1. Slip, Trip and Fall Prevention
Fort Lee Safety Office

2. What’s the problem ? It is the #1 leading cause of injury
STF’s represent about a fourth of all
claims
Each fiscal years there are thousands
of cases
Total incurred costs of these claims are
in the tens of thousands.

3. Slip, Trip and Fall Claims Breakdown
Same Level (50%)
Different Level (14%)
Stairs (14%)
Liquid & Spills ( 9%)
Slip / No Fall ( 5%)
Ice / Snow ( 5%)
Floor Openings ( 2%)
Ladder / Scaffold ( 1%)

4. Slips
Slip
-loss of balance caused by too little friction between a person’s foot and a walking surface.
Common Causes:
Wet or oily surfaces,
Occasional spills,
Weather hazards,
Loose, unanchored rugs or mats, and
Flooring or other walking surfaces that are worn.

5. Trips Trip - hit an object, lose your balance and fall Common Causes:
Obstructed view
Poor lighting
Clutter in your way
Wrinkled carpeting
Uncovered cables
Drawers not being closed
Uneven (steps, thresholds) walking surfaces

6. Falls Fall: - when you lose your balance & drop to the floor
There are three types of falls:
Falls on the same level
Slip or trip immediately precedes fall to floor or walkway
Falls to lower level
Falls are from platforms, docks, ladders, steps or stairs
Jumps to lower level
An intentional jump from one level to another
Employee jumps off ladder, dock, equipment

7. Prevention Good housekeeping Quality of walking surfaces (flooring)
Selection of proper footwear
Appropriate pace of work

8. Housekeeping Clean up spills immediately Mark spills and wet areas
Mop or sweep debris from floor
Remove obstacles from walkways
Keep walkways free of clutter
Secure mats, rugs and carpets

9. Housekeeping Cover cables that cross walkways
Close file cabinet or storage drawers
Cover cables that cross walkways
Keep working areas and walkways
well lit
Replace burned out bulbs

10. Flooring Change or modify walking surfaces Recoat or replace floors
Install mats
Pressure-sensitive abrasive strips
Abrasive-filled paint-on coating
Metal or synthetic decking

11. Footwear Conditions: Floors - oily or wet Considerable time outdoors
Advantages
Properly fitted
Increased comfort
Prevent fatigue
Improve safety

12. What can YOU do to avoid slipping at work?
Take your time
Pay attention
Adjust stride to the task
Walk with feet pointed slightly outward
Make wide turns at corners.
Discuss with the participants the techniques used for avoiding slips at work.
Take your time and pay attention to where you are going.
Adjust your stride to a pace that is suitable for the walking surface and task you are doing.
Walk with your feet slightly pointed outward
Make wide turns at corners
Ask participants if they can think of any other techniques that might help avoid a slip at work.
Discussion
Here are some additional things to consider:
Clean up your messes
Use handrails on steps
Climb safely

13. What can YOU do to avoid tripping at work?
Sufficient lighting
Portable lighting
Watch where you are walking
Carrying or pushing objects
obstructions, spills or objects lying on the floor
Discuss with participants the techniques used for avoiding tripping at work.
Always used installed light sources that provide sufficient light for the task.
Use a flashlight or other portable light source (flood lights, light sticks, stationary lights) if you enter dark areas where there is no light.
Watch where you are walking.
Ensure that what you are carrying or pushing does not prevent you from seeing obstructions, spills or objects lying on the floor)
Ask participants if they can think of any other techniques that could help avoid a trip at work.
Discussion
Here are some other things to consider:
Steer around hazards
Do not carry loads that block your view

14. Inclement Weather Slow down to react to a change in traction
Wearing slip-resistant shoes or overshoes
carry your work shoes
Sunglasses
outdoors in ice and snow
Treat walking surfaces
Wet shoes on dry floors – Caution !
Discuss “Inclement Weather”. Talk about snow, ice, rain, wind, hail and dew. Remember that all of these conditions can create a hazardous walking surface.
Discuss points on slide and ask participants if they have examples of injuries that could have been caused by inclement weather.
Discussion
Remember, wet shoes on a dry surface can be just as hazardous as dry shoes on a wet surface.

