Protecting Your Employees Against Slips, Trips and Falls

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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