Slips Trips and Falls

 

Introduction

Slips, trips, and falls are among the leading causes of injuries on construction sites. These incidents can result in serious injuries, lost workdays, and increased insurance costs. Today, we will discuss the common causes of slips, trips, and falls, and how we can work together to prevent them.

Understanding the Hazards

Slips occur when there is not enough friction between your feet and the walking surface, while trips happen when an object or uneven surface causes you to lose your balance. Falls can occur from any height, whether on the ground or from elevated surfaces. Recognizing these hazards is the first step in prevention.

Common Causes

1. Wet or Slippery Surfaces: Rain, spills, or cleaning can create slippery conditions. Always be cautious in these areas and use mats or signage to alert others.

 

2. Uneven Surfaces: Cracks, holes, or uneven ground can lead to trips. Report any hazardous conditions to your supervisor immediately.

 

3. Cluttered Walkways: Tools, materials, and debris left in walkways can create obstacles. Keep all work areas organized and free of clutter.

 

4. Improper Footwear: Wearing inappropriate footwear can increase the risk of slips and falls. Ensure you wear shoes with good traction and support.

 

5. Poor Lighting: Insufficient lighting can make it difficult to see hazards. Ensure all work areas are well-lit, and report any lighting issues.

 

Prevention Strategies

1. Stay Aware: Always be mindful of your surroundings. Look out for potential hazards and take action to avoid them.

 

2. Use Handrails: When using stairs or ladders, always use handrails for support.

 

3. Report Hazards: If you see a hazard, report it immediately. Don’t assume someone else will take care of it.

 

4. Take Your Time: Rushing increases the likelihood of accidents. Move at a safe pace, especially in hazardous areas.

Conclusion

Preventing slips, trips, and falls is everyone’s responsibility. By being aware of our surroundings and following safety practices, we can create a safer work environment. If you have any questions or concerns about slip, trip, and fall hazards, please speak up.

Walking- Working Surfaces

 

This article is available in Spanish

Overview Slips, trips, and falls account for many industry accidents. Slips, trips, and falls are responsible for 10 percent of all accidental deaths. They are also the fourth leading cause, following motor vehicles, homicides, and being struck by objects or equipment, as a cause of fatalities. In an attempt to remove potential hazards from the workplace, OSHA developed 1910, Subpart D—Walking—Working Surfaces. Subpart D. Hazards involved with using walking-working surfaces The main hazard involved with walking and working surfaces include slips, trips, and falls. Stairways are also taken for granted, and so become a source for accidents in the workplace. What must my employer do? Your employer is responsible for providing a safe working environment. That includes reducing or eliminating hazards in walking and working areas by: ·         Keeping all employment, passageway, storerooms, and service rooms clean, orderly, and sanitary. ·         Maintain floors in a clean and, so far as possible, dry condition. If wet processes are used, drainage shall be maintained. Gratings, mats, or raised platforms must be provided. ·         Floors, working places, and passageways are to be kept free from protruding nails, splinters, or loose boards. ·         Keeping aisles and passageways clear and in good repair with no obstruction across or in aisles that could create hazards. ·         Appropriately marking permanent aisles and passageways. ·                   Maintaining proper aisle width so as to not limit passage or egress. ·                   Providing covers and/or guardrails to protect open pits, vats, tanks, ditches, and other hazards. ·                   Following load rating limits for all floors or roofs. ·                   Maintain adequate lighting in areas to illuminate walking surfaces. ·                   Providing handrails as required.

Pipeline Construction

 This article is also available in Spanish

If you work on a pipeline, you and your company must obey the OSHA safety and health regulations. OSHA recently visited a number of pipeline installation jobsites in a northern state. This Toolbox Talk discusses the results of those OSHA visits.

The contractor received willful and serious violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The citations were for: (1) inadequately guarded trenches, (2) improper operation and maintenance of pipelaying cranes, and (3) allowing unauthorized employees to ride machinery.

All of these activities are prohibited by the OSHA regulations.

Cave-in-protection

The common hazard found at most of the worksites was the lack of adequate cave-in protection for employees working in trenches five feet or more in depth.

Twenty-five American workers died in trenching-related cave-ins in 1998.

OSHA standards require that effective collapse protection be in place and in use before you enter a trench. The absence of such protection leaves workers exposed to being struck by and buried beneath tons of soil before they have a chance to react or escape.

Other trenching and shoring violations that were observed were: (1) water accumulating in a trench, (2) a trench lacked a ladder or other means of exit every 25 feet, and (3) removed dirt piles were placed too close to the edge of excavations.

Unauthorized modifications to heavy equipment

The boom of a pipelaying crane that was pulling the equipment sled fell, struck, and killed an employee riding on the sled. OSHA cited the company for making un authorized modifications to the pipelayer and allowing employees to ride the sled.

Other equipment problems that were cited were: (1) a custom-made lifting device had not been load-tested or had its load lifting capacity marked on the device, (2) damaged crane slings were in use, and (3) a sling was not marked with its load rating.

Jobsites are complicated and busy. It takes alert supervisors and employees, ones that know the OSHA regulations, can spot hazards, and are willing to correct those hazards, to make jobsites safe.