As of mid November, our accident rate is about the same as last year. There has not been any serious on the job employee injuries or illness. Based on our workmen compensation insurance year, September 2001 until August 2002, the record is pretty good. There is plenty of time left in the year for company performance to have fewer injuries than last year. This should be a goal for all food service directors.

I have done much reading from various sources on safety in the work place. The basic common denominator in all the articles is Employee Awareness. This single factor is the largest step in reducing on the job injuries. Employees have to be educated to work safely through daily reinforcement and structured monthly safety meetings.

The monthly meeting should be informative with a new topic every month. There is a wide spectrum for topics for the employee meetings ranging from food safety, on the job safety, and driving safety. Look around the facility and have meetings on some risk factors that are ever present. Each month hold the meeting on a different risk factor that is present in the unit. Mix up the monthly agenda by adding in food safety issues, driving safety related to ice and wet weather conditions, and household safety. Let the employees know that as the leader of your facility, you are interested in their personal well being both on and off the job. Keep the meetings brief and interesting, and encourage employee participation. These are the important steps necessary to get the Employee Awareness campaign in full force.

Great Western Dining has striven to support the efforts of the food service directors with safety programs such as the glove and shoe program. This year there has not been any on the job injuries related to cuts. There have been a few on the job injuries related to slips on wet floors. Every person that has slipped on wet floors has not been wearing the safety shoes. Encourage the employees to purchase the safety shoes since they have been very successful in reducing slips and falls on wet floors. They cannot find a more comfortable shoe for the bargain prices that are available.

Since the inception of the safety shoe program last year, over 200 pairs of safety shoes have been purchased by employees through the company*s contribution and payroll deduction program. I think this indicates not only a program that is showing signs of success but also that employees feel the shoes are not only safe but comfortable to wear. Encouraging everyone to purchase shoes is important mainly for the well being of the employee since food service has built in accidents waiting to happen from wet floors.

Congratulations to all food service directors for the efforts to date in promoting safety in the unit. As a unified effort the employee on the job injuries are being reduced over past years performance levels. Keep up the good work.

November
2nd	Phillip Specter	Food Service Director	Clarendon College
5th	Frank Modica	Vice President	Home Office
7th	John Walker	District Manager	Texas
10th	Mike Roderieck	Food Service Director	South Plains College
11th	Paul Tharman	Food Service Director	Ranger College
14th	Chris Hoskins	Food Service Director	Kansas State Highway Patrol
17th	Bruce Garrels	Vice-President	Home Office
17th	Lee Jones	Food Service Director	Western Texas College
24th	Lou Murdick	Food Service Director	Newman University
30th	Carla Organ	Asst. Food Service Director	Odessa College

Pat on the Back

• Rick Vandiver:
  FSD - Hutchinson Community College
  

  "Rick, I just wanted to let you know how pleased we were with the way things went this summer. As always, the food was well prepared and delicious. Your staff was out of this world and a great help to all of our campers and staff. Have a great school year and we look forward to working with you again in 2002!"

  Joel Walker

• Darrell Jones:
  FSD - Kansas State University - Salina

  "Dear Darrell, Thank you for housing the administrative professional secretaries yesterday by providing lunch for all of us. I enjoyed the meal, the fellowship with other members on the staff. I greatly appreciate your generosity and thoughtfulness. You are a kind soul and I enjoy working with you. We all appreciate your "going the extra mile" to meet our requests and needs. You are always so accommodating. Thank you very much for everything, particularly for making my day extra special."

  Warm regards, Jane Baron

• Monica and Steve Rowden:
  FSD - Iowa Central Community College

  "Dear Warren, I want to thank you for taking the time to be at Iowa Central for the annual dinner for the college's advisory committee members. The food was delicious and the decorations were great. We feel real fortunate to have Steve and Monica at Iowa Central!"

  Mel

• Mike & Prudy Roderieck:
  FSD - South Plains College

  "GREAT WESTERN DINING SERVICE IN LEVELLAND DID AN EXCELLENT JOB AT THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY COWBOY BALL.THE FOOD WAS EXCELLENT, SERVICE WAS GREAT, AND HEARD ONLY GOOD COMMENTS. GREAT WESTERN IS AN ASSET TO SOUTH PLAINS COLLEGE."

