Unit 4 : Safety Measure and Security

4.1. Introduction

Safety is the protection of an individual’s physical well-being and health whereas security is the protection of an individual or a business property or assets. In hospitality operation, safety refers to the actual condition in the work environment. Security refers to the prevention of theft and other emergencies.
Guest safety and hotel security is the responsibility of every manager, supervisor and employee of the hotel. Guests expect to sleep, meet, dine and entertain in a facility that is safe and secure and are entitled to reasonable care under a law. Therefore, the organization must employ reasonable care for guest and employee safety.
Safety refers to the actual condition in the work environment that provides freedom from injury and prevents damage to property.
A term that pertains to discussing disaster preparedness, fire prevention and protection, protection device and condition that provide for freedom from injury and damage to property.
The two hotel departments most likely to have the largest number of accidents and injuries are maintenance and housekeeping. In many operation, housekeeping and maintenance employ more people than any other department. The reason is that the workers in housekeeping and maintenance have to do lots of physical activities which helps to increase the risks of accident and injury.

To reduce the safety risk the executive housekeeper must be aware of potential safety hazards and develop procedures to prevent accidents. Safety should be a top priority. Ongoing safety training programs helps to ensures that safe conditions are maintained in all work areas.
To develop such programs, management must be aware of the laws that regulate the work environment and more specifically how those laws affect housekeeping personnel.

4.2. Safety and Accident

In many operations, the departments most likely to have the largest number of accidents and injuries are maintenance and housekeeping. Because both departments employ more people than other department and working in these dept. requires physical activity and equipment use which increase the risks of accident and inquiry.
To reduce safety risk housekeeper must be aware of potential safety hazards, develop procedures to prevent accidents, develop ongoing safety training programs, be aware of the laws that regulate the work environment.
Accident and injuries do not have to occur. Safety should be a top priority. The employee can contribute to a safe, accident free work environment :

• Take adequate time. No job is so urgent that you must do it in a unsafe, hurried manner.
• Correct unsafe condition immediately. If you are unable to correct unsafe or hazardous condition report immediately to the supervisor.
• Do it safely the first time. Employee must do his/her job in a safe manner to prevent away from any accident.

4.2. Safety rules for housekeeping department

Here, are some safety rules of housekeeping department which is enlisted below:-

• Always keep work and storage area clean.
• Do not place guest and cleaning supplies on tip of locker, hampers, boxes or any other containers.
• Never store item at a height where it is not visible from the floor.
• If any defects and unsafe conditions are found, report to the supervisor.
• Return tools and equipment’s to proper place after use.
• Keep glass out of linen, keep cords out of pathways, never smoke in the elevator.
• Do not overcrowd the elevators, be cautious when pulling containers on and off elevators.
• Use correct cleaning equipment for the task.
• Do not leave room service trays in the guest corridors.
• Walk on the right side of the corridor, always carry pointed object facing down.
• Never substitute the ladder, place all the breakage at the proper containers.
• Correct tripping and slipping hazards immediately.
• Use handrails on star ways.
• Report defective wiring, plugs and appliance to the supervisor immediately.
• Check cords and plugs of the electrical appliance before plugging in.
• Do not use faulty appliances
• Look for sharp objects before kneeling on carpet or on bathroom tiles.
• Report any evidence of careless smoking in the guest room.
• Be careful when carrying heavy items, and never attempt to carry more weight.
• Do not use bare hands to pull trash out of canes.
• Be careful while carrying heavy equipment.
• Pick up any foreign matters or objects that guest may observe on stairs and floors.
• Know basic first aid and fire protection procedures.
• Follow correct method while emptying ash trays.
• Ensure hand to be dry before handling electrical equipment.
• Always wear protective gear before commencement of risk jobs.

4.3. Safety Training

Safety training begins from the first day of the job. Housekeeping employee orientation must include with safety rules and regulations of the hotels safety philosophy in order to perform their jobs more safely.
A good safety policy is written in employee mind to explains the benefits of safety for the employee as well as the company. This statement should be general safety philosophy that covers the entire property not just housekeeping.
Safety training does not end at orientation. At least once a month, every employee should participates in an ongoing safety education program which discusses new safety rules and the proper use of new equipment.

