Slips trips falls

© Business & Legal Reports, Inc. 0605
Session Objectives
This training session discusses how to avoid slips, trips, and falls in the
workplace. This includes avoiding hazards on walking and working surfaces
and work platforms, as well as how to avoid accidents on ladders and stairs.
The session is important for two main reasons:
• First, slips, trips, and falls are a common kind of workplace accident that can
often be prevented.
• Second, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA,
requires us to provide a workplace that is free of recognized hazards,
including hazards that lead to slips, trips, and falls.
You will be able to:
• Identify slip, trip, and fall hazards at work
• Understand safety specifications and features of walking surfaces and
openings
• Use stairs and ladders safely to avoid falls
• Avoid and eliminate slip and trip hazards

Injury Statistics
Injury statistics show just how common slip, trip, and
fall accidents are.
• According to the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention, there are about 265,000 nonfatal
injuries from slips, trips, and falls in the U.S. each
year that result in one or more days away from
work.
• Slips, trips, and falls represent about 17 percent of
all nonfatal workplace injuries each year, the
highest rate of injury of any single activity regulated
by OSHA.

Slip, Trip, and Fall Hazards
Slip, trip, and fall hazards include the following, among other
things:
• Power cords, ropes, and hoses on floors and walkways are a
common tripping hazard;
• Open-sided floors and platforms are fall hazards;
• Clutter in floors, aisles, and other walkways are also common
tripping hazards;
• Floor and wall holes and openings are both trip and fall
hazards;
• Open pits, tanks, vats, and ditches, are fall hazards; and
• Wet floors frequently cause slips and falls.
You can probably think of specific areas and situations in your
workplace that create slip, trip, and fall hazards.

Open-Sided Floors
and Platforms
Now let’s discuss how to reduce or eliminate
specific hazards.
Open-sided floors and platforms have certain
requirements meant to prevent tripping and
falling.
• All open-sided floors or platforms that are 4
feet or more above the floor or ground level
must be guarded to prevent workers from
falling to the lower level.
• Standard guard rails, or equivalent fall
protection, are required for all open sides,
except for entrances to a ramp, stairway, or
fixed ladder.
• Toeboards are required to protect
employees below from falling objects that
could slide off an open work platform.
• Similarly, toeboards will also protect
machinery or equipment that could be
damaged by objects falling from an
aboveground walkway or work platform.
Image credit: OSHA

Guarding Holes
and Openings
Guarding holes and openings in floors and other surfaces are
an important way to prevent falling.
• A floor hole is considered to be any opening between 1
and 12 inches wide. This can include a belt hole, pipe
opening, or slot opening. Although a person could not
fall through a hole this small, he or she could step into it
and be injured, or objects could fall through the hole.
• A floor opening is considered to be more than 12 inches
wide in a floor, platform, pavement, or any other walking
or working surface. It is large enough for a person to fall
through. Examples include hatchways, pits, and
manholes.
• Floor holes and floor openings should always be guarded
with a standard railing and toeboard.
• Covering the hole or opening is another way to protect
workers. Floor holes should be protected by a cover that
leaves openings of no more than 1 inch. The cover
should be held securely in place to prevent objects from
falling through.
• During times when the cover is not in place, the floor
hole should be attended by a attendant to keep others
away from the hazard, or it should be protected by a
standard railing and toeboard.
Image credit: Mine Safety and Health Administration

Guarding Stairway and
Ladder Floor Openings
Floor openings for stairways and ladders need
guarding or some other form of protection
against falls.
• Guard stairway and ladder floor openings with
a standard railing and toeboard on all sides
except where the entrance is.
• The entrance to the ladder or stairway may be
open as long as it is offset so that a person
cannot walk directly into the opening. An
example would be to have a landing of some
kind as a passage to the stairway or ladder.
• It is recommended to have a swinging gate in
the railing, as further protection against falling.
• Another option is to cover the opening with a
hinged cover that is properly constructed and
strong enough to provide protection. When
the stairway or ladder is not being used, the
cover should be closed. If the cover is not on,
there should be an attendant, or the opening
should be protected on all exposed sides by
removable railings.