  THANKS!!!!

Meet the Managers

JEFF LANDRETH
Jeff Landreth is the Food Service Director at the Columbia Area Senior Center in Columbia, Missouri. Jeff joined Great Western Dining in August, 1999. He has been involved in food service and restaurant business on and off for about 20 years. Prior to Great Western, Jeff was employed at Honest Johns in Columbia as the head cook. He has also worked in Texas and once won 3rd place in a chili cook off in Texas sponsored by the Culinary Institute of New York. Jeff has one daughter, Alissa, age 13.

Buck-a-Roo Club

Dan Karczewski	Tom Owens	Robert Lattin
Linda Harper	Jennie Fuls	Blanche Dobson
Brant Hatler	Phillip Specter	Jeannette Butler
Lou Murdick	Monica Rowden	Gary Jones
David Lightner	Chris Hoskins	Carolyn Blackburn
Jeff Landreth

Accounts Receivable Aging Report:

1. You are receiving these reports, so follow up on them. Most of the time anything over
   30 days should be pursued at the unit level.
2. We always need money to pay your purchases and payroll. If you think logically
   about it, we expend monies for food purchases, supply purchases and payroll a month
   in advance of receiving payment from the clients. This is a very large sum of money
   and a big drain on our bank accounts.
3. Your cooperation is needed in collecting monies for events that you book and on the
   board bills. This would definitely improve our cash flow, since we are always behind,
   because we pay first and receive our funds a month later.
4. Once people know that you are constantly trying to collect old invoices over 30 days,
   they get tired of seeing you, so they will be more prompt in payment.

Safety Tips

The holiday season is quickly approaching. During the holiday season one of the prime items on the menu is whole turkeys. There are some special concerns when thawing and preparing turkeys. Turkeys are normally shipped in the frozen state, then they are stored in a frozen state. Special care and attention must be paid to the thawing of turkeys prior to cooking.

Over the years I have seen many unsafe measures taken in the handling and cooking of turkeys. Remember turkeys have bacteria and some of the methods in which turkeys are thawed promotes fast growth of bacteria. Below are some do*s and don*ts in thawing and cooking turkeys.

Things not to do when thawing turkeys:

1. Never thaw turkeys in hot water.
2. Do not thaw turkeys by leaving them out overnight or during the day at room temperature.
3. Never thaw a turkey by placing it in a low temperature oven or food warmer.

Things to do when thawing turkeys:

1. The best method of thawing a turkey is removing it from freezer 3 to 4 days prior to cooking, and place it in the refrigerator with plenty of air space around it. Depending on the size of the turkey, a 22 - 24 pound turkey will take 4 days to thaw. Approximately 24 hours under refrigeration for thawing for every 5 pounds of turkey.
2. Remove the turkey from the box in which it is shipped, since the box acts as an insulator and will prolong the natural thawing process in the refrigerator.
3. If removing a turkey from the freezer has been forgotten, it is acceptable to thaw a turkey by placing in a sink with cold running water. If one does not pay attention to the thawing cycle and forgets to check on the turkey, bacteria growth can grow rapidly once the turkey is thawed. Thawing using running cold water takes approximately 30 minutes per pound.

Things not to do when cooking turkeys:

1. Do not cook turkeys in a food warmer since the temperature is too low to properly
   kill bacteria.
2. Do not cook turkeys in a low oven since the temperature is not hot enough to kill
   bacteria.

Things to do when cooking turkeys:

1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Remove giblets and neck from turkey.
2. Cook at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes for every pound of turkey. Lower oven temperatures are not acceptable since bacteria will not necessarily be killed.

 

Two units have dropped from our Safety List this month. These are the units that remain claim free.

