More often than not, when someone slips or trips, we can’t help but giggle or laugh.
This incident is used countless times in reruns of slapstick comedies where a character lays flat on his face after a chasing scene.
Slipping or tripping is actually not laughing matters. Alsco understands the reality of this commonly perceived ‘ridiculous accident’.
From minor cuts to bone fractures, these incidents can relatively lead to serious injuries and sometimes even death.
All employees, visitors, and guests are all equally at risk. According to statistics, slips and trips are the single most common cause of injuries at work and account for over a third of all major work injuries. Both employees and employers are affected by the consequences of a nasty fall.
They cost employers a hefty amount in lost production and other costs. Conversely, from an employee’s perspective, aside from the excruciating pain, it can also lead to long-term injuries.
How to Keep Your Workplace Safe from Slips
1. Customers and guests can come in from the rain dripping wet. It is best to use water absorbent floor mats to prevent accidents caused by a wet floor. These ingenious mats can absorb the high volume of water and are easy to maintain.
2. Keep a conspicuous area near the entrance for wet umbrellas and overcoats. Make sure they are easily accessible but away from busy traffic routes.
3. Maintain your machinery on a regular basis. Their condition is essential not only to your productivity but for any untoward incident they can cause if leaking. Some of those leaks can be toxic and require the use of appropriate spill kits.
4. Always consider that water and other liquids can spill on the floor. Prioritise having a special work area matting, they can resist oil and liquids and can definitely lessen slippage among workers and customers.
5. Design your work area to have a systematic location of your cleaning equipment and materials. They should all be easily accessible at any given time.
How to Keep Your Workplace Safe from Trips
Image from: Pixabay by officerent
1. Clean and inspect your workplace regularly. Clear areas of traffic from any items that may cause tripping. Segregate storage areas for tools, equipment, and boxes. See to it that all cables are out of sight.
2. Level your floor surface at all times. Secure ridges and cover floor power sockets, whenever possible, flatten all inclines.
3. Check the edges of carpets or tiling, always making sure that they are not warped or chipped on the edges, especially in the areas where flooring type changes.
4. Instead of laying cables, install extra power sockets. When there is an actual need for cables, consider placing them overhead rather than on the floor.
5. Spread the information among your workers. Communicating safety measures to your employees will result in a more coordinated workflow.
6. Put up signs for high-risk areas. When cleaning the floor, always keep in mind to also put up precautionary signs.
A Mere Tip of the Iceberg
Image from: Flickr by USACE Europe District
We only scratched the surface with the tips provided above. In promoting safety and health in a workplace, it is inevitable to formulate a systematic plan. Implementing some changes in work operations is also beneficial to update safety protocols.
Appointing a point person to act as a leader in executing safety measures is crucial to this endeavour. If you have a multiple work area handling different functions, it is recommended to have one point person per scope of work. Taking time to explain your plans can be a very productive move while training can actually be even better.
It requires hard work and cooperation but keeping your workplace free from slips and trips is always attainable. Do not let your organization be a part of accident statistics. Securing it will even make it more productive.
The Safety Mats from Alsco can also help you achieve your goal for a slip and trip-free workplace. It is both practical and economical as it can help reduce the wear and tear of your floors where heavy traffic is experienced.
Ask for Alsco’s two-week free trial to experience first-hand our top-of-the-line solutions!
Photo: SmartSign
