07/04/11
Slips
And Trips Can Often Be Prevented
If you are looking to ensure that your office or property is safe for
people that use it, there is a need to minimise the potential for slips
and trips. Slipping or tripping is one of the most common forms
of accident that can occur and are definitely the most common form of
accident that happens in the workplace. A high percentage of these incidents
lead to broken bones, which can have a hugely negative impact on the
company, let alone the pain and discomfort that happens to the person
who slips or trips! Firms need to be able to do everything they can
to minimise the dangers of people slipping or tripping on their property.
There will be times when slips
and trips
occur and nothing can be done to prevent them but there are a great
number of occasions when a few precautions or steps would have prevented
them from occurring. One of the biggest causes of people slipping is
through walking on a wet surface and there are many things a company
can do to minimise this danger. If the floor is wet because people are
coming in from outside where it has been raining, there should be a
clean-up process involved in this area and signs should be used to alert
people of the danger.
The company should consider introducing welcome mats to the front of
the door where people can dry their feet before walking onto the property.
If the floor is wet, yellow marker signs should be placed around the
wet surface to inform people that they should take care when walking
or to advise them to walk around the wet area. Many accidents occur
because people are not aware of the situation and this is obviously
something that can be avoided. If every firm plays their part in minimising
the common causes of slips
and trips,
the number of accidents in the workplace can fall dramatically.
Not only does every firm need to do their part to minimise slips
and trips, all employees have to play a part as well. If someone
spills a drink, there is a need to ensure it is cleaned up properly
and the condition of the floor surface is maintained. This may involve
calling the maintenance staff to clean the area or it could be something
that a person does themselves. Either way, the area containing the spillage
should have some form of marking around it to inform people of the changed
floor condition until it is rectified.
Firms may say that slips
and trips
are a natural part of everyday life but failing to act in a responsible
manner can be very costly for a business. If a customer trips or slips,
they may be able to put in a compensation claim against the firm, which
could be financially damaging for the company. It would also create
a lot of bad publicity for the company, which is never a good thing.
If an employee slips, they could also launch a claim against the business
and they may be unable to work for a period of time, which could again
be very damaging to an organisation.
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Further
information
Pendulum
testing - Surface roughness
- Slips Potential Model - Slip
testing methods - HSE
slips site - Grip Potential Ltd
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