Hospitality Focus on Safety: Grounds Safety
Definition:
Grounds maintenance includes all work performed on the property landscaping or golf course, that requires the use of hand tools, power equipment and physical strength and therefore has a greater potential for incurring an injury.
Potential Exposures:
- Use of any power equipment
- Bending, lifting, shoveling or digging
- Repetitive and physically demanding motions
- Refueling gas powered equipment
- Repairing equipment
- Overexposure to heat or cold
- Using the wrong equipment for the job
- Hands and feet being in the way of moving parts
- Smoking while operating or being around gasoline-powered equipment.
Prevention:
- Be aware of your surroundings at all times. Remove potentially hazardous rocks and debris. Take precaution for differing terrains, weather and other workers. Pedestrians and bystanders should be at least 30 feet away from power equipment in use.
- Before digging, request all utility companies to mark the grounds for underground lines.
- Only use equipment that is specifically designated for the task you are performing.
- Inspect equipment for damage or missing components before using.
- Dress in work clothes appropriate for the weather and for the type of work being performed. Ensure clothing is fitted correctly and includes proper protective gear.
- In extreme weather work in pairs, take frequent breaks and hydrate.
- When climbing on or off of equipment or ladders, maintain a 3-point body contact at all times.
- Before making repairs or refueling or walking away from any machine, make sure the engine is off and cooled completely.
- Use all fire precautions and preventions in the presence of fuel and while refueling equipment.
- Tools should never be left on the ground where they can cause injuries to anyone who steps on them.
- Never smoke within 30 feet of any gasoline, power equipment, chemicals or mulch.
- Keep chemical products in their original container, properly labeled and properly stored.
- Follow all procedures as outlined in the Safety Review Musculoskeletal Disorders for preventing personal injury during repetitive tasks or tasks requiring physical strength, bending or lifting, or preventing slips, trips and falls.
In the event of an injury due to grounds maintenance:
- Follow the guidelines for the incident found in the Emergency Binder.
- If you feel you may have incurred an injury of any kind, report it immediately to your supervisor.
- Be very clear on whether you require immediate medical attention, imminent medical attention or request additional accommodations to prevent injury in the future.
- Report the incident to the Risk Management Team.
- Inform the staff of the incident and make corrections to procedures or errors to ensure that this incident does recur.
June McCreight
June McCreight began her career in the hospitality industry as a housekeeper in 1996. In the years since, she has risen through the ranks, learning maintenance, front office, sales and revenue management, property management and district management, bench management and opening team management. She has trained hundreds of hoteliers and won many awards for her management successes. In 2011, June wrote and published, The Strangers in My Beds, a fictional novel based strictly on the strange events of her career in hotels. In 2014, June partnered with her father, a very accomplished software architect, and opened the business, Coba Enterprise Management, LLC with a very unique and specialized CMMS (Computer Maintenance Management System) software for hotels.
