Slips Trips and Falls

Slips, trips and falls are the most common cause of accidents within the workplace. Every year accidents at work cost employers £512 million in sickness leave, legal fees and compensation. According to the HSE, there is one slip or trip every 3 minutes.

The Health and Safety Executive states that:

• Slips and trips are serious
• Simple cost effective measures can reduce these accidents

Statistically – average

• Cost to employers £512 million per year
• Cost to health service £133 million per year
• Incalculable human cost

THERE IS ONE SLIP OR TRIP ACCICDENT EVERY 3 MNUTES

Most slips occur in wet or contaminated areas. Most trips are due to poor maintenance or cleaning regimes. Solutions to both are often simple and cost effective. An assessment of the risks should be identifying the necessary controls, including:

• Management of spills
• On-going cleaning regimes
• Suitable footwear
• Design of workplace and work activities
• Maintenance of plant and the work environment
• Specification of appropriate flooring
• Effective training and supervision

The fact is that most injuries can be avoided through installation of the correct surfaces and keeping floors cleaned and well maintained.

Specialist Industrial Coating Ltd can help prevent slips trips and falls with a range of easy to maintain slip resistant treatments and safety surfacing maintenance products, many of which are installed quickly and easily with minimum disruption to work schedules.

Typically flooring problems fall into the following areas:

• Slippery floor caused by oil, grease, water, soaps
• Slippery steps causing slip hazard.
• Slippery ramps causing dangerous hazard for forklift trucks and operators

• Concrete floor pitted, potholed, cracked, dangerous trip hazard.
• Boltholes in floor need filling and smoothing after moving shelving and racking.

• Concrete floor worn and needs resurfacing: No time to rip up and replace.
• Concrete floor needs seamless coating to improve ease of cleaning and to meet hygiene and slip resistance requirements.

• Good quality concrete floor needs painting to improve appearance and increase safety and slip resistance.
• Good quality concrete floor needs seamless coating to improve ease of cleaning and to meet hygiene requirements.

• Concrete floor requires a chemical resistant coating to protect it from acid alkali and other spills.

• New machinery is to be installed or machinery has been moved.

• Slip resistant floor or coating needed around machines.

• Concrete, steel or wooden steps, stairs, walkways or other surfaces are slippery when wet or icy and need to have a slip resistant or anti-slip surface applied.

• Exterior emergency escape and access routes (including fire escapes and ladders) become slippery when wet or icy.