4.4. Handling unusual situation and events in Hotel:

There are many emergencies which arises in hospitality industry and it is necessary to handle these emergencies in a tactful way as per the standard procedure of the industry. The staff working should be able to handle such situation and critical cases with full knowledge and potentiality. Otherwise, it may cause great loss to the industry.

a. Guest Complaints

Staff must understand that guest is always right so do not argue with guest. Listen alternatively to the guest and try to understand what exactly is wrong. Apologize for the inconvenience caused and rectify the situation if you can. Note down the incidence on the log book and give handover to the next shift if the issue is not resolved.
Complain must be handled with empathy and positively for the guest and hopeful for 100% guest happiness as the result. If the problem is out of your authority, inform the manager or Duty manager. Guest should be informed of the progress. Record all the facts I the register. Even if you successfully resolved the situation inform the manager of all complaints immediately.

b. Lost and Found

Any item temporarily misplaced or lost by a guest, traced later by hotel staff. Such articles are handed over to the housekeeping department, who maintain a special locker with record for the same. If the items belongs to the guest who has already checked out, then email is sent to the guest from their registration card. The item may also be mailed to the guest on request. If no reply is received with a specified time period, the article may be given to the staff who has found it.

c. Bomb Threat

In this Situation of any call received regarding the bomb threat, the hotel should tie up with the local police authority and follow their instructions. The person who receives the call should take complete details of the situation and should even try to note down the voice and accent of the person calling regarding a bomb threat. Immediately the hotel should inform the anti bomb squad and should defuse the bomb after locating the place where it is planted.

d. Fire Threat

Fire is the most common emergency situation which could break in the hotel at any point of time. The most probable reason of fire break in the hotels can be kitchen or faulty wirings in the hotel. The concerned staff should be immediately informed and fire brigade should be informed immediately. Do not panic. If the hotel staff is well versed with the fire fighting equipments then immediately fire extinguisher should be used. The supply of electricity and gas should be immediately turned off whenever any news regarding fire comes to the hotel.

d. Death of an In-House Guest

In the Hotel Whenever, information comes regarding death of an in-house guest the Front Office Manager should be reported directly who informs the General Manager and the Security Manager. Later on the police authority is even told and the hotel doctor is summoned to confirm the death of the guest. The residential address of the guests is also identified and the relatives are informed.

Once the doctor has confirmed the death and the police has given the permission the dead body is removed by the help of a stretcher. In the meanwhile if the deceased guest was under some other doctor consultation then that doctor is also enquired. A death certificate is also prepared and a report is prepared mentioning the time, room number and other details related to the deceased guest. The guest room is locked and sealed and after the permission and clearance of police the room is opened and spring cleaned and can be resold again after the approval of the local authority.

e. Accident

Accidents can take place in the hotels at any point of time due to faulty stairs, ramps, balconies and even due to the parking places. The hotels should ensure that handrails, non slip surface should be used while framing the architecture plan for the hotels.

f. Theft

In this situation Front desk is having cash with them so there is also possibility of theft.
Also there are belongings of in house guest .To discourage theft, front office should inform the
guest to deposit their valuables in the safety deposit locker.

g. Illness and Epidemics

There should always be a Doctor on call available for the hotel so that in case if any guest suffers from any kind of problem he /she can be given the concern treatment as soon as possible.

h. Handling Drunken Guest

A drunken guest may disturb other guest. In order to avoid this the drunken guest should be escorted to an isolated area like back office. Hotel staff should calmly handle the situation.

i. Vandalism

In case of vandalism found by housekeeping staff, they should firstly inform the front office staff who must call security and order the main door to be locked. If the things get out of hand the police must be called. The front office cashier is instructed to raise charge for the value of the damage to property.

4.5. First Aids

First aid is the care a sick or injured person gets before they get full medical treatment. In some cases, it may be the only care someone needs, while in others, it may keep them safe until paramedics arrive or someone else gets them to the hospital.
First aid can include everything from bandaging a minor wound to preventing shock to keeping someone’s heart beating during a cardiac event. Ideally, it should be performed by someone who’s taken a class and is certified in first aid, but if no one is available, anyone with some basic knowledge can pitch in.
When someone is unconscious or unresponsive, a basic tenet of first aid is ABC:

• Airway: If someone’s not breathing, clear their airway.
• Breathing: If the airway is clear and they’re still not breathing, provide rescue breathing.
• Circulation: Chest compressions to keep blood circulating should be performed along with rescue breathing. If the person is breathing but unresponsive, check their pulse to see if their heart has stopped and, if so, provide chest compressions.