The Most Common Workplace Fall Hazards and How to Fix Them

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Workplace safety begins the moment your employees arrive on-site. Unfortunately many of today’s workers often face a number of potential slip/fall hazards on the job. According to the US Department of Labor, slips, trips and falls make up the greatest percentage of workplace accidents. Those accidents not only often result in serious injury, but can take money and time away from your business due to workers compensation or time taken off. Therefore, as a business owner, keeping areas as safe as possible for your workforce is in your best interest. 3 Outdoor Safety Tips Because most workplace facilities do not have an outdoor area dedicated to working, parking lots and sidewalks tend to get overlooked during safety audits. However, your worker’s journey from the parking lot into your building is home to many slip/fall hazards, and it’s important for you to address these hazards by:
  • Keeping up-to-date with parking lot and sidewalk maintenance by filling cracks and potholes.
  • Clearing walkways of fallen leaves, fruits, or snow.
  • Providing  adequate lighting outside so walkers can spot dangerous trip hazards on the ground.
Keeping the outdoor areas around your building free of trip/fall hazards will ensure your workers get to your business in one piece. 3 Entranceway Safety Tips Think beyond your work site’s main entrance and consider the many transition areas throughout your building. By “Transition areas” we mean spaces where floor materials change from one covering to another. For example, your main entrance to the building many transition from a concrete walkway to a tile entrance. Other transition areas could be from carpeted offices to epoxy flooring. Areas such as these need extra care to prevent slips and falls, including:
  • Adequate lighting.
  • Large, non-slip mats for drying off shoes and boots.
  • Overly wet or damaged mats should be removed and replaced with new, dry ones.
Transition areas can be very dangerous for an unsuspecting worker, but following these tips will help make the area more noticeable. 3 Production Area Safety Tips Because workers spend most of their day in production areas, it is crucial to keep this area as free from slip/fall hazards as possible. However, when older machinery or equipment is kept in the area, small leaks or sprays often get onto the floor. Staying on top of these issues will help workers and managers alikestay safe from falls in this area. Ways to do this include:
  • Using spill absorbent products to clean big oil or chemical spills in the area. Absorbent products will clean large spills in the most effective way without leaving a slippery residue on the floor.
  • Following any directions on any cleaning products – using the wrong ratio of water to cleaner could leave slippery residue on floors.
  • Encouraging workers to use slip-resistant shoes in the production area. When spills do occur, the tread on these shoes makes walking around safer.
Always remember, worker safety starts in the workplace. By making work areas safe for your employees with these 9 basic safety steps, you can reduce the amount of workplace injuries and save money and time for your business.  
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