How to Prevent Slips, Trips and Falls at the Workplace?
Slips, trips and falls at a workplace are the most common work-injuries causing nearly 40% of all reported major injuries.
The painful statistics mentioned below as given by the “Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)” and the “Bureau of Labor Statistics, will be enough to understand the importance of OSHA safety training and OSHA safety certification.
• 65% of fall-related injuries happen due to falls from same-level walking surfaces
• Retail, wholesale and service industries together accounted for over 60% of injuries resulting from
• Slip and fall accidents are the most common cause of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and these
account for 46% of fatal falls among older Americans
• Yearly, around 19,565 people die in the U.S.A. due to injuries caused by unintentional falls
• According to OSHA, slips, trips, and falls (STF) cause 15% of all accidental deaths
• STF injuries account 12% to 15% percent of all Workers' Compensation expenses
• STF injuries cost employers approximately $40,000 per incident
In fact, the OSHA Act of 1970 provides workers with the right to receive information, OSHA safety training and OSHA safety certification on workplace hazards and their preventive methods as per the OSHA standards. They can also request OSHA to inspect their workplace.
A slip is caused by very little or no friction or traction from the walking surface causing a person to lose grip and fall. A slippery surface can be due to visible or invisible contaminants, water, mud, oil, food, blood, offal, dust, powder, plastic wrapping, etc. Slips can also happen while climbing/descending a ladder or stairway.
• Regular cleaning of workplace
• Wearing footwear with proper grip while working/walking over slippery surface
• Putting up adequate caution signage
Obstacles causing trip hazards are uneven floors, cluttered walkways with barriers like cables, hoses, debris, accumulated material, protruding objects, irregular edges of flooring, loose mat, carpet, tiles, grating or covers, a sudden change in the floor surface level, threshold or gaps etc.
Good housekeeping practices.
Ensuring the surface is free from obstacles by keeping them at one side.
Use of wire boxes or storage facilities.
Ensuring the floor surface is even or putting up notices at places of deviations.
Maintaining proper environment like lighting, removing view-obstructing obstacles, constructing. railing to hold and keep balance for workers carrying loads.
Personal discipline like not talking over mobile while at work, taking ample rest in between work and not overstraining, ensuring physical fitness, vision, agility.
Occurs due to off balance. These could be of two types – a)fall at the same level of walking or working surface, b) fall to a level below the working/walking level.
As per the BLS, around 34% of onsite death happens due to fall from scaffolding.
Managing And preventing STFs
The most effective way of avoiding STFs at a workplace is to develop a risk management plan that identifies, assesses, controls and monitors the hazards and risks.
Determining where exactly STFs can happen (or happened earlier).
Reviewing past accident/injury and claim records.
Create a risk management system to determine the level of risk on paper with proper coloring ( for example,indicating a high level of risk with red color).
Notice the past record of a) How many people were exposed b) Consequences c) Frequency.
Decide what needs to be done to eliminate/reduce the risk and how quickly they can be implemented.
The strategies include removing the hazard, substitution or resurfacing the floor, isolating the area, redesigning the space to minimize risk (improve lighting, use a slip-resistant mat, stop leakage etc.), administrative control (better housekeeping, using signage, training, supervision), using PPE (wearing non slip footwear, etc.).
Finally, making it mandatory for the employees and workers to attend OSHA safety training and get OSHA safety certification.