15. Report Hazards Immediately
If you cannot fix the hazard yourself then:
Immediately report the hazard
Alert or warn others in the area
Mark the area or stay there until help arrives
Hazards not fixed in a timely manner
Contact the your Unit Safety Officer
Ask participants what they do if they come across a hazard.
Discussion
Review your agency’s specific policy or procedures on reporting accidents.

16. Can you identify what is wrong in the following pictures?
The following pictures are generic in nature and can be used in any presentation concerning STF.
It is strongly recommended that the instructor take agency specific pictures. Incorporate those pictures into this training program.
Remember, if you take pictures that the participants can identify with, you will get better results and buy-in.

17. Ask the participants what is wrong with this slide.
Discussion
Move onto the next slide.

18. This is a broken stair.
Explain to participants that this defect/hazard could contribute to a STF.
Ask the participants what should be done.
Discussion

19. Ask the participants what is wrong with this slide.
Discussion
Move onto the next slide.

20. This slide represents a trip and fall hazard.
If you look closely at the slide, the root of the tree has grown under the walkway and pushing the brick up.
Uneven walking surfaces. Trip and fall from the same level.
NOTE:
Refer back to the slide that represents Slip, Trip and Fall Claims breakdown. Remember that falls from the same level represent 50 % of all STF.

21. Ask participants what is wrong with this slide.
Discussion
Ask participants how they would fix this hazard.
This slide represents a trip hazard. Here you can see an electrical cord in the middle of the walkway. This cord is plugged into an electrical outlet.
Rearrange the room so that the piece of equipment is close to the outlet or have an additional outlet installed. If there is no way to rearrange the room or install a new outlet, then run the cord up the wall across the ceiling and down the wall to prevent the trip and fall hazard.
The last resort would be to tape down the cord or use a cord cover as a means of preventing someone from tripping.

22. Ask the participants what is wrong with this slide.
Discussion
Ask the participants how this hazard could be corrected.
This slide represents a slip and fall hazard. There is a spill on the floor.
Move on to the next slide.

23. This slide represents a spill that has been identified.
Using a sign to notify individuals that the floor is wet is a good preventive measure. Remember though, that just because it has been identified, it must still be cleaned up.

24. Ask participants what is wrong with this slide.
Discussion
Ask the participant how they would address this situation
This slide represents trip and/or fall hazard. A portion of the sidewalk has given way to a sink-hole.
If you look in the upper left hand corner you will see a barricade. Anytime a significant size hole is identified on walking surface, barricades or indicators of some sort should be installed around the hole to prevent a trip and fall.

25. Ask the participants if they can identify the hazard in this slide.
Discussion
Look in the middle of the slide and you will see a portion of the flooring that has either worn away or been removed.
Ask the participants why this is a hazard.
This slide represents a slip, trip and fall hazard. Think about why all three are possible and discuss with the participants.

26. Ask participants what is wrong with this slide.
Discussion
This slide represents a slip, trip and fall hazard.
Slip: if it is wet outside and the mat is folded back, then the floor is getting wet instead of the mat absorbing the water.
Trip: the mat is folded back and someone could catch their foot on the mat and trip.
Fall: both a wet floor and caught foot could contribute to a fall.

27. Ask participants what is wrong with this slide.
Discussion
This slide represents a trip and fall hazard.
In this picture you can see that the sidewalk is uneven.

28. Ask the participants if they can identify all the hazards located in this slide.
Discussion
This picture is of a stairwell. The fire door should not be propped open. Storage of materials should be in stairwells.
Trip hazards: Trash cans in front of doorway. Cinderblock propping open the door.
Chair is blocking an emergency cut-off valve. The chair could also represent a struck against hazard. Someone goes to sit in the chair, and strikes their head on the pipe and valve behind it.
This chair could also encourage smoking in the stairwell.
Any other hazards?

29. Ask participants to identify the hazard in this slide.
Discussion
This slide represents a trip and fall hazard.
Here is a damaged piece of flooring. Someone has attempted to fix it by placing tape over the area that is lifting up.

30. Contact The Safety Office For Addition Training Material
Fort Lee Safety Office
Contact The Safety Office For Addition Training Material
Ask the participants if they have any additional questions.
Discussion
Thank the participants for attending.
Dismissal