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Slips and trips are among the most common accidents that occur in the workplace and one that can be easily reduced. No matter what sort of environment you work in - office, laboratory, clinic, factory or building site - there are always risks from a trip so it is essential that you address these through a well-implemented health and safety policy. A good health and safety policy will outline your organisations aims to minimise risks to workers and then detail how you intend to do this. It is a good idea to nominate one or more Health and Safety Officers who can monitor the success of the scheme and report back any incidents that need investigating. Accidents and near misses must be recorded in an accident book and this provides a useful record of health and safety levels as well as highlighting areas that need improvement. Naturally it is always better to prevent an accident where possible so you may also want to provide workers with a process that enables them to regularly report potential risks to the Health and Safety Officers, who in turn, can then research how best to remedy the problem. Preventing slips and trips requires simple measures and a little common sense. You should ensure that walkways and exits within the workplace are kept clear and free from wires, boxes and baggage. This can be achieved through providing adequate storage for equipment to reduce the build-up of clutter. When cleaning is in progress it is important you provide adequate signage to warn employees of the potential slip hazards if the floor is still wet. You should also make this signage available in kitchen areas and bathrooms where spillages are more likely to occur. Aside from slips on wet surfaces many accidents occur on poorly maintained floors where there are loose tiles or unfinished edges. It is important to regularly maintain your floors and choose sensible materials for use in different areas of the building. When looking at the interior of your building there is a wide range of anti-slip floor solutions you could use to reduce the number of accidents. These include anti-slip matting for entrances, anti-slip nosings for stairs, slip-resistant floor tapes, vinyl safety floor tiles and special anti-slip floor coatings for concrete, steel, stone and wood floors. Many slips and trips occur outside the building too, particularly in winter when it is dark and there is a risk from ice. Always make sure your car park has sufficient lighting and provide a grit bin in the event of snow and ice. You will find grit bins online and a choice of office equipment such as flooring, shelving and signage to help you minimise the risk of slips and trips in your workplace.
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