Safety MattersOur blog discussing workplace safety opportunities in Nova Scotia and around the world.https://www.worksafeforlife.ca/safetymattersblogThis winter, put a freeze on slips, trips, and fallshttps://www.worksafeforlife.ca/safetymattersblog/PostId/367/this-winter-put-a-freeze-on-slips-trips-and-fallsGeneralMon, 04 Dec 2023 17:23:00 GMT<p>During the winter months, injuries due to slips, trips, and falls increase in the workplace.</p> <ul> <li>Slips, trips, and falls are the second most common injury event. <img alt="" src="/Portals/WorkSafeForLifeRedesign/Images/Slips%20and%20Falls%20square%20wsfl.JPG?ver=DtpDB4ZxUWG080vxl3ltYQ%3d%3d" style="width: 328px; height: 276px; float: right;" /></li> <li>The average cost of benefits for time-loss claims due to slips, trips, or falls is $7,807.87. </li> <li>On average, each slip, trip, or fall injury results in 74 days lost from work. </li> </ul> <p>The good news is that there’s lots workplaces can do to reduce the risk of slip and fall injuries.</p> <h3>Inside the workplace be sure to:</h3> <ul> <li>Clean up spills right away, and post a hazard sign</li> <li>Make sure cords and cables don’t cross walking paths</li> <li>Keep file drawers closed, and keep hallways and stairwells clear</li> <li>Only carry what you can safely handle</li> </ul> <h3>Outside the workplace make sure to:</h3> <ul> <li>Maintain three points of contact when entering and exiting vehicles or equipment</li> <li>Make sure outdoor work areas have adequate lighting</li> <li>Wear shoes with a non-slip tread</li> <li>Have a plan to manage ice and snow removal</li> </ul> <p>Join the many leaders making it their business to prevent slips, trips, and falls in their workplaces—and the impacts they can have on workers and their families.  Visit our <a href="https://www.worksafeforlife.ca/Home/Injury-Prevention/Protecting-yourself/Slips-Trips-Falls">Slips, Trips and Falls</a> page to order safety decals, download digital graphics for your workplace TVs, a risk mapping tool, tip sheets and more. </p> <p> </p> 367Slips, trips and falls can be prevented: Part 2https://www.worksafeforlife.ca/safetymattersblog/PostId/222/slips-trips-and-falls-can-be-prevented-part-2GeneralThu, 14 Jul 2016 14:28:58 GMT<em>By guest blogger Jonathan Tyson, MASc, CPE - Relationship Manager, WCB Nova Scotia</em><br /> <br /> <p>Back in February, my <a href="http://www.worksafeforlife.ca/LinkClick.aspx?link=%2fHome%2fAbout-Us%2fSafety-Matters-Blog%2fPostId%2f200%2fslips-and-trips-can-be-prevented&amp;tabid=327&amp;portalid=1&amp;mid=934" target="_self">blog post</a> focused on preventing slips. In this post, I am going to focus on trips, and no we aren&rsquo;t talking about the fun, going on vacation, kind.</p> <p>Both slips and trips can result in the same injuries:<br /> &bull; serious injuries due to a subsequent fall (broken bones, concussions, etc.)<br /> &bull; soft tissue injuries after the worker falls to the walking surface (rotator cuff, ligament damage)<br /> &bull; soft tissues injures as the worker catches themselves to prevent a fall</p> <p>Even though slips and trips can both result in the same types of injuries, it is important to know that trip hazards are different than slip hazards, so we need to think about them differently and put into place different controls to prevent them.</p> <p>Before continuing, I think it is important to restate that you won&rsquo;t prevent slips and trips by just telling workers to pay more attention. It is true that inattention may be a contributing factor to a slip or trip, but since few of us pay attention to how we walk, we need to identify and control the actual hazards that can increase the likelihood that someone will slip or trip.</p> <p>We can stop slip, trip and fall related injuries by identifying, assessing and controlling the hazards that cause people to slip, trip and fall.</p> <p>Preventing Trips:<br /> Why do we trip? In most cases we trip because our foot or lower leg hits something while we are walking or running. Anything that interferes with our normal gait pattern stops the normal forward movement of the foot or leg, causing us to lose our balance. When this happens we react by trying to stop a fall. &nbsp;If there is a small to moderate loss of balance, we may be able to stop ourselves from falling by jerking back or throwing our lead food forward quickly. This forceful bodily reaction can result in strained or torn muscles in the back or lower body.