The Most Common Workplace Injury

According to the Health and Safety Executive, slipping and falling are the cause of most workplace accidents. Every year they cost business an exorbitant amount of money in employee injuries, lost billable hours, and various other costs.
Learning about the main causes of slips and falls will enable you to assess them and prevent accidents from occurring.

Causes of Trips, Slips, and Falls in the Workplace

There are several factors that contribute to slip/trip and fall accidents that include:
• Wet floors
• Uneven floors
• Cables and other obstacles
• Poor Lighting
• Insufficient cleaning

Responsibilities of the Company

Business owners face a moral and legal duty to ensure their employees and members of the public are protected.
OSHA have put into place several rules and regulations all companies must adhere to. They include installing or fixing the flooring in your building so that it is even. Floors must also be free from obstruction so that people can move freely throughout the building.

How to Assess the Risks

Assessing the risks in your workplace is the first step in reducing the number of injuries that occur every year. Here is a guide on how to go about it.
• Walk around your workplace and look for slip and trip hazards. This includes uneven floors, cables in walkways, slippery floors, and ripped carpet. This includes both inside and outside of the building.
• Think of who can be hurt and how. Think of your employees or customers that are on your property. Those who require special accommodations may run a bigger risk of falling when obstacles are in a walkway.
• Contemplate the risks. Try to establish measures that address and fix the risks.
• Write down all of the risks you have found and your ideas to eliminate them.
• Every few months, come back to your list to find if the implemented plan has worked. Rework failed attempts and go through another walk-through to ensure nothing has slipped through the plan.

How to Eliminate Slip and Fall Risks

Fixing the problems can be quite simple.
A dedicated cleaning crew will ensure that all spills are immediately cleaned up. Make sure that they are informed by employees of when one occurs.
All carpeting and rugs should be free of tears and should lay completely flat.
Slippery surfaces should be treated with anti-slip coatings.
Add or improve lighting is areas where it is dim.

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