No one can predict the future, but health and safety consulting companies do their best to prepare you for it none the less. This is a case study to examine a recently closed hobby shop that had an interesting series of violations. Again we look at the carefully gathered evidence and firsthand accounts to flesh out a resolution and a clear way to hopefully avoid such circumstances occurring again.
There was a building code inspector that came to view the property and inspect if there were any abnormalities or infractions structurally. His concern and subsequent reporting ended in workplace health and safety consultants being invited into the process and investigating the store’s condition for staff and customers alike. You would think, or at least the owners seemed to think, that such a friendly and innocuous business like a game store wouldn’t be the set for such tremendous safety infractions. But everyone was surprised to find a host of unsuitable environments that needed urgent remedies. Most recently, a new floor that was installed was designed to be a transparent covering over a massive laid out carpet of trading cards. The resin that was poured over to create the effect wasn’t safe to be handled without the proper PPE (personal protective equipment; like masks and gloves) which no one possessed during the installation and was certainly not safe to be installed in an enclosed, ventilation-free workspace.
There were hygienic violations, especially of concern as they were also selling food (unlicensed of course) and the bathroom was an absolute cesspool. Customers are entitled legislatively speaking to an accessible bathroom, and that one was neither accessible nor even usable often. Floor and ceiling issues sandwiched the other plethora of ill-conditions throughout structurally and regarding the proper handling and condition of much product.
It was with the eventual help of a safety consultant that the store was able to isolate and improve the station of their business. A deep cleaning, training on proper food handling techniques, licensing procedures, and more helped get the store an increase in respect after it began respecting itself. Infrastructural errors were fixed quickly, and though costly, the necessity (and often befits) of keeping your establishment up to code cannot be stressed enough. This effort bought the store another few years of business before it was sadly closed due to unrelated financial issues. But its past can still teach important lessons. Customers deserve a clean and safe place to shop and browse, and this is no exception for the staff as well. Everyone should take pride in their store and try to make it the best it can be.