</p> <p>If the loss of balance is moderate to high then we are going to fall forward. Recent research<sup>1</sup> tells us that when we trip and fall, our brain knows we are about to fall before it happens. Unfortunately, the delay between the brain knowing and the muscles reacting is enough to make it impossible for us to stop the fall.</p> <p>There is another way we can trip, and that happens when we step into a hole, or when a foot lands on an uneven surface, or when we move from one level to another and there is an unexpected change in elevation. &nbsp;As above, the reason why we trip is because the normal movement of the foot is disrupted and we lose our balance. &nbsp;I am sure you have had a stumble when you have been going up or down some stairs and suddenly find that the last step down, or up, is longer or shorter than you expected. Unfortunately, people tripping and falling on steps and stairs is all too common an occurrence.</p> <p>Preventing trips on walking surfaces should be simple, because all we need to do is ensure they are free of anything that can obstruct the worker&rsquo;s foot or lower leg, or interfere with normal walking patterns. Some things you can do to prevent trips are:<br /> &bull; Fill in any holes in walking surfaces and make sure that the patch is smooth and even, with no ridges or bumps<br /> &bull; Remove anything that does not belong on the walking surface (cords, debris, tools, etc.)<br /> &bull; Ensure that grates and mats sit flat on the walking surface, with no bumps, raised edges, etc.<br /> &bull; Make sure that there is nothing sticking up out of the walking surface, such as bolts, embedded stones, cut off posts, utility covers, etc.<br /> &bull; Fix or replace any tiles, bricks, boards or carpets that are damaged or uneven.<br /> &bull; Make sure that nothing sticks out into the walking path (lower cabinet drawers, pallets, unevenly stacked items, personal items in or around work areas, etc.)<br /> &bull; Remove doorway thresholds for all interior doors</p> <p>Three other things are important to know about trip hazards. First, it doesn&rsquo;t take much to trip you up. A ridge or bump that is only 6mm (1/4&rdquo;) high can be a real &lsquo;people tripper&rsquo;, high enough to catch the bottom of your foot or your toe as it swings forward, but often too low to see. &nbsp;So when looking for trip hazards, don&rsquo;t ignore those small ridges and bumps.</p> <p>Second, it is vitally important to ensure that steps and stairs are designed to minimize the risk of trips. This means making sure that all steps are the same height as the first step (going up or down). It is also important to make sure that treads are the same depth (min 11&rdquo;) and that the tread&rsquo;s overhang (nosing), if any, is no more than 30mm. Another important point to remember about stair design is visibility. People trip up or down because they can&rsquo;t see the first step. Sometimes people walk right out into space because a short set of steps blend into the background so people can&rsquo;t see they are coming to a change in the level of the walking surface.</p> <p>Third, like slips, our expectations are also a key part of why trips do or do not happen. If we are walking on a trail in the woods, we expect there to be stones, roots, debris, uneven surfaces, etc. As such we take the time to look where we are going and where we are placing our feet. However, if we are walking inside, or on a person-made surface like a sidewalk, we expect these surfaces to be smooth and free of obstructions. Unless there are significant cues to tell us otherwise, we don&rsquo;t expect, and therefore won&rsquo;t see, many of the things that can cause us to trip and, potentially, fall.</p> <p>In the workplace, it is important to identify the design and work process hazards that can lead to trip related injuries, and then do everything you can to eliminate them.</p> <p><sup>1</sup><em> Loss of balance during balance beam walking elicits a multifocal theta band electrocortical response. Sipp AR, Gwin JT, Makeig S, Ferris DP. &nbsp;J Neurophysiol. 