Guarding Hatchway and
Chute Floor Openings
Floor openings for hatchways and chutes need guarding that is similar to other kinds of floor
openings.
• A sturdy hinged cover can be used as long as it is properly constructed and strong
enough for people to walk across. When the hatchway or chute is not being used, the
cover needs to be kept closed, or the opening should be guarded with railings.
• A removable railing with a toeboard can be installed on one or two sides of the opening.
The other two sides must be guarded with a fixed railing and toeboards. The removable
railings should be kept in place when the opening is not in use.
• The areas under floor openings should be fenced off, to keep people from walking
through the area when objects might fall on them from above. If fencing is not practical,
the area should be marked with yellow lines, and warning devices such as ropes or
ribbons should be installed.
• Audible alarm signals should be installed whenever floor openings are used to drop
materials from one level to the next. The alarms warn employees on the lower level.
• Finally, skylights must be guarded by standard skylight screens or a fixed standard
railing on all exposed sides.

Wall Openings
Wall openings are another kind of
falling hazard.
• Holes or openings in walls or
partitions that are at least 30
inches high and 18 inches wide are
covered by OSHA regulations.
• In other words, these openings are
large enough for a person to fall
through.
• If the wall opening presents the
possibility of falling four feet or
more to the ground below, it should
be guarded with a railing, roller,
picket fence, half door, or similar
barrier.
• Install a toeboard to protect
employees working below from
being struck by falling objects.
Image credit: OSHA.gov

Guardrails
Guardrails act as a barrier along any open
edge to protect employees and objects
from falling over the open edge to a
lower level.
• The top rail of the guardrail must be 42
inches above the walking or working
surface.
• The midrail must be halfway between
the top rail and the walking or working
surface, or about 21 inches high.
• A toeboard 4 inches tall is used to help
prevent someone from stepping over
the edge, and also to prevent someone
from kicking tools or equipment over the
edge so that they can fall on an
employee on the lower level.
• Guardrails must be able to withstand
reasonable force and prevent workers
from falling to a lower level.

Aisles and Passageways
Aisles and passageways can often be full of
tripping and falling hazards.
• Keep aisles and passageways, as well as
loading docks, doorways, and turning
areas, clear for material-handling
equipment such as forklifts and electrical
pallet jacks. There should be no
obstructions in these areas that could
create a hazard.
• Mark aisles and passageways that are
permanently used as such. Marking can
be lines painted on the floor, or it can be
pillars, striping, flags, traffic cones, or
barrels that are in good conditions and
can be recognized as markings by vehicle
operators and other employees.
• Passageways with heavy vehicle traffic
must be wide enough to provide a
separate walkway for pedestrians, to
prevent them from being struck by forklifts
or other material-handling equipment.

Floor Load Rating
The “floor load rating” is important information for preventing falls
and other accidents. Walking surfaces, especially those that
are suspended above ground, have weight limits for what can
safely be loaded on them.
• Load ratings should be posted so that employees can see the
rating of the walkway.
• Plates used to cover floor holes and openings, for example,
should be marked with their load ratings.
• Similarly, aboveground walkways and working surfaces
should be marked with their load ratings.
• Never exceed the posted load rating limit for floor covers and
walkways.

Walking Surfaces and
Openings—Questions?
• Do you understand the material on walking
surfaces and openings, including open
floors, floor holes and openings, aisles and
passageways, or floor load ratings?
It is time to ask yourself if you understand
the material presented so far.
It is important for your safety that you
understand slip, trip, and fall hazards.

Use Stairs Safely
Now we’ll discuss safety procedures with stairs
and ladders.
To use stairs safely, remember these safety
guidelines:
• Use the handrails when going up or down
stairs. Even the most graceful person can
potentially misstep, stub a toe, or otherwise
trip on the stairs and fall. The handrail
gives you an extra point of safety.
• Walk – don’t run – up and down stairs.
Running or jumping increases the
possibility of falling.
• Inspect the steps for slippery surfaces,
such as oil, grease, or water, or for
damaged steps. Be careful on carpeted
steps because these can also be slippery.
• Do not put objects on the steps of
stairways. Many people have the habit of
putting things on the bottom steps that they
intend to take upstairs later. However,
someone else who does not expect the
object to be there could trip and fall over it.

