Slipping Hazards at your Workplace and How to Prevent Them

Sponsored Article by uvex

Slipping hazards at the workplace can lead to serious injuries, such as broken bones and head injuries. Some common causes of slips, trips, and falls in the workplace include wet or oily surfaces, loose flooring or matting, poorly lit areas, and changes in floor level.

In addition, it is important to provide employees with the knowledge to take personal responsibility for their own safety by being vigilant and reporting hazards that they encounter. With proper planning, training, and ongoing monitoring, employers can help to keep their employees safe and prevent slips, trips, and falls in the workplace.

What can employers do to prevent slipping hazards at a workplace?
Employers can take several steps to prevent slipping hazards in the workplace, including:

• Regularly inspecting the workplace for hazards such as wet or oily surfaces, loose flooring or matting, poorly lit areas, and changes in floor level.
• Keeping floors clean and dry. Promptly clean up any spills or leaks, and use absorbent materials to prevent slipping.
• Using non-slip flooring or matting in high-traffic areas or in areas where spills are likely to occur.
• Properly lighting all areas of the workplace, including walkways, stairwells, and parking lots.
• Marking any changes in floor level with appropriate signage or paint to alert employees to potential hazards.
• Training employees on the proper use of equipment and on good housekeeping practices to ensure that they are aware of potential hazards and know how to avoid them.
• Properly storing materials and equipment to avoid creating obstacles that could cause an employee to trip or fall.
• Keeping the floors dry during the winter by providing mats or other means to help employees remove snow and ice from their shoes before entering the building.
• Applying slip-resistant coating on floors, especially in wet environments like kitchens or bathrooms.
• Implementing rules and procedures that help maintain the safety of the workplace.
• Providing employees with good slip-resistant shoes to wear on the job, this can decrease the risk of slips.

Employees can also take steps to prevent slipping hazards in the workplace by:

• Being aware of potential hazards, such as wet or oily surfaces, loose flooring or matting, poorly lit areas, and changes in floor level, and taking care to avoid them.
• Reporting any hazards they encounter to their employer or supervisor as soon as possible, so that corrective action can be taken.
• Keeping walkways and work areas clean and clutter-free by properly storing materials and equipment.
• Keeping their own work areas clean, dry, and well-organized.
• Following good housekeeping practices and safe work procedures to ensure that they are aware of potential hazards and know how to avoid them.
• Being vigilant when working on or near elevated surfaces such as scaffold, ladders, or catwalks and always wearing fall protection.
• Paying attention to warning signs and floor markings.
• Walking and not running in the workplace.
• Taking extra care when carrying items that may obstruct visibility, or could make them lose balance.
• Using handrails when going up or down the stairs, especially when carrying items or in poor lighting.
• Wearing good slip-resistant shoes to work, especially when their job requires them to work in wet environments or on slippery surfaces.

It is important to note that even shoes with the highest rating of SRC may not be completely slip-proof, and it's still important to maintain a safe work environment, as well as to follow
safe practices and procedures to prevent slips and falls.

Based on the regulation (EU) 2016/425 on personal protective equipment (PPE), uvex’s shoes not only meet all the necessary standards, but also exceeds the requirements a bit more. This is to ensure the extra safety that our customers expect from us.

Find out more about uvex safety shoes here: https://www.uvex-safety.com.sg/en/knowledge/safety-standards/safety-footwear/

Frequently asked questions: https://www.uvex-safety.com.sg/en/knowledge/faq/footwear-questions-and-answers/

About uvex safety
As a leading German PPE supplier, uvex prides itself for developing, manufacturing, and distributing industrial safety products with the highest quality, function, and innovation standards. Get in touch with uvex specialists at .