Newman University	Highland Community College	Vernon Regional Jr. College
Iowa Central Comm. College	Midland College	Odessa College
Hill College	Western Oklahoma State College	Western Texas College
Barton County Comm. College	Frank Phillips College	Amarillo College
Kansas St. Univ.	Salina Pratt Community College	Clarendon College
Seward County Comm. College	Audrain County Jail	Howard College
SWCID Northeast Texas Comm. College	North Central MO College	Independence Comm. College
Grayson County Comm. College	Hutchinson Community College	South Plains College
Seminole State College	New Mexico Junior College	Barclay College
Cloud County Comm. College	Kansas State Hwy. Patrol	Camp Horizon
Columbia Sernior Center	KS Law Enforcement Training Ctr

Case Study:

Scenario: Hazardous Harry has a company vehicle assigned to his facility. Harry is very neglectful of periodic maintenance of his company vehicle. Harry has an important catered event on the other side of campus. Typical of Harry's manner in planning, the event is running behind schedule. Harry hurries and gets the van loaded with the food for the event, and he tells Jerry his driver to hurry and get the food over to the building where the event is being held. Jerry jumps into the van and hurriedly drives across campus. As he approaches the half way point the vehicle simply quits running. Jerry tries to restart the vehicle but nothing happens. After having the vehicle inspected, it is found that there is not any oil in the crankcase.

Hazardous Harry's comment: I always have such bad luck. What happened to the oil in the motor? I have had the vehicle for 2 years and this has never happened before. I do not know why the company sent me this junker.

Cautious Carol's comment: Harry is not alone in neglecting the company vehicle assigned to him. For some reason there is a general feeling that a company vehicle is not to be properly serviced. Employees tend to trash the interior of the vans by throwing all types of trash inside the vehicle. The van is a company assets which should be properly taken care of both in the servicing of the van as well as the cleanliness of the van inside and out.

Watchful Willie's comment: Apparently Harry never has checked the oil level of the company van assigned to his unit. Although the van is used, it was in good mechanical operation for use on a campus went it was sent to Harry. Harry should have the oil changed in the van at least a minimum of every 3 months, since the van will never acquire much mileage being operated on a college campus.

Safety Sam's Comment: Harry has been negligent in checking his company vehicle. He should check the oil level every week As a matter of fact, Harry should check other items on the van so that it is being operated in a safe manner. While he is checking the oil level he also needs to check the tension on the brake pedal, check the brake lights, check the lights, check the fan belt on the vehicle, check the tire tread and check the windshield wipers. A quick ten minute check every week could prevent problems from happening.

 

Purpose: Identify and prevent an unsafe act or unsafe condition before it causes
injury or property damage.

Goal: Reduce the frequency and severity of all accidents.

Statistics: There was a study done that found for every serious or disabling injury
reported, there were about 10 injuries of a less serious nature, 30 property
damage incidents, and about 600 near misses with no visible injury or
property damage. This study gives credence to the accident prevention
theory that increased frequency leads to severity.*

Elements that will make the Near Miss Program effective:

• Identification
  
• Documentation
  
• Corrective Action
  
• Follow Up
  
• Communication
  
• Tracking

How to Use the form:

The form is an internal control item. Employees are encouraged to report any near misses and unsafe acts or unsafe conditions. The report is simple to complete. Management should take corrective action to abate the hazard or unsafe act. If the same type of incident keeps reoccurring it usually identifies a problem are that needs immediate correction.

Food Service 401

Behavior - Based Safety

Behavior-based safety is a process that helps employees identify and choose a safe behavior over an unsafe behavior. This process focuses on observing and correcting behaviors that are critical to safety in the work place, rather than attitudes. Employee behavior is measurable, attitudes are not. Behavior-based safety can also affect attitudes: as injuries decrease, employee morale increases, allowing more cooperation and efficiency throughout the facility*s workplace. Adopting a Behavior-Based Safety process further protects a company*s most valuable resource - their employees - while having a dramatic impact on productivity.

The goal of a Behavior-Based Safety process is to change the cultural attitude of the workplace. Instead of focusing on accidents, failure, punishment, and managerial goals, workers become focused on safe behaviors, success, reinforcement and working towards their own positive goals.

Safety in the workplace is a combination of three measurable components: the person, their environment, and their behavior. Only when these three elements are combined and controlled can workplace accidents be eliminated.

