Slips, Trips, and Falls

Introduction There’s been so much information about slips, trips, and falls that many people are no longer paying attention. Slips and falls were the major causes of injuries in the early days of safety. There are cases where people were deliberately pushed down stairs. There have been a wide range of accidents in the workplace from every conceivable cause.

Introduction This even includes running into doors or doors running into people. Jumping from elevated surfaces has caused quite a few injuries. And every type of slip and fall from ladders to slippery floors, debris on the floor or working surfaces. No improvement is noticeable.

Today’s Injury Statistics With today’s technology, injury statistics demonstrate where we went wrong, and even with excellent safety and health departments, we still experience slip and fall incidents. What’s the magic bullet? New floor surfaces. State of the art shoes. What’s the answer? We believe it is more training. And that everyone accepts responsibility for working and acting safely. Who would have thought of that?

Overview of Course Let’s look at how we’re going to approach today’s course. First, we want to review some of the ways people trip and fall. Secondly, we want to review basic prevention techniques. Thirdly, we’d like to encourage you to get on the safety bandwagon for preventing slips, trips, and falls.

Causes of Slips, Trips, and Falls When you think of ladders, uneven surfaces, and of course slippery surfaces such as water, ice, and grease, you can visualize the cause of accidents. OSHA states that about 35 percent of the majority of workplace accidents are caused by slips, trips, and falls.

Causes of Slips, Trips, and Falls Falls can cause severe injuries such as broken hands and arms, back injuries, strains to muscles and ligaments, and even death. Slips, trips, and falls happen when working with ladders, platforms and heights. Nothing good can come from slips, trips and falls.

Causes of Slips, Trips, and Falls Remember, these types of accidents have been around for a long time. So it’s nothing new. However, there is a new concentrated effort to eliminate slips, trips, and falls.

Falls About 60 percent of falls are a result of slips and trips. The remaining 40 percent are falls from heights, falls from ladders, roofs, and stairs, or from jumping to a lower level.

Slips Slips happen when there is too little friction or traction between footwear and the walking surface. Common causes of slips are wet or oily surfaces, occasional spills, weather hazards, or unanchored rugs or mats and flooring, and walking surfaces that do not have the same degree of traction in all areas.

Trips Trips happen when your foot collides by striking or hitting an object, causing you to lose your balance and then fall. Common causes of trips are: Obstructed view Poor lighting Clutter in your way Wrinkled carpeting Uncovered cables Bottom drawers not being closed Uneven steps and walking surfaces

Review A trip occurs when a person’s foot comes in contact with an object that’s in their way or drops to a lower level unexpectedly, causing them to be thrown off balance. A slip occurs when there is too little traction between footwear and the walking surface. A fall occurs when you’re too far off balance.

Prevention Techniques Both slips and trips result from some kind of unintended or unexpected change in the contact between the feet and the ground or walking surface. This shows that good housekeeping, quality of walking surfaces or flooring, selection of proper footwear, and appropriate pace of walking are critical to preventing fall accidents.

Prevention Techniques What are some basic ways you can prevent slips and trips? Install light sources that are sufficient for your task, Use a flashlight if you’re entering a dark room where there’s no light Ensure that things you’re carrying or pushing do not prevent you from seeing obstructions or spills

Housekeeping The first and most important level in preventing falls due to slips and trips is good housekeeping which includes; Cleaning all spills immediately Marking spills and wet areas Mopping or sweeping debris from floors Removing obstacles from walkways and keeping them free of clutter Securing mats, rugs and carpets that don’t lay flat Always close file cabinet and storage drawers

Housekeeping Other housekeeping tasks are: Cover cables that cross walkways. Keep work areas and walkways well lit. Replace used light bulbs and faulty switches. Without good housekeeping practices, any other preventive measure such as installation of special flooring, appropriate footwear, or training in walking and safe falling, will never be fully effective.

Footwear In workplaces where floors may be oily, wet, or if workers spend considerable time outdoors, prevention of fall accidents should focus on selecting proper footwear. Since there’s no footwear with anti-slip properties, consulting a shoe manufacturer is highly recommended. Proper fitting footwear increases comfort, and prevents fatigue, which can improve safety for the employee.

Footwear It’s important to remember that safety is everybody’s business. However, it is the employer’s responsibility to provide a safe work environment for all employees. The most important protection is to wear the proper footwear for your work and environment.

