Slip-and-Fall Prevention in the Business Environment
Keep your workers safe and keep your profits high with these simple yet effective slip-and-fall prevention techniques.
Slip-and-Fall Prevention
One of the most common accidents that can happen in a work area is the slip and fall. This event can be the cause of injuries that reduce a worker's effectiveness. Safety is the first rule of any business and, as a business owner; you should keep your work area as safe as possible. Several techniques regarding fall prevention will assist you in maintaining a safe working environment.
What Causes Falls?
A fall accident is often caused by slips and trips. These usually occur in places where there are many people moving around. A good example is a kitchen in a restaurant or fast-food eatery. In these places, people are often rushing and have little or no time to bother about where their feet are going. They hurry to get their jobs done as fast as possible to satisfy the needs and expectations of the customers.
Slipping occurs when there is a loss of traction between the underside of a person's shoe and the floor. The likelihood of this happening depends on the floor material and the type of shoe. Traction depends on friction; this differs according to the materials concerned. The presence of fluids, like water and oil, on the floor surface can reduce friction, increasing the chances of a slip.
Tripping happens when a person's foot collides with an object. The object does not have to be immovable to cause a trip, but the collision should be able to cause the person to lose balance. Any obstacle on the floor can cause a loss of balance by disturbing the rhythmic motion of the foot when walking.
How to Prevent Falls
Fall prevention is a factor you should always consider in your business. It is essential to keep your workers safe and effective. There are various ways to do this, including housekeeping, laying nonslip flooring, and providing protective footwear.
Housekeeping is a basic fall-prevention program. This includes the immediate cleaning up of spills and the use of special signs to indicate that an area is wet. All work areas should be cleared of obstacles and moveable objects kept in a particular place.
Special flooring is another effective way to prevent a slip-and-fall accident. Nonslip flooring maintains good friction between the floor and the underside of shoes, even if the floor is wet. An area that is often damp, such as a wash area, is a good place to lay nonslip flooring.
Protective footwear is often used in places where it is impossible to cover the entire work area with nonslip flooring. For example, farm workers wear boots that give them good traction despite the moist environment. This fall-prevention scheme is easily applied in any workplace.
Make Your Business a Safe Place
Fall accidents should always be a concern to business owners; a single accident can have a negative impact on your team. Fall-prevention programs are the way to eliminate these unpleasant events and to maintain the trust of your workers.
Slip-and-Fall Prevention in the Business Environment
Keep your workers safe and keep your profits high with these simple yet effective slip-and-fall prevention techniques.