2013 Nov;110(9):2050-60</em><br /> <br /> </p>222Slips and Trips Can be Prevented https://www.worksafeforlife.ca/safetymattersblog/PostId/200/slips-and-trips-can-be-preventedGeneralFri, 12 Feb 2016 18:19:43 GMT<em>by guest blogger Jonathan Tyson, MASc, CPE - Relationship Manager, WCB Nova Scotia</em><br /> <br /> Work-related slips, trips and falls are an all too frequent cause of injuries to workers in Nova Scotia. Unfortunately, many people think that these happen because workers aren&rsquo;t paying enough attention to how or where they are walking. This, in turn, results in many people thinking they can fix the problem by just telling workers to pay more attention.<br /> <br /> The truth of the matter is, it just doesn&rsquo;t work that way. While it is true that inattention may be a contributing factor to a slip, trip or fall, there are usually other more important factors that need to be addressed.<br /> <br /> Before going on, it is important to understand that none of us pay attention to how we walk. Once we are old enough to get a job, we know how to walk. It is something we do without thinking unless some external cues make us aware that we need to. For instance, when are walking on a sidewalk or inside a building we expect the surface we are walking on to be smooth and consistent, and unless there is something that makes us pay attention (e.g. a big yellow sign in the middle of the hall), we won&rsquo;t.&nbsp; Of course, it is a very different situation if we are walking down a rough trail in the forest. Then we pay a great deal of attention to how we are walking, where we are placing our feet, and what the condition of the ground is.<br /> <br /> If telling someone to pay more attention isn&rsquo;t going to stop people from slipping, tripping and falling then what will? Well, it all comes back to the key elements related to the prevention of all accidents. We can stop slip, trip and fall related injuries by identifying, assessing and controlling the hazards that cause people to slip, trip and fall in the first place.<br /> <br /> Slips are the result of reduced friction between the worker&rsquo;s footwear and the walking surface. If there isn&rsquo;t enough friction between the footwear and the walking surface then it is almost inevitable that people will slip, even if they are paying attention. You have likely seen videos of people who are walking very carefully on a patch of ice and even though they are paying attention, they slip and fall. This is because, at some point, it doesn&rsquo;t matter how careful you are, if the surface is slippery, you will almost certainly slip.<br /> <br /> As an employer, preventing slips requires you to consider two elements, the worker&rsquo;s footwear and the walking surface. Workers should wear footwear that is appropriate to the walking surface, and as slip resistant as possible. In some workplaces, where it is difficult to keep contaminants off the walking surfaces it may be necessary to provide workers with footwear that is designed to increase friction when walking on floors with certain contaminants. Also, with workers who work outside, providing them with footwear and/or anti-slip devices (e.g. ice traction devices ) can help prevent slips and falls when it is cold, snowy and/or icy.<br /> <br /> Conversely, you also need to ensure that walking surfaces are clean and free of contaminants (water, oil, powders, grease, snow, ice, etc.) that can reduce the surface friction. This means you need to have a way to quickly identify and remove contaminants, for both inside and outside walking surfaces. And while it may be difficult to keep sidewalks, and public/private stairways clear of ice and snow in the winter, you can begin by making sure that workers are reporting any problem areas, and that these are documented and shared with all staff who might be walking in these areas. Additionally, workers should be advised to not attempt to walk on or up snow covered sidewalks or stairs.<br /> <br /> Finally, walking surfaces should be designed to reduce slips and falls. For instance, a highly polished tile or marble floor might look good, but it will likely result in more people slipping than, say, a textured tile or concrete floor.<br /> <br /> We're in the midst of the slipperiest season of the year, so come back and look for more information about preventing trips and falls in a future blog post!200