Use Fixed Ladders Safely
There are different kinds of ladders and
ways to make sure you use them
safely.
• Fixed ladders are ladders that are
permanently attached to a structure or
piece of equipment.
• Cages or wells are needed if the
climbing height of a fixed ladder is more
than 20 feet.
• The maximum unbroken height or
length of this type of ladder is 30 feet,
before being broken by a platform.
• Ladder safety devices may be used
instead of cage protection on tower,
water tank, and chimney ladders more
than 20 feet high. Ladder safety
devices means the worker wears a full-
body harness with a lanyard attached to
a device on the ladder. If the climber
falls, the device automatically stops and
locks, preventing the worker from falling
a longer distance.

Set Up a Ladder
With Safety in Mind
Always set up non-fixed ladders with safety in mind. Use only
OSHA approved ladders with rungs uniformly spaced.
Ladders shall only be used for there intended purpose.
• Put the ladder on a level surface. Avoid putting it on sloped
surfaces, or on gravel or dirt that could give way and cause
the ladder to fall.
• Angle the ladder properly, using the “4 to 1” rule. This
means that the distance between the bottom of the ladder to
the wall should be one-fourth the distance to the top of the
ladder or its support point. The illustration on this slide
shows a ladder that is 16 feet from the bottom to the support
point, so the distance between the wall and the bottom of the
ladder is four feet. Counting the number of rungs of the
ladder will give you the approximate length of the ladder in
feet.
• Secure the bottom of the ladder, or have someone hold it for
you. Even if the ladder has anti-slip feet, securing the bottom
provides extra safety.
• Extend the ladder at least 3 feet above the upper landing so
that you have the ladder to hold onto when climbing from the
ladder to the landing, or back from the landing to the ladder.
• If the ladder will be staying in one place for a long period of
time, secure it at the top to prevent it from falling backward or
to the side.
Image credit: State of WA-WISHA Services

Climb Ladders Safely
To climb ladders safely, remember these safety
rules:
• Face the ladder when you are climbing or
descending. It is much harder to keep your
balance if your back is toward the ladder.
• Climb with both hands. Don’t try to climb
while holding tools or other objects in your
hands. Always keep at least one hand on
the ladder when painting or doing other
projects.
• Use a tool belt or bucket hanger to carry
tools or other necessary equipment.
• Keep your weight centered on the ladder;
don’t lean to the side.
• Don’t stand on the two top steps of a
stepladder. When using an extension
ladder, don’t stand on the top four rungs,
because you can’t keep a grip on the
ladder when standing this high.

Inspect Ladders
Inspect ladders before every use to make sure they are safe.
• Make sure the rungs are in good condition and are clean.
They should not be bent or otherwise damaged, and they
should be free of oil, grease, or anything else that could make
them slippery.
• Make sure the ladder locks function correctly. The locks are
essential for keeping the ladder stable and secure.
• Use a nonconductive ladder when working around electrical
equipment. This means fiberglass or wood—never aluminum.
• Check that the ladder has the correct load capacity for the
task.
• Finally, ladder feet should be of rubber or some other anti-slip
material.
• Unsafe ladder shall be tagged and removed from service.

Stairs and Ladders—
Any Questions?
• Do you understand
safety procedures for
stairs and ladders?
Now it’s time to ask
yourself if you
understand the
information presented
so far.
It’s important that you
know how to use stairs
and ladders safely.

Keep Walking and Working
Surfaces Clear and Clean
Remember to keep walking and working surfaces clear and clean
in order to reduce the hazards of slipping, tripping, and falling.
• Keep workroom floors clean and dry to eliminate slip hazards
and prevent injuries. Keep gratings and drains clear to make
sure liquids can drain off, and install mats or raised platforms
where wet processes are used.
• Maintain a clean and orderly work area to prevent tripping
injuries. Keep floors, walkways, work platforms, and
passageways free from trip hazards such as protruding nails,
loose boards, debris, tools, materials, and other objects.

