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Clever Ways To Prevent Slips, Trips & Falls

BY Rebecca | 12 May, 2015 | no comments

Slips, trips, and falls are the biggest culprits for workplace accidents. It doesn’t matter whether you run an office with two or three other people or a full-scale industrial operations with employees numbering in the thousands. AT some point in time, there will be trips, there will be slipping, and there will be falls.

Unfortunately, as a boss, the finger of blame will be pointed at you should a serious accident occur. And that’s why making small adjustments to your workplace can protect you against accident lawyers and employees with a grudge. Let’s take a look at some simple ways of preventing slips, trips, and falls, whatever your business.

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1/ Provide adequate storage

The first thing to do is make sure that your staff are keeping their work spaces and walkways clean and tidy. By providing enough storage space, you will go a long way to stop boxes and equipment being left haphazardly around on the floor. If you receive a lot of stock through your doors, don’t forget to include an area where boxes can be stacked safely.

2/ Make people aware of your expectations

Hold regular health and safety meetings in your workplace, and make sure you are placing signs in areas that are often left untidy. If you give off the right messages, most people will respond and take things seriously. You should also be sure to underline your expectations with repeat offenders. Everybody should be given a chance to redeem themselves, of course, but you should only give them so many opportunities before it becomes a disciplinary issue.

3/ Perform regular checks

It is imperative that you make regular checks to your premises. In a larger scale environment, you should think about giving control of this task to a health and safety manager. If you have a smaller business, you could cover this yourself or give a trusted member of staff the position of health and safety representative. There is an excellent guide on the BSI Business website to get things started.

4/ Identify problem areas

There will be places where most accidents take place, so use your accident book to judge where improvements can be made. For example, any wet rooms such as bathrooms or kitchen areas can be made safer by installing modular flooring. Similarly, anywhere that carpet has been pulled up or has been worn away will need to be repaired to prevent trips.

5/ Keep up to date with regulations

All business owners should be making sure they are complying with health and safety regulations. Be sure to check the HSE website regularly. It is a valuable tool to look at every once in a while, and it will give you all the news you need to keep yourself updated.

We hope this guide highlights the areas that help to prevent slips, trips, and falls.

It can be an expensive mistake to take them lightly, so make sure you keep up to speed with developments and are staying on top of the problem areas in your business.

 

 

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