BUSINESS INSURANCE
Protecting Your Employees Against Slips, Trips and Falls
As a business owner, one of your
primary concerns should be protecting your most valuable assets. Most people agree the earning power of the
owners and employees is one of the main assets of any business.
Slips, trips and falls cause the majority
of general industry accidents and 15 percent of all accidental deaths. They cause more fatalities than all other
causes but motor vehicles. In the
construction industry, falls are the leading cause of worker fatalities. Each year between 150 and 200 workers on
average are killed and more than 100,000 are injured as a result of falls at
construction sites.
The Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) has recently revised its construction industry safety
standards and developed systems and procedures designed to prevent employees
from falling off, onto, or through working levels and to protect employees from
being struck by falling objects. The
OSHA rule clarifies what an employer must do to provide fall protection for
employees, such as identifying and evaluating fall hazards and providing
specific training.
Under the revised standards, employers are
able to select fall protection measures compatible with the type of work being
performed. Fall protection generally can
be provided through the use of guardrail, safety net, personal fall arrest,
positioning device and warning line systems.
There are many situations that can cause
slips, trips and falls. To increase the
awareness of these hazards to your employees, we suggest the following:
Make tripping and fall hazards an area to focus on in your regular
safety meetings and inspections.
Review each accident report to determine the cause of any slips, trips
or falls and take corrective action.
Put up safety posters warning about slip, trip and fall hazards.
Provide training for all employees.
By eliminating workplace hazards and
training employees to take work safely, most of the reported injuries and fatal
accidents can be prevented. Protecting your employees against
slips, trips and falls will also have a positive impact on your workers
compensation expenses.
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