March Safety Topic: Slips, Trips & Falls

Slip, trip and fall incidents accounted for twice as many injuries than any other category over the past year. According to OSHA, most general industry incidents involve a slip, trip or fall and cause 15% of all accidental deaths which is second only to motor vehicles deaths. These types of incidents also cause 27% of workplace injuries offshore.

What are Slips, Trips & Falls?

• A SLIP is defined as too little friction between your footwear and a walking working surface that results in a loss of balance. Not all slips will result in a fall, but an injury can be attained by just slipping including strains, sprains, etc.

• A TRIP is defined as your lower leg hitting or foot hitting object while your upper body continues moving resulting in a loss of balance. Just like slips, not all trips result in a fall but can cause injuries in other ways including abrasions, contusions, etc.

• A FALL is defined as an event which results in you unintentionally losing your balance and coming to rest inadvertently on the same level on which you were standing or a lower level which is considered an elevated fall.

One key component to identify slips, trips and falls is knowing how to properly address them during the JSEA process. Most JSEA’s include slips, trips and falls but they are generically listed as potential hazards with “be aware of your surroundings” or “housekeeping” listed as the hazard control. While it’s important to include slips, trips and falls while writing your JSEA, taking the time to identify specific hazards is more effective in eliminating hazards and reducing injuries. Think about the following while writing your JSEA and completing job tasks:

• Good Housekeeping - What is the current condition of the work area? How will the work area change while working? Who is responsible for keeping the work area free of hazards?

• Slippery Surfaces - Is the work surface slippery? Is there a potential for it to become slippery during a task or due to weather? What will keep you from slipping on the surface?

• Uneven or elevated surfaces - Are there stairs in the work area? Is there an elevation change in the surface?

• Obstacles - Are there any obstacles are a potential hazard? Will tools, cords or materials create obstacles? How do we avoid slipping or tripping on the hazards?

• Lighting - Are the lighting conditions adequate to see any potential hazard?

• PPE - Are you inspecting and wearing proper steel toe footwear with well-defined heel to ensure its condition is adequate to avoid any potential slip, trip, and fall incident?

• Focus - What are the potential distractions that can cause you to lose focus such as being in a hurry, carrying objects that obstruct vision, using a radio or phone, etc.…?   

We must regularly inspect walking surfaces to ensure we mitigate any slip, trip, and fall hazard that exists in the workplace. While eliminating physical conditions that cause slips, trips and falls will play an important role in reducing incidents, making the personal decision to focus on the task at-hand is the most important decision we can make. If unable to eliminate such hazards, we should alert others by communicating the hazard verbally, posting warning signs, using florescent paint, or reflective tape to warn others of hazardous situations. Any deficiency observed in the workplace that could cause a slip, trip, or fall hazard shall be reported at once to Supervisor or the Person-in-Charge for immediate corrective action.