One of the reasons why health and safety training is so important is because it can highlight the serious hazards present in all businesses. One of these hazards comes in the form of slips and trips. These are the most common cause of injuries and can lead to days off work, prolonged injuries, prosecution and having to pay out for compensation.
It’s not only employees who are at risk of injuries caused by tripping up. They are also a common cause of accidents for the public. Anywhere that permits public access must consider how they will reduce the chances of the public being hurt by slipping over or tripping over objects.
As an employer or a business owner you have to think about what could cause an employee or member of the public to slip in your work premises. You will also need to work out if you are doing enough to prevent these types of accidents and introduce new measures if you find your current prevention techniques are failing.
Prevention Tips
There are many ways you can work to help stop these incidents from occurring:
- Provide your employees with suitable footwear that are designed for the type of environment they are working in.
- Installing the appropriate flooring.
- Cleaning up spills quickly.
- Routine cleaning plans and responsive actions in place.
- Keeping walkways and corridors clear.
- Preventing floors getting wet.
- Not allowing anyone to walk on areas that are wet from cleaning/spillages until the floor is dry.
- Be aware of and fix tripping hazards such as cables and wires.
Why Health and Safety Can Help
To introduce health and safety measures it’s important to be considered competent. Health and safety training will give you skills and a formal qualification that will show any inspectors that you have been formally educated at an appropriate level. Choose a course that will teach you the important of recognising the risks from slips and falls and how to recognise hazards in the work place. Risk assessment techniques are another must as they can help you to establish risks and evaluate the control measures at regular intervals.
Health and safety training will help you work to ensure the safety of your employees. You will be more likely to be in compliance with the law with the right training.