Health and Safety Executive Watch your step Controlling slips and trips risks at work See it, sort it.

Health and Safety Executive

Watch your step

Controlling slips and trips risks at work

See it, sort it

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Slips and trips are funny

Slips and trips accidents are often used in cartoons and videos to raise a laugh, but ask a victim if they’re funny.

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Youth slipped and put hand into deep-fat fryer

No Joking Matter

Source: Dudley MBC

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Not a joking matter

• Reported injuries to employees in GB premises (2003/4):

–11,269 majors (37% of total Major Injuries)

–30,499 Over-3-days (24% of total over-3-days)

• Injuries can be severe:

–90% of majors are fractures

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Costs of slips and trips in GB

• To the individual

–Lost income, pain, reduced quality of life

• To employers over £500m p.a.

–Damages, admin. and insurance, lost production, temporary absences

• To society over £800m p.a.

–Loss of potential output, medical costs, social security.

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HSE Strategic Delivery Programme (Fit3)

• Slips and Trips Programme Plan 2005 –2008

–PSA Major Injury (MI) reduction target

- 3% by 2008

–S&T Programme MI reduction target

- 5.1% by 2008

- i.e. 575 fewer S&T MI accidents.

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The food sector achieved a 19% reduction in major injury accidentsover 6 years

Key reference guide: HS(G)156

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S&T Programme Plan -The Main Messages

•Slips and Trips aren’t funny!

•They should be treated seriously and in proportion to the injuries and losses that they cause.

•Simple sensible solutions can eliminate most of the problems, but

•Personal responsibility and worker participation are essential to make solutions effective

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What law?

Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974(HSW Act)

Workplace (Health Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992 (Workplace Regs.)

Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (Management Regs.)

Construction Health Safety and Welfare Regulations 1996 (Construction HSW Regs)

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Management Regs.

• Employers to assess the risks (including slips & trips risks) to employees and others who may be affected by their work or business

• To enable identification of the measures they need to take to comply with health & safety law

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What contributes to the slip/ trip risk?

Floor

Environment

Slip/ trip Potential

ContaminationObstacles

People Footwear

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What is risk assessment?

• Systematic and careful examination of things (at

work) which could cause harm to people

• Evaluation of whether the controls in place are

sufficient to prevent harm

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Risk assessment - the 5 steps

1. Identify the hazards

2. Decide who may be harmed

3. Evaluate the risks and decide if the existing

precautions are adequate

4. Record the significant findings

5. Review the assessment periodically

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The most important bit…

• Take remedial action when the controls are insufficient to prevent harm

• It’s the ACTION as a result of the risk assessment process that matters

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Workplace Regs.

Floors/traffic routes:• To be of a construction that is suitable for

purpose• To have no hole or slope, or be uneven or

slippery so as to expose any person to a risk to their safety

• To have effective drainage where necessaryThese requirements for floor construction are all ‘ABSOLUTE’.

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Workplace Regs. cont.

• So far as reasonably practicable, floors/traffic routes to be kept free from obstructions and substances likely to cause a person to slip, trip or fall

• Staircases to be provided with suitable and sufficient handrails

• Waste materials not allowed to accumulate, except in suitable receptacles

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Slip hazards

• Leaks, spills and splashes of liquids & solids

• Wet processes

• Unsuitable floors

• Unsuitable footwear for floor

• Rain, mud

• Unsuitable entrance matting

• Sloping surfaces

• Wet floors following cleaning

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Risk Controls(a) Floor contamination

• Contamination from work activities/ environment controlled

• Process plant controlled and maintained

• Spillages cleaned up

• Correct cleaning regime

From both liquids and solids

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Don’t forget…

• The Workplace Regs. Approved Code of Practice (ACOP)

– Processes & plant which discharge or leak liquids should be enclosed

– If a leak or spillage is likely to cause a slipping hazard immediate steps should be taken to treat it

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Containing spillages from machines

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Use of signs and barriers

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Risk Controls (b) Suitable Floors and Footwear

• Floors slip-resistant

• Appropriate use of:

• Mats

• Anti-slip treatments/ coatings

• Drainage

• Grids, gratings, duckboards etc.

