A Guide to Preventing Slips, Trips & Falls

The average person takes 18,000 steps every day, but how many of these steps are taken seriously? There are over 13 million slip, trip and fall injuries every year that can result in lost workdays, broken bones, "bad backs," even permanent disability and death. By understanding how slips, trips and falls happen, you can prevent painful injuries both on and off the job.

Slips are a loss of balance caused by too little friction between your feet and the surface you work or walk on. Slips can be caused by constantly wet surfaces, occasional spills or weather hazards such as ice or snow. Walking carelessly, ignoring occasional spills and wearing shoes without adequate traction for the surface can cause painful slip injuries both at work and at home.

Trips are a loss of balance caused by an interference between your forward motion and some object. (You can also trip walking or running backwards.) Taking short cuts, leaving clutter in walkways, working under poor lighting and walking on loose, uneven footing are common causes of trips.

Falls are caused whenever you move too far off your center of balance. Think of it this way: when you fall, gravity pulls you from one unstable position to a second, more stable position. Makeshift ladders, reaching too far up or to the side while on a ladder and ladders set up on loose, uneven ground are common fall hazards. A slip or trip, as well, often ends in a fall.

PREVENTION TAKES TEAMWORK. Your employer is committed to preventing slips, trips, and falls on the job, but it takes teamwork - you, your co-workers and your employer all working together to make your workplace as safe and accident-free as possible. Develop the skills to recognize, avoid and control hazards to prevent injuries both on and off he job.

Your role in fall prevention is to be a team player. Be considerate of the people you work with, and think ahead by cleaning up or reporting spills and picking up stray tools and equipment, particularly on walkways. Be sure to report hazards and any injuries to your supervisor. Be especially aware of the hazardous "buts": "But I’ve always done it this way." "But that’s not part of my job." "But it would take too much time.

Recognize the many hazards on and off the job. Your best bet is to pay attention and make sure you can see your path ahead.

Avoid hazards by walking around them carefully or stepping over them. Be sure to slow down so you can keep your balance.

Control hazards by marking them clearly so others won’t get hurt. Then fix the hazard yourself or report it right away.

THE SCIENCE OF SLIPS & FALLS. Accidents may seem all too easy. Actually, slips, trips and falls involve three laws of science - friction, momentum and gravity. Friction helps prevent slips. Momentum often contributes to trips. Gravity always plays a part in falls. To help prevent injuries, it helps to understand how these three forces affect slips, trips and falls.

Friction is the resistance between things, such as between our shoes and the surface you stand on. Without adequate friction, you are apt to slip (and probably fall). With friction, there is enough resistance between your shoes and the surface you are on to hold you upright on your center of balance, and allow you to move safely forward.

Momentum is affected by speed and size. In other words, "The bigger they are the harder they fall." The more momentum you have as you move along (the more speed and size), the harder your fall if you should trip or slip. With less momentum the likelihood of losing your balance after tripping or slipping is decreased.

Gravity is the force that allows a large body (such as the Earth) to pull smaller bodies (such as an apple or you) toward itself. When you are high on a ladder and fall off, gravity is the force that pulls you toward the ground. Without gravity, people and things would never fall. Instead, we would float endlessly in space. What follows are several suggestions for preventing slips, trips and falls in the workplace:

• Preventing slips. Slips can occur whenever there is too little friction between your feet and the surface you work or walk on. Walking itself requires considerable balance, since your heel must keep you balanced until the rest of your foot lands on the floor. The most common causes of slips are constantly wet surfaces, occasional spills and weather hazards. As with trips and falls, slips are more likely when you hurry and are inattentive or distracted. Work with your supervisor and co-workers to recognize, avoid and control slip hazards wherever they occur.

• Preventing trips. Trips can occur whenever our foot strikes an object and you are moving with sufficient momentum to be thrown off balance. Trips most often occur when you try to take a short cut, when lighting is inadequate and the work area is cluttered, and when an area has loose footing. Like slips and falls, trips are more likely when you hurry and don’t pay attention to where you are going.

By learning to recognize, avoid and control trip hazards both at home and on the job, you and your co-workers can work together to prevent painful - and needless - injuries.

• Preventing falls. Falls occur whenever you move too far off your center of balance.

Slips and trips often push you off your center of balance far enough to cause a fall, but there are many other ways to fall. Makeshift ladders, misuse of ladders and inadequate equipment for a job are the most common causes of falls. As with slips and trips, hurrying and being distracted often contribute to a fall. Begin to recognize and avoid potential fall hazards on the job, and work with your supervisor to control the hazards that you see.

MAKE PREVENTION A PRIORITY. Slip, trip and fall hazards are everywhere. Don’t let yourself become one of the millions of people each year who are injured by needless slipping, tripping or falling. Begin today to work with your supervisor and co-workers to recognize, avoid, and control potential hazards. Help make your workplace safe for everyone.

The preceding article was reproduced with permission from A Guide to Preventing Slips, Trips and Falls, copyright Krames Communications.