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The Hidden Hazard: Slips, Trips, and Falls

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Bright yellow and black safety illustrations.Slips, trips, and falls don’t seem like a big issue. Someone trips, scrapes a knee or falls on their behind and it’s nothing to worry about, right? Well, unfortunately that is not the case.

These accidents are actually responsible for 8.9 million visits to the hospital or doctor’s office annually.  It also causes 15% of all accidental deaths and 25% of reported claims in a fiscal year.

These statistics say a lot about how real this danger is, and why risk management officers take it very seriously.

Interestingly enough, studies have shown that these accidents could have been avoided if proper measures were taken. While we cannot discuss every single scenario, we can give you a few general guidelines that may help.

 1. Light it up – Make sure to provide ample lighting in high traffic areas, as well as in areas with uneven surfaces such as stairs, docks and ramps. In addition, don’t forget that during emergency situations, power may not be available. It is then ideal for you to have emergency lights installed in areas where people usually pass during these occasions.

2. Keep the area clear of obstruction – A lot of tripping occurs when there are unexpected obstacles. Items like power cords, even random boxes or stacks of paper can cause a person to trip if they are unaware of these being in the way. Keep the area clear of any obstruction and keep cords covered up with special cord covers to keep people from tripping.

3. Traction is king – Traction is defined as “the maximum frictional force that can be produced between surfaces without slipping.” It is the reason why people can walk without slipping on certain surfaces and not slip and slide as if they were on ice. Quite simply, to help increase traction, keep all areas as dry as possible and make sure to have anti-slip coatings on all surfaces you expect may be slippery on occasion. Also try to ensure that all spills are dealt with immediately with the use of spill control materials and equipment.

Safety begins with teamwork.

4. Maintain a tradition of safety – Every single safety measure installed is only as useful as the people who take advantage of it. Keep your employees well-educated and informed about the dangers in the workplace, and provide them with the tools they need to keep from slipping, tripping and falling. Make sure that all areas that experience foot traffic are kept free of obstructions, and empower your people to keep it that way.

All of these may seem like a lot of effort, but as we say in Seton, safety is everyone’s priority. A safe and healthy workforce is an efficient and productive workforce. So start preventing slips, trips, and falls today and see how it lowers both insurance costs and increases the productivity of your people.