Footwear In most occupations, the shoes or boots should provide three major types of protection. Soles and heels should be slip resistant The toe of the shoe should resist crushing injuries The shoe should support the ankle

Footwear Leather covering the foot and ankle portion of the foot is preferred in most work environments. However, when working in wet environments, or around chemicals, oils, greases, or pesticides, boots made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a blend of PVC and polyurethane, or neoprene should be used. Rubber is satisfactory for wet conditions but not with pesticides or petroleum products.

Behaviors That Lead to Falls In addition to wearing the wrong footwear, there are specific behaviors which can lead to slips, trips, and falls.

Behaviors That Lead to Falls Walking too fast or running can cause major problems that can lead to slips, trips, and falls. Distractions, not watching where one is going. Carrying materials which obstruct view. Wearing sunglasses in low light areas. Failure to use hand rails.

Behaviors That Lead to Falls These and other behaviors, caused by a lack of knowledge, impatience, or a lack of good habits developed from past experiences, can lead to falls, injuries, or even death. Makeshift ladders, chairs, boxes, and barrels should never be used as substitutes for a ladder. The risk of injury is far too great.

Falls from Vehicles and Equipment Death or serious injury is a frequent result of extra riders falling from tractors, equipment, or the bed of a truck. The safe way to avoid falls from vehicles or equipment is to not allow riders.

Falls from Vehicles and Equipment Practice the three point system on entry and exit. This system can significantly reduce the chances of injuring yourself through a slip or fall while climbing ladders or while entering or exiting a vehicle. The three point system means that three of your four limbs are in contact with the ladder or vehicle at all times—either one hand and two feet or two hands and one foot.

Falls from Vehicles and Equipment Only one limb is in motion at any time with the three point system. When getting off the bed of a truck or wagon, or any similar level, step down backwards. Never jump or fall down forward.

Falls on Stairs Stairwells should be well lighted with sturdy hand rails on both sides. Persons using the stairwell should have one hand free to be able to use the hand rail. All the steps should have the same rise and depth with visible edges. They must be kept free of grease, oil, and obstacles which could cause slips and trips.

Falls on Stairs Whenever possible, avoid carrying bulky or heavy objects which obscure your vision and/or require the use of both hands. Carry smaller, lighter loads and make more trips, or obtain help with the load.

Ladders Ladders cause a great number of injuries. Never stand on the top two steps of a stepladder—that’s just too dangerous and causes an unsafe shift in the center of gravity of the ladder. Don’t lean past the rails of the ladder as this creates instability.

Ladders We call this the “belt buckle rule.” Don’t lean past your belt buckle, for safety. Naturally, don’t use a metal ladder when working on or near electricity. It’s a great risk of electrocution or getting a shock that can throw you off the ladder.

Ladders With straight ladders, you may recall the old 4 to 1 ratio for setting up straight ladders. While still applicable, it falls short of the best way to ensure that the ladder is properly set up for safety.

Ladders There are three basic requirements for extension ladder setup. First, the top of the ladder must extend three feet or three rungs above the point of contact with the structure. Secondly, it must be set up at the precise angle of 75.5 degrees to provide the proper angle for climbing. Lastly, an extension ladder verification device is recommended to achieve this angle with accuracy.

Fall Protective Devices Workers at high elevations, such as ladders, platforms, and catwalks, should be protected from falling by some kind of fall protective device. This could be a protective cage, a lifeline, lanyard, safety belt or harness.

Fall Protective Devices There are numerous devices on the market. The system should provide maximum protection but it should also be reasonably comfortable and not restrict the worker’s necessary work activity. Suppliers of safety equipment can provide information on the correct system for your workplace and should provide instruction on its safe use.

Signs and Striping Safety signs to remind people of slip, trip, and fall hazards are certainly always helpful. Particularly where hazards cannot be removed or corrected, such signs should be changed frequently.

Signs and Striping Yellow striping to identify walking and working areas are most effective if their meaning is enforced. Striped areas should mean that no object should be placed in these areas. Dropped and spilled materials should be removed immediately.

Conclusion Established policies and practices can be implemented to significantly reduce the number of injuries and deaths due to slips, trips, and falls. Much like being a defensive driver, to avoid accidents, one must also be a safe walker to avoid slips, trips, and falls.