Slips and Falls

[Simon K]

Does anyone have a program in place to prevent slips and falls where employees are located at multiple sites (that are out of our control) we have gone to efforts to train them to understand the hazards of icy/wet surfaces but still haven't managed to solve this problem. I have considered offereng those slip on "spikes" but the amount of walking our employees do would create other hazards for the employee.. any suggestions would be welcomed! :)

[bmason]

With respect to your workplace are the incidents related to icy surfaces on construction sites?
I have found that overall awareness is a good start with specific instruction added. Slips, trips and falls are the outcome of a hazard. Misuse of ladders, cluttered work areas, parking lots not adequately salted etc. This is where I have developed training as an attempt to prevent at the source.
As you mentioned the icy conditions you can look at the root cause (lack of salting, improper footwear, tasks are rushed etc).
I agree in some circumstances the spikes may well cause other issues.
I do not have the ultimate answer, this particular safety issue affects most of us so I look forward to hearing what steps others have taken to control.

[Brian Nodwell]

Simon,

Part of the problem with Slips and Trips is that those hazards have existed in people's everyday life since we started walking. Workers tend to accept the hazards and have also become de-sensitized to warnings, so controlling or mitigating slip and trip hazards is not as prominent as it should be.

You might consider another try at training, but this time adding material on prevention to the hazard awareness component you already have.

We have lessons on Slips (7 minutes), Trips and Missteps (12 minutes), and Housekeeping Programs and Practices (16 minutes) that emphasize prevention and score very high feedback.

We offer a free 30-day trial (http://www.safetysync.com/FreeTrial/SignUpForm.aspx) on our website, so looking them over (or sharing them with employees throughout your organization if you do it within a month) won't cost you anything.