Slips, trips, and falls in the workplace can be messy incidents. They can lead to lawsuits, productivity loss, loss of the injured employee, and loss of their surrounding employees due to fear or frustration. There are a few leading causes of slips, trips, and falls including wet weather, greasy or slippery floors due to the workplace environment, and unexpected items left out. Every business should be working hard to provide a safer work environment for their employees. 

Here are the top 10 ways we can all try to prevent slips, trips, and falls in the workplace:

1. Require the Use of Proper Footwear. Many people ignore the recommended footwear for their jobs, but in certain industries, it is imperative that they cooperate. In industries such as restaurants and slippery warehouses, bosses MUST require their employees to wear slip-resistant shoes to avoid slips that could cause injury.
2. Reduce Wet and Slippery Surfaces. Always make sure spills and wet spots are mopped up immediately. The best way to assure that these issues are addressed promptly is to hire a commercial cleaning company to work on-site to protect your staff’s safety. The money you will spend paying a commercial cleaning company will be well worth the time you will save in productivity, employee retention, and having to pay less PTO to injured workers.
3. Use Slip Resistant Mats. Creating traction with slip-resistant mats in heavily used walkways is very important to reducing slips for employees, customers, and business partners. Focus on strategically placing these near entryways where individuals might be tracking in wet weather as well as in high-risk areas for wet floors such as kitchens.
4. Keep Things Tidy. Make sure the entire workplace is clean and organized. There are huge risks to employee safety as well as employer materials if there are items strewn about in walkways. Keep all areas that an employee might be walking unobstructed in order to lessen the chances of one tripping over an unexpected or unseen item.
5. Maintain Proper Lighting. Proper lighting throughout the entire workplace is crucial to preventing slips, trips, and falls. A few areas to really focus on great lighting are the hallways, lobby, stairways, and any construction areas.
6. Provide Proper Handrails When Needed. Stairs are a very common area for slips, trips, and falls in the workplace. Making sure stairs are well maintained, marked, and provide proper handrails can make all the difference for employee safety.
7. Keep Your Cords Away. Running cords under carpets or behind walls is the best way to manage your electric, internet, and cable cords that might be creating a risk for tripping and falling in your workplace. At least make an effort to duct tape them down temporarily until you can find a long-term solution for your pesky cords.
8. Block Off Temporary Hazards. Blocking off major areas of risk is an extremely effective way to prevent injury through slips, trips, and falls. An employee will know if they cross over a barrier that they will be in a high-risk zone. Another way to strategize this is to create safe walkways that are marked off so the employees know to only walk within certain areas.
9. Display Proper Signage. Clearly indicating where is a risky place to be walking or calling to attention the problem areas in the workplace with signage will lower your risks of slips, trips, and falls. It also can limit your liability if someone ignores the signage.
10. Enforce a ‘No Horseplay’ Conduct Rule. Sometimes employees cause slips, trips, and falls themselves through “horsing around”. Strictly enforcing things like no pushing and shoving or messing with each other on the job site can lower the chances of this.

With these ten tips, you can help keep your staff safe and maintain a well-run production system. For more tips and tricks to keeping your office safe, and for information on hiring a quality commercial cleaning company, visit our Action Unlimited Resources Blog.