On both sides of the bar, basic ergonomic ideas on-premise can help create a better workplace for employees and a comfortable experience for patrons.
What ergonomics basically comes down to is this: creating an environment that best co-exists and supports the human body that lives within it, whether at home, in a car, or an office. As a bar owner, you have two parties to consider: your staff and your customers. Ideally, you are making both of them comfortable on either side of the bar—a healthy, happy employee is a better worker, while a contented patron is spending money and returning often without causing his body physical harm. But what goes into creating this kind of agreeable ergonomic environment in a bar or club? And what can go wrong if you don’t? Proper ergonomic design is necessary to prevent repetitive strain injuries, which can develop over time and can lead to long-term disability. Now, let’s be honest—the nightlife industry is not a profession well known for its outstanding employee health care programs. That said, the health of your staff is vital; whether it is ailments that send them to the doctor and raise your employer insurance premiums, or more simply, lead to lackluster efforts or even increased absences—you want to avoid them. And the ergonomics of your bar can play a big role in stemming or eliminating such issues.
Frances Pisano, MS OSHE, is the CEO and chief ergonomist at Pisano & Associates LLC, an occupational safety and health consulting firm based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Combining experience, technical expertise, and comprehensive capabilities, Pisano & Associates collaborates with clients to help them rationalize their approach to ergonomics through workplace risk assessment, re-design, and implementation.
“I’ve said over and over, that if I could find someone designing a new club or bar and get them to hire me, we would create a space with the ideal ergonomic nightlife environment, because I have yet to see one,” says Pisano. “And in the bar industry, the biggest problem is the design and layout of the work station or work environment for a bartender.”
In the case of a bar environment, Pisano says her company would spend an entire day video recording employee activity, and then dissect the footage to find any “negative movements” to address that would help a bar owner greatly reduce, if not eliminate, risk factors. “The biggest problem I see for bartenders is extreme reaches,” Pisano says. “Bottles of alcohol and other supplies are stored differently in every bar, with no standard requirements or configuration. I think that needs to change.”