The person component consists of the employee's physical capabilities, experience of the job and training on the job. The work environment represents engineering controls, equipment to do the job, job task and the work culture. The final most often overlooked component is behavior - what the person does on the job. The Behavior-Based Safety process addresses the employee's behavior on the job.

The process is based on four key components:

1. A behavior observation and feedback process
2. A formal review of observation data
3. Improvement goals
4. Reinforcement for improvement and goal attainment

Behavior Observation and Feedback

This component is one of the most important components of the process. Observations provide direct measurable information on employees' safe work practices. An observer uses a checklist to document employees performing their routine task. This checklist can be developed by performing a Job Task Analysis for each job. The observer documents both safe and unsafe behaviors. The employee is provided feedback on safe behaviors and non-threatening feedback on the unsafe behaviors. The employees are provided with suggestions on correcting the unsafe behaviors. (An example: An employee walks over a wet floor that has been recently mopped instead of walking around the wet area.

The manager can explain that the employee could have slipped causing a injury and management has concerns for the well being of that employee so that the employee would not be incapacitated by forgetting to observe common sense practice of avoiding wet floors that are slippery.- This would have been handled in a friendly manner showing concern for the well being of the employee rather than the infraction of common safety.) The employee is provided with suggestions on correcting the unsafe behavior. ( In our example the manager would tell the employee to use a different route which is safe. This was all done with the employee's well being in mind and not a corrective action.)

Formal Review of Observation Data

This is the second key component of Behavior-Based Safety. In this component, the data collected during the observation is analyzed to determine the employee's (or department's) improvement in safe behaviors. It can be looked at as an overall percentage. For example: If there were 20 items on a checklist for the manner in which an employee can practice safety in their particular job, and the worker performed 17 of them safely, then that employee would get a score of 85% safe.

The improvement between observations could be graphed and displayed for all employees to view. All employees results would be compiled in this graphic chart so no one individual employee is singled out. As the graph shows improvement, it provides a positive reinforcement feedback to the employees as a group. Everyone likes to be the best, so when the chart indicates improving good safety practices are taking place and improvement is happening every month, then the end result is a positive attitude on the part of all employees.

Improvement Goals

Setting improvement goals increases the effectiveness of feedback and the success of the Behavior-Based Safety process. These goals should be based on the workers' perceptions about their work practices and those they can improve. Action plans are then developed to support their efforts and help achieve their goals. These goals can take different forms such as:

*Percent safe goals (as mentioned above):
These goals can be based on safe work practices observed. They must be based on a realistic evaluation of the area's level of safety. They should also be set for a short time period. One to three months is the most common.

Process goals:
These goals focus on improving a specific work practice, such as using proper lifting techniques. If any employee is observed using unsafe lifting procedures during his/her task, the goal could be to reduce the percentage of times that technique is observed.

Implementation goals:
These goals focus on maintaining the process. An example would be setting a goal to increase the number of observations conducted in a week.

Reinforcement for Improvement and Goal Attainment

Reinforcement for improvement and attaining goals is very important to maintaining safe behavior in the work place according to research studies. Management should provide simple, immediate, positive feedback to reinforce safe behavior. Rewards can be effective means of reinforcing goal attainment.

If an effective Behavior-Based Safety process is developed and implemented,
it can result in increased employee efficiency, increased employee productivity, increased employee morale, and increased unit profitability.

Parts of the above material were provided by Texas Mutual Insurance Company

Monotony Breakers

TURKEY TRIVIA

Here is a little turkey quiz. Let's see how knowledgeable you are about turkeys!

1. Which great American statesman thought the turkey was so American that we never should have chosen the eagle as our symbol?
   a. Nathan Hale
   b. Benjamin Franklin
   c. Abraham Lincoln
   d. Thomas Jefferson
2. Who proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday?
   a. Abraham Lincoln
   b. John Adams
   c. George Washington
   d. Rutherford B. Hayes
   
3. What is the fleshy growth from the base of the beak that is on male turkeys and hangs down over the beak?
   a. snood
   b. gorp
   c. hackle
   d. grizzard
   
4. Turkey eggs are twice as large as chicken eggs, but what color are they?
   a. White with brown speckles
   b. Brown
   c. Tank with brown speckles
   d. White
   
5. Can turkeys fly?
   a. yes
   b. no
   
6. What famous historical figure received turkeys as an article of tribute?
   a. Caesar
   b. Cortez
   c. Montezuma
   d. Columbus
   
7. How long have turkeys existed?
   a. 1 million years
   b. 10 million years
   c. 20 million years
   d. 50 million years
   

This trivia quiz was found on the Butterball website.