Eliminate Trip Hazards
You can eliminate trip hazards by getting into these safety
habits:
• Pick up tools, materials, and trash. Clean up straps and
bands from boxes or bundles – they can get tangled up in
someone’s legs and cause a fall. If you need to work in a
walkway, put cones or barricades around your tools and
materials so other employees are aware of the hazard and
can avoid your work area.
• Pick up or walk around obstructions, don’t walk through the
middle or on top of them. If it’s appropriate to pick them up
and put them away, do so. Otherwise, walk around them.
• Report dangerous walking and working surfaces, such as
damaged flooring, uneven surfaces, loose boards, torn
carpets, protruding nails, and other hazards so that they
can be repaired to eliminate the trip hazard.
• Keep file drawers closed. Often, people in an office may
not be paying attention or thinking to look for an
unexpected obstruction like an open file drawer.
• Finally, keep power cords out of walkways and stairwells
unless they are covered. If it’s necessary to string a cord
across a walkway, tape it down securely and put a cone or
warning sign nearby.

Eliminate Slip Hazards
Help eliminate slip hazards in the workplace by following these tips:
• Clean up liquids that spill, and do it right away. Water and oil can be cleaned
up with rags, mops, squeegees, or floor absorbents. Chemical spills or leaks
should be reported so that properly trained personnel can clean up the
chemical.
• Sweep up debris and dust – don’t just step over or walk through a mess.
Take the time to pick up or clean up the hazard.
• Stop and repair leaks in machinery, piping, and equipment that can cause a
slip hazard. If you can’t repair the leak yourself, report it so that the proper
personnel can be called.
• Install absorbent or liquid barriers around wet processes, such as splashing
metalworking fluids, liquids used for parts cleaning, or other processes that
involve liquids. Absorbent or barriers will prevent these liquids from flowing
onto walking areas and causing slip-related injuries.
• Use warning signs, cones, or barricade tape around slip hazards such as wet
floors. If necessary, stand guard to alert other employees to the hazard until it
has been cleaned up and the surface is dry.

Wear Slip-Resistant Shoes
Wear slip-resistant shoes to protect yourself
against slipping and falling.
• Ordinary street shoes—including athletic
shoes—are generally not intended to be slip-
resistant in the work environment. For
example, shoes that provide good traction on a
basketball court are not designed to protect
against slipping on surfaces that are wet from
water, oil, or chemicals.
• Soft rubber soles provide slip resistance by
gripping the surface of the floor. However, the
soles will wear down quickly if they are too
soft.
• Sole treads with channels are characteristic of
slip-resistant shoes, because the channels
carry the liquid out from under the shoe and
allow the ridge of the sole to contact the floor.
• You still need to walk carefully, even when
wearing slip-resistant shoes. Wearing the right
shoes reduces the possibility of slipping on wet
floors, but does not entirely eliminate it.

Be Alert, Use
Common Sense
Being alert and using common sense are two of the best ways to reduce
slip, trip, and fall hazards.
• First of all, be aware of all of the possible hazards in your work area.
• Pay attention to wear you are going, and keep an eye out for possible
slip, trip, and fall hazards.
• Adjust your stride according to the walking surface. If the surface is
dry and rough, you can probably walk quickly. But if the surface
appears to be slippery, walk more slowly and shorten your steps. On
ramps especially, walk slowly and test your traction.
• Make wide turns at corners. If you try to take a sharp corner quickly,
you could plant your foot on a slippery surface and cause your feet to
slide out from under you.
• Finally, don’t block your vision when carrying objects. Make sure you
can always see the floor in front of you, so that you don’t slip or trip.
Be especially careful when carrying objects on stairs or ramps.

Slip and Trip Safety—
Any Questions?
• Do you understand the slip
and trip hazards of walking
and working surfaces?
It is important for your
safety that you understand
slip, trip, and fall hazards
and how to prevent injuries.

Key Things to Remember
Here are the key things to remember from this training session on slips,
trips, and falls:
• Check for unguarded openings in floors, platforms, or walls. Make
sure the proper guards are in place, such as railings or covers.
• Keep walkways free of hazards; remove all tripping hazards if you
can.
• Use stairs and ladders safely. Be careful on stairs, and make sure
that you follow all safety guidelines when using fixed ladders,
extension ladders, or stepladders.
• Finally, prevent slip and trip hazards by following good housekeeping
practices. Clean up liquid spills and dust, debris, and stray objects
that might cause someone to slip or trip. If you see a hazard, correct
it or report it.
This concludes the training session on slips, trips, and falls.

Slips trips falls

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