Why Do Food and Beverage Managers Use Kitchen Mat Flooring in their Commercial Kitchens?

If you have ever worked in a restaurant, you have probably noticed that the kitchen uses rubber mats. Perhaps, you never really thought twice about why kitchen mats were used in the first place. However, rubber mats fulfill several important purposes in a commercial kitchen. Implementing a kitchen mat or two increases the safety of kitchen staff, reduces liability for restaurant owners, and maximizes comfort for employees.

Rubber kitchen mats reduce many risks commonly found in commercial kitchens. From hot pans to sharp knives to slippery floors, kitchens are full of risks and hazards. Accidents are just waiting to happen if you do not take the necessary safety precautions. Just like calling out “Hot!” or wearing safety gloves, a kitchen mat is one such safety precaution. In a fast-paced environment like a commercial kitchen, spills are unavoidable. Servers might spill the drinks they carry out to their tables, or cooks might spill hot water while moving pots or pans. Whatever the cause, kitchen floors quickly become slippery from spills, putting people at risk of slipping and falling. This risk makes the use of a kitchen mat imperative. A rubber kitchen mat has a no-slip quality that makes kitchen floors safer to walk on. The rubber texture increases grip and traction while the drainage holes and raised design prevent moisture from accumulating on top of the mat, reducing the likelihood of slips and falls. A kitchen mat will keep your kitchen staff, as well as your front-of-house staff, much safer.

Of course, kitchen mats don’t just protect against ordinary food and water spills. They can protect against oil and grease spills as well. Unlike ordinary food and water spills, grease and oil spills are slicker and more difficult to clean. Simply wiping grease spills with a towel may still leave slippery residue. Often, to thoroughly clean a grease or oil spill, you need to pour salt on the floor, let it sit while it absorbs the grease, and then sweep the salt up afterwards. Thankfully, red rubber mats contain nitrile rubber, which naturally absorbs grease or oil on its own. This eliminates the time-consuming hassle of cleaning grease or oil spoils with salt, since they are absorbed into the mat. Red rubber mats are great for parts of the kitchen where grease and oil are especially present, while black rubber mats are good for dishwashing or bartending areas.

When rubber kitchen mats are implemented to keep restaurant staff safe, they also reduce liability for restaurant owners and management. Spills are an everyday reality of working in a kitchen. Therefore, slips and falls due to kitchen spills are one of the most common accidents in a commercial kitchen (Cal/OSHA). If they don’t take all necessary safety precautions, such as creating non-slip floors with rubber matting, owners and managers can be held liable for work-related accidents. Property owners and managers are responsible for creating a safe work environment for their employees. Lawsuits are a huge hassle for everyone involved. They cost a huge amount of time and money to handle. If you are a restaurant owner, implementing a kitchen mat in your restaurant can save your staff from injury and spare you from the headache of labor lawsuits.

In addition to keeping employees safe, an anti-fatigue kitchen mat can help employees to combat fatigue throughout their shift. Working in a restaurant requires standing for hours at a time. Standing for such long periods can cause sore feet and joints, in turn causing employees to tire easily. Rubber surfacing is less fatiguing to stand on, since it is softer than tile or concrete. Rubber mats provide cushioning that is easier on knee joints and on the soles of the feet. This keeps kitchen staff alert and comfortable for their whole shift. Avoiding wearing out your staff helps them to work harder and maintains their job satisfaction. Because rubber kitchen mats also keep your staff alert, they are less prone to accidents caused by tiredness or lack of awareness, such as falls or slips.

A kitchen mat is very useful for a commercial kitchen. Head chefs, restaurant owners, and location managers make sure to outfit their kitchens with rubber mats to ensure the safety of their valued staff, reduce liability when accidents occur, and keep employees comfortable during their shifts. In a fast-paced and high-volume environment like a kitchen, these three factors must be taken very seriously. The use of rubber matting keeps a kitchen running smoothly and efficiently, keeping staff and guests alike happy.