• Required footwear slip-resistant

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Good design of steps

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Role of slip-resistant footwear

• Have a ‘sensible shoe’ policy

• If needed as PPE, employer to provide

• Challenge the supplier to provide the right shoe for your floor/ contaminant

• See HSG156 – food guidance

• Consider sole material, tread pattern>>>

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Features of slip-resistant soles (source: SATRA 1997)

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Assessing Slipperiness

• Accident history – “eg slip/ trip incident map”

• Observation/ questioning–S&T occur often but only 1 in 40 result

in serious problems – so evidence should be easy to spot.

• Smooth floors – measure surface micro-roughness–ie like writing paper NOT sandpaper

• Dynamic Coefficient of Friction (CoF)

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Measuring Coefficient of Friction – Pendulum Method

• Designed to imitate heel impact

• Produces correct fluid dynamics

• Realistic CoF readings in wet and dry – CoF of at least 0.36 needed

• HSE-preferred method

30Pendulum in action – dry CoF reading

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Minimum levels of surface roughness to prevent slips – from FIS 22

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The Slips Assessment Tool (SAT)

Software-based. Operator feeds in:

• Surface roughness readings

• Floor type

• Contamination type/ amount/ source/ recurrence

• Footwear type

• Cleaning regime/ frequency

• Persons using floor

• Environmental factors

System give slip risk factor 0-40+

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Risk Controls(c) Prevention of Trips

• Floors even, free from holes or slopes;

• Gangways well-planned and marked;

• Access routes kept clear

• Stairs well-constructed, with handrails

• Good lighting

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Common trip hazards

• Loose floor and scaffold boards / tiles

• Loose and worn mats / carpets

• Accumulated waste materials

• Electrical & telephone socket outlets

• Trailing cables, pallets, tools, etc. in gangways

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Factors increasing the risk of slips and trips

• Moving goods – carrying, pushing, pulling• Rushing about• Distractions / fatigue

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HSE research

• Properties of metal and engineered wood floors in the wet

• Slipperiness test methods

• Identifying slip-resistant footwear

• The role of human factors in slips and trips accidents

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Managing slips and trips :having a good system

• Planning

–Key risk areas and goals

• Organisation

–Involvement and responsibilities

• Control

–Checks, records

• Monitor and Review

–Accident and inspection reports

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Managing Slips and Trips contd./

Simple measures can give quick returns. Some pointers:

• Ensure S & T included in risk assessment

• Prompt reporting and follow-up of leaks

• Operate a ‘clean as you go’ policy

• Allocate responsibilities for cleaning up

• Get workforce ‘buy in’ to these

Consider a campaign to reduce S & T>>>>

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Requirements for a successful campaign

• Backing from the top

• Good preparation and communication

• Workforce involvement and commitment, eg in:

– Preparing briefing materials

– Risk assessments

– Accident/ near miss investigations

• Targets/ monitoring

• Perseverance

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Further Advice and Guidance

• Workplace health, safety and welfare – ACOP and guidance L24

• Slips and trips – guidance for employers on identifying hazards and controlling risks HSG155

• Preventing slips and trips at work INDG 225 rev1 (free leaflet)

• HSE free information sheets: Food nos. 6 and 22, Catering no. 6, Education no. 2, Health Services no. 2, Cleaning and its impact on slips and trips

• HSE Stop Slips video

• www.hse.gov.uk/slips/index.htm

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Summary

• Slips and trips are NOT a trivial matter

• Risks need to be actively managed

• Include S & T specifically in risk assessment

• Involve the workforce

• Solutions can be cheap and simple, but must….

• Maintain standards through….

• Monitoring, audit, review