses. An estimated 248,000 self-employed and unpaid family workers are employed in the industry, representing about 3% of total employment.

Establishments in this industry, particularly fast-food establishments, are leading employers of teenagers—aged 16 through 19—providing first jobs for many new entrants to the labor force. In 2004, about 21% of all workers in food services and drinking places were teenagers, about five times the proportion in all industries.

About 45% were under age 25, more than three times the proportion in all industries.

Workers in this industry perform a variety of tasks. They prepare food items from a menu or according to a customer’s order, keep food preparation and service areas clean, accept payment from customers, and provide the establishment man-agerial or office services, such as bookkeeping, ordering, and advertising. Cooks, waiters and waitresses, and combined food preparation and serving workers account for more than half of food services jobs.

Employees in the various food services and related occupations deal with customers in a dining area or at a service counter. Waiters and waitresses take customers’ orders, serve food and beverages, and prepare itemized checks. In

fine-dining restaurants, they may describe chef’s specials and take alcoholic bever-age orders. In some establishments, they escort customers to their seats, accept payments, and set up and clear tables. In many larger restaurants, however, these tasks may be assigned to, or shared with, other workers.

Other food services occupations include hosts and hostesses, who welcome customers, show them to their tables, and offer them menus. Bartenders fill drink orders for waiters and waitresses and from customers seated at the bar. Dining-room attendants and bartender helpers assist waiters, waitresses, and bartenders by clear-ing, cleanclear-ing, and setting up tables, as well as keeping service areas stocked with supplies. Counter attendants take orders and serve food at counters, cafeteria steam tables, and fast-food counters. Depending on the size and type of establishment, attendants may also operate cash registers.

Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food, prepare and serve items in fast-food restaurants. Most take orders from customers at counters or drive-through windows at fast-food restaurants. They assemble orders, hand them to customers, and accept payment. Many of these workers also cook and package food, make coffee, andfill beverage cups using drink-dispensing machines.

Workers in the various food preparation occupations prepare food in the kitchen.

Institution and cafeteria cooks work in the kitchens of schools, hospitals, industrial cafeterias, and other institutions where they prepare large quantities of a small variety of menu items. Restaurant cooks usually prepare a wider selection of dishes for each meal, cooking individual servings to order. Short-order cooks prepare grilled items and sandwiches in establishments that emphasize fast service. Fast-food cooks prepare and package a limited selection of Fast-food that is either prepared to order or kept warm until sold in fast-food restaurants. Food preparation workers clean and prepare basic food ingredients, such as meats,fish, and vegetables for use in making complex meals, keep work areas clean, and perform simple cooking tasks under the direction of the chef or head cook. Dishwashers clean dishes, glasses, pots, and kitchen accessories by hand or by machine.

Food service managers hire, train, supervise, and discharge workers in food services and drinking places establishments. They also purchase supplies, deal with vendors, keep records, and help whenever an extra hand is needed. Executive chefs oversee the kitchen, select the menu, train cooks and food preparation workers, and direct the preparation of food. Infine-dining establishments, maitre d’s may serve as hosts or hostesses while overseeing the dining room. Larger establishments may employ general managers, as well as a number of assistant managers. Many man-agers and executive chefs are part owners of the establishments they manage.

Food services and drinking places may employ a wide range of other workers, including accountants, advertising and public relations workers, bookkeepers, diet-itians, mechanics and other maintenance workers, musicians and other entertainers, human resources workers, and various clerks. However, many establishments may choose to contract this work to outside establishments who also perform these tasks for several food services and drinking places outlets.

The skills and experience required by workers in food services and drinking places differ by occupation and the type of establishment. Many entry-level posi-tions, such as waiters and waitresses or food preparation workers, require little or no

formal education or previous training. Similarly, work in limited-service eating places generally requires less experience than work in full-service restaurants.

Many fast-food worker or server jobs are held by young or part-time workers.

For many youths, this is theirfirst job; for others, part-time schedules allow flexible working arrangements. On-the-job training, typically under the close supervision of an experienced employee or manager, often lasts a few weeks or less. Some large chain operations require formal training sessions, many using online or video train-ing programs, for new employees.

