Equipment Safety Checklist

Break down the deli slicer, Hobart mixer attachments, and robot coupe to bare components. Sanitize with a 200 ppm quat solution and air dry. Caked debris under the slicer gauge plate is the most common cross-contamination finding from health inspectors.

Confirm the slicer ring guard, mixer bowl guard, and food pusher are locked in position before service. OSHA citations for amputation hazards on commercial slicers are common; cooks routinely remove guards for speed.

Check every cord on countertop equipment — immersion blenders, panini presses, induction burners. Test each GFCI outlet near the three-bay sink and prep stations using the test button. Tag out anything with exposed copper or a tripped GFCI that won't reset.

Log the asset, serial number, and failure mode in your CMMS or maintenance log. Photo the damage. Notify the GM by end of shift so a service call can be scheduled before the next prep cycle.

Apply soapy water to the quick-disconnect fittings on six-burner ranges, fryers, and the salamander. Bubbles indicate a leak — shut the gas valve and call the plumber before lighting pilots. Never use a flame to check for leaks.

Pull baffle filters and run them through the dish machine or soak in degreaser. Confirm the makeup-air unit cycles on with the hood — a hood running without makeup air pulls negative pressure and can backdraft pilot flames. Schedule the quarterly NFPA 96 hood cleaning if grease accumulation exceeds 1/8 inch.

Use a calibrated probe thermometer in the center rack of each oven and in the fryer well. Tolerance is +/- 10°F for ovens, +/- 5°F for fryers. Out-of-spec fryers waste oil and undercook proteins; out-of-spec ovens are a common cause of cooling-log failures on roasted items.

Close the door on a dollar bill at four points around the gasket — top, bottom, hinge side, latch side. If it pulls out without resistance, the gasket is shot. Failed gaskets are the leading cause of walk-ins drifting above 41°F overnight.

Walk-in and reach-in cold-hold must read 41°F or below. Freezers should read 0°F or below. Use a calibrated thermometer in the warmest spot — typically near the door. Any unit out of range triggers the corrective action workflow.

Relocate time/temperature control for safety (TCS) items — dairy, proteins, cut produce — to a working unit immediately. Log the time of discovery and the corrective action; health inspectors will ask. Discard TCS food that has been above 41°F for more than 4 hours.

Iced-over coils kill cooling efficiency and drive up the compressor's duty cycle. Power down the unit, let ice melt naturally or use a fan, and vacuum the coil fins. Don't chip ice off with a knife — punctured coils mean a refrigerant replacement.

Press the test button on every detector in the dining room, kitchen, dry storage, and office. Replace 9V batteries on a fixed schedule (clocks-back day in the fall is the industry convention) rather than waiting for chirps.

Class K extinguishers (wet chemical) are required within 30 feet of the cooking line per NFPA 10. Verify the gauge needle is in the green, the pin and tamper seal are intact, and the annual service tag is current. ABC extinguishers cover the rest of the building.

The hood suppression system (Ansul R-102 or equivalent) requires semi-annual inspection by a licensed contractor per NFPA 17A. Check the tag date — out-of-cert systems are an immediate fire-marshal violation and most insurers will not pay a kitchen fire claim without it.

Every breaker must be legibly labeled to its circuit. NEC requires 36 inches of clearance in front of the panel — no dry storage, no mop bucket, no shelving. Fire marshals flag this on every visit.

Walk the line and check for chewed cords (rodents), missing junction-box covers, and exposed splices above the drop ceiling. Anything questionable goes on the licensed electrician's punch list — kitchen staff do not repair electrical.

Press test, confirm reset. NEC requires GFCI protection for all outlets within 6 feet of a sink. Most older restaurants have at least one outlet that's been swapped out non-compliantly during a remodel — flag those for the electrician.

Walk the path from the farthest dining-room seat, the line, and dry storage to the nearest exit. High chairs, delivery boxes, and rolling racks routinely creep into egress paths during service. Photograph any obstruction before clearing it.

Press the test button on each exit sign and backup light unit for 30 seconds. Per NFPA 101, batteries must hold 90 minutes. Replace anything that dims within the test window.

Push the crash bar on every exit door. It must open with a single motion and no key, code, or special knowledge. Slide-bolts, chains, and zip ties added by closing staff for security are the most common violation here — and a guaranteed citation.

Review the floor plan at pre-shift: who sweeps the dining room, who clears the restrooms, who shuts the gas valve, and where the muster point is in the parking lot. New hires get this once at orientation and again at their first fire-safety refresher.