Key: 1. b 2. a 3. a 4. c 5. yes, wild turkeys and no on domesticated turkeys 6. c 7. b

 

THANKSGIVING
DECORATING IDEAS

While the traditional Thanksgiving buffet has not changed much over the years, you can give old recipes a new twist to liven up the buffet. See past issues of the newsletter for recipes and ideas. Another way to liven up the buffet is the use of decorations. Following Halloween, there are many decorations that you can carry over to use for Thanksgiving. Keep your Indian corn, gourds and pumpkins to make nice centerpieces for the tables.

Following are a few ideas that you can use to decorate the unit with this Thanksgiving season.

AUTUMN CENTERPIECE

This centerpiece can be used to decorate the service area, buffet table or for a festive display in the dining area.

First, gather the materials you will use. Keep in mind the fall-colored items and wonderful selection of textures, shapes and colors that are available this time of year, both in nature and in the stores. Things that you might want to use are; gourds, pumpkins, Indian corn, acorns, chestnuts, leaves, fir sprigs, berries and flowers. Take a short nature walk and gather some of these items, it might be relaxing and the items are free! After you gather the items, find a flat surface, such as a tray, half or full sheet pan, or a sturdy piece of cardboard. Another nice touch would be to add some fabric or fall-colored paper to the mix. You will also need some glue, tape and scissors.

Second, cover the flat surface with fabric or paper and tape it securely to the surface.

Third, assemble the centerpiece by arranging the largest piece in the center and then tucking the smaller items around that. Make sure that you turn the centerpiece as you add the items, so that the composition looks complete from all angles. After you have the items where you like them, glue them into place.

You may also be able to find small items, like fall colored ribbons, little baskets and small figurines to add around the edges of the centerpiece.

FRUIT TURKEY

Use a cored apple or pear half for a turkey's body. Then use toothpicks and small food items (raisins, celery, cherries, carrot strips and marshmallows) to create the turkey's head and tail.

People Development Incentives
ANY DIRECTOR WHO GIVES THE COMPANY A REFERRAL FOR AN APPLICANT, FOR A FOOD SERVICE DIRECTOR POSITION, AND THAT PERSON IS INTERVIEWED AND HIRED BY THE COMPANY, WILL RECEIVE A SAVINGS BOND IN THE AMOUNT OF $100.
(The person being referred cannot be a result of an advertisement for employment in a newspaper. One other word of caution: please make sure that the person is qualified, so we are not wasting our time and efforts.)
Thank you.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR MANAGER TRAINEES!

Qualifications:

1. Prefer a person who has cooking skills or past food management experience.
2. Appearance should be neat and tidy.
3. Should be able to communicate well.
4. Should have indications of being intelligent.
5. Willing to be trained in production areas.
6. Willing to relocate outside of the state of their residence.
7. Preferable areas: Missouri, Texas, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma.
8. Has ambition to grow into a management position.

How do you find these people?

First, look inside your own facilities.

Second, look at people that apply for positions, ones who answer ads or even walk-ins. Sometimes people who simply walk-in for an application are showing strong signs that they need employment. Even if you do not have a position open, extend the courtesy of a few minutes of conversation.

1. From that, you can determine if the person communicates well and has indications of intelligence and is neat in appearance.
2. From the conversation, if you see some possibilities, do not make a commitment, but forward the resume to the corporate office, with a brief note attached.

Lastly, you may have knowledge of a good person working for another establishment. Seek out this individual, talk briefly with him/her to see if there is any interest that they may want to grow. Then set up a formal interview time to get a good read on the person to see if he/she meets the qualifications. If the person does, send the resume to the home office and an official interview will be set up.