7 Ways to Prevent Slips And Falls At Your Workplace

It only takes a wet floor, an uneven carpet or a slippery staircase to cause an injury. Any workplace can experience slips, trips and falls. So, it is important to eliminate any hazards that can cause serious injuries or collisions.

How Do Trips, Falls and Slips Occur?

There are many incidents that can trigger an accident at a workplace, like:

• Water, mud, grease, oil or food spills on the floor
• Uncovered cables or wires on floors or walkways
• Floors without skid or slip-resistant surfaces
• Loose or uneven floorboards and carpets
• Sloped walking surfaces
• Damaged staircases
• Open cabinets, file drawers or doors

How to Minimise Slips, Trips and Falls In Your Workplace?

The first step to prevent injuries at your workplace is to develop a risk management plan. You should:

• Identify
• Assess
• Control
• And Monitor all safety hazards.

It may not be possible to completely eradicate workplace accidents, but it can surely be minimised with a few precautionary steps. Let’s take a look at how you can do that:

1) Safe Workplace Checklist

Make sure you create and follow a comprehensive checklist to attain a safe workplace environment. Here are few suggestions you can include in your checklist:

• Clearly outline the rules of housekeeping, lighting and inspections for staff
• Ensure regular maintenance of tools and equipment
• Provide training on how to use first aid kits and the OHS Register
• Regular inspection of your workplace to ensure it is in good repair and that any maintenance is attended to.

2) Manage People And Activity

Do a risk assessment and identify the possible hazards where injuries can happen. For example, people lifting heavy objects are more prone to injuries. There are guidelines for manual handling tasks which everyone must be familiar with.

3) Lighting And Distractions

Proper lighting without any glare can avoid injuries in the workplace. Properly illuminate the areas that are commonly used by your employees. Poor lighting or darkness can sometimes hide hazards. Therefore, installing proper lighting in the required places can help minimise the chances of a slip or a fall.

4) Adequate Safety And Directional Signage

If your workplace has certain areas that face a potential risk for collisions or slips, it is recommended that you use clear and well-placed safety signs that indicate a hazard. By doing this, you can draw attention and make employees more alert in risky areas. Safety signs like Danger, No Entry, Stop, Speed Limit, Flammable Liquid and Forklifts In Use can be used. You could also consider using reflective tapes to highlight risky areas.

5) Stairs and Handrails

Stairs are a common area for any kind of slip or fall. Therefore, you need to be extra careful to minimise the risk of injury. Stairs that are kept well-lit and clutter-free can help this cause. Stair Nosing is a great product to help make your staircases anti-slip. They are easy to install and are hard wearing. Many factories and warehouses use stair-nosing and handrails and they are highly recommended for high traffic access stairs.

6) Regular Maintenance

It is fundamental to have regular maintenance of your equipment and infrastructure. This will ensure the safety measures used are still effective and last longer. Regularly check the condition of your floor, ground surfaces, stairs and ramps. It is also a good idea to make sure your convex mirrors are in good repair, are angled correctly and are dust and grime free.

7) Use The Best Safety Products

Identify, comply and make your workplace safe. There are plenty of safety products available online that can help make your workplace safer. For instance, if you need to restrict access or vehicle entry to a particular area, you can use bollards. If you have a lot of vehicle movement in and around your workplace, you can use speed humps to control the speed limit. You can also use wheel stops, bike racks, and convex mirrors in your parking complex to make it more organised the visibility better.

Create a Safe Workplace For Your Employees

Increasing slip resistance, improving lighting, clearly marking the edges of steps and entry points are a few ways to reduce slips and injuries in your workplace.

With the above-mentioned ways, you can definitely minimise workplace incidents. Start by installing a few must-have safety products in your workplace. You can explore our wide variety of safety products on our website- www.safetyxpress.com.au.

Ordering from our website is easy and we can deliver anywhere in Australia. If you have any questions, you can call us on 1300 049 246 and our team will help you immediately.

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