5.5 APPLICABLE OSHA REGULATIONS

Another way to gather an understanding of the hazards faced by retail workers is to see the types of violations that Occupational Safety and Health Administration

TABLE 5.7

Twenty-Five Most Frequent OSHA Violations for Accommodation Sector

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps, and Other Lodging Places (70)

CFR Standard Number Cited Description

1910.1200 62 Hazard communication

1910.303 24 Electrical systems design, general requirements 1910.305 23 Electrical, wiring methods, components and equipment

1910.1030 21 Bloodborne pathogens

1910.134 19 Respiratory protection

1910.157 18 Portablefire extinguishers

1910.215 18 Abrasive wheel machinery

1910.132 15 Personal protective equipment, general requirements

1926.1101 15 Asbestos

1910.151 14 Medical services andfirst aid

1926.62 13 Lead

1910.23 9 Guardingfloor and wall openings and holes

1910.37 9 Maintenance, safeguards, and operation features for exit routes

1910.213 8 Woodworking machinery requirements

1910.1001 8 Asbestos

1910.36 6 Design and construction requirements for exit routes 1910.178 6 Powered industrial trucks (forklifts)

1910.253 6 Oxygen-fuel gas welding and cutting

1926.451 6 Scaffolds, general requirements

5A1 6 General duty clause (section of OSHA Act)

1910.212 5 Machines, general requirements

1910.304 5 Electrical, wiring design and protection

1904.29 4 Forms

1910.22 4 Working=walking surfaces, general requirements 1910.67 4 Vehicle-mounted elevating=rotating work platforms

Note: Standards cited by federal OSHA for the accommodation services sector from October 2005 to September 2006 are included here.

(OSHA) have found during their inspections of retail establishments. These viola-tions provide another way of targeting hazards that have the potential to cause injury, illness, and death of workers. As can be seen from the 25 most frequently cited violations for both the accommodation and food services sector, OSHA cites this industry under the general industry standard (29 CFR 1910) and the recordkeeping standard (29 CFR 1904) (see Tables 5.7 and 5.8).

Although the previous were the 25 most frequently issued violations, OSHA has cited other hazards with less frequency. Some of these are as follows:

. Hand protection

. Scaffolding

. Material handling

TABLE 5.8

Twenty-Five Most Frequent OSHA Violations for Food Services Sector

Eating and Drinking Places

CFR Standard Number Cited Description

1910.1200 284 Hazard communication

1910.305 92 Electrical, wiring methods, components and equipment 1910.132 19 Personal protective equipment, general requirements

1910.157 17 Portablefire extinguishers

1910.22 16 Working=walking surfaces, general requirements

1910.37 15 Maintenance, safeguards, and operation features for exit routes

1910.151 14 Medical services andfirst aid

1910.303 13 Electrical systems design, general requirements

1910.133 10 Eye and face protection

1910.212 7 Machines, general requirements

1910.304 7 Electrical, wiring design and protection 1910.101 4 Compressed gases, general requirements

1910.138 4 Hand protection

1910.147 4 The control of hazardous energy, lockout=tagout

1903.19 3 Abatement verification

1910.141 3 Sanitation

1910.334 3 Electrical, use of equipment

1926.451 3 Scaffolds, general requirements

1904.29 2 Forms

1910.38 2 Emergency action Plans

1910.103 2 Hydrogen

1910.253 2 Oxygen-fuel gas welding and cutting

5A1 2 General duty clause (section of OSHA Act)

1903.2 1 Posting of notice, availability of the act, regulations, and applicable standards

1904.2 1 Partial exemption for establishments in certain industries Note: Standards cited by federal OSHA for the food services sector from October 2005 to September

2006 are included here.

. Head protection

. Eye and face protection

. Compressed gases

. Hazardous locations

. Asbestos

. Fall protection

. Automatic sprinklers

. Ladders

. Fixed ladders

. Fixed industrial stairs

. Lockout=tagout

. Safeguard for personnel protection

. Bakery equipment

With the hazards faced by this sector, it is imperative that safety and health be an integral part of doing business, with the specific purpose of protecting its employees.

REFERENCE

Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor, Workplace Injuries and Illnesses in 2004. Available at http:==bls.gov.

In document Handbook of Safety and Health for the Service Industry (Page 82-92)