Slip-and-Fall Prevention Made Easy: Simple and Quick Tips to Avoid Slips, Trips, and Falls at Work

We all know that slips, trips, and falls at the workplace may cause serious injuries and are quite common. It is reported that these accidents are the second highest single cause of workplace injuries. Each working day about six people are hurt due to a slipping or falling accident. It is advisable then to take precautions and know how to prevent them.

How do slip, trips, and falls happen?

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It is important to know how these accidents occur. The slips happen when there is a traction or friction between the footwear and the walkway or pathway. The common causes of slips are occasional spills, unanchored or loose rugs or mats, wet or oily surfaces or areas, weather hazards and areas that do not have the same degree of traction.

Meanwhile, the trips happen when your foot strikes or hits an object that triggers you to lose balance and then you fall. Its common causes are poor lighting, obstructed the view, clutter on the way, uncovered or expose cables or wiring, wrinkled carpeting, not fully-closed bottom drawers and uneven steps or thresholds.

If in case, any of these happens, you will experience injuries that sometimes lead to disability, broken bones or spinal cord or brain injuries. To avoid these things from happening, you must know how to observe.

How to prevent slip, trips, and falls in the workplace?

The following are some preventions to control slips, trips, and falls in your workplace:

Do not let the floors to be contaminated.

To prevent the floors from being contaminated and the cause of an accident you may use entrance matting. You may also fix leaks from your workplace, which may trigger wet floors. The equipment in your work must be maintained always. There must also be designation routes for pedestrian and vehicle to prevent contamination in the workplace areas. The floors must also be free from any clutters or things that may cause a slip and trip.

Maintain good housekeeping.

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One of the most significant ways to prevent slips and trips is good housekeeping. Be sure that all spills must be cleaned right away. You must mark the spills and wet areas so employees could be warned of possible slips or falls. Remove any debris on the floors or obstacles from walkways. Keep the walkway free from clutter. Be reminded to always close the file cabinet or storage drawers. Keep the workplace well lighted and replace the faulty switches and lighting bulbs.

Wear proper footwear.

It is recommendable that you have to wear proper footwear to your workplace particularly for a workplace where floors are slippery, oily or wet. You may choose a slip-resistant footwear to inhibit slip accidents. The footwear that is supplied as personal protective equipment (PPE) must be free of charge to employees, according to Health and Safety Executive.

Maintain proper lighting.

Accidents could happen when there is poor lighting. With this, the workplace must be properly lighted. There must be proper illumination in staircases, walkways, hallways, ramps, basements, dock and construction areas. Be sure to turn on the light first before entering the area. The light switches must be easily accessible. If there is a malfunction on lighting fixtures, cables, and switches, they must be repaired immediately.

Try not to be in a hurry

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Hurrying in the form of walking too fast or running could result to a slip, trip or fall accident. It is advisable to always control your balance and walk normally. If you are talking to someone using a cellphone while walking, chances are you may have the accident.

It is also important to look at your steps and where are you going. Do not walk backwards too. Do not obstruct your vision while walking as well.

Do not put obstacles in aisles and walkways.

Companies including commercial centers must have policies that enforce no obstacles along the aisles and walkways. This clutter could cause the major accident such as a slip and fall. The work areas, passageways, service areas and storerooms must be clean and in order. Most of these obstacles include boxes, briefcases or files. Keep them properly in place. Companies must also conduct routine inspections for slip and trip hazards.