Buyers Guide 2021

SPECIAL FOCUS Slips, Trips & Falls Annual Buyers’Guide 2021 www.pwemag.co.uk Plant & Works Engineering | 39 suitable for all workplaces as a practical guide to help employers identify problem areas for slips and trips and how to tackle them: Mapping tool The slips and trips mapping tool (www.hse.gov.uk/slips/mappingtool.pdf ) shows how to identify hotspots for slips and trips. Flooring People rarely slip on clean, dry floors. It is floors in poor condition and bad housekeeping that are responsible for most trip injuries at work. Cleaning processes are often poorly thought through, with the cleaners themselves rarely involved in deciding how things are done. Where a floor is likely to be subject to frequent contamination, people should still be able to walk on it without the risk of slipping. An HSE technical information sheet (Assessing the Slip Resistance of Flooring) looks at test methods for assessing floor resistance and describes the tests used by HSE and HSL in more detail. It is aimed at employers who need to measure floor slipperiness, such as manufacturers and research and testing bodies. This will also help employers assess slip risks in workplaces by helping them interpret flooring manufacturers’ test data. Safety floors have surfaces that are a little rougher than standard surfaces. While there is no evidence that safety floors cannot be cleaned to a hygienic standard for food or medical environments, it can take a little extra time or effort to get the dirt off the floor and into the cleaning solution. They also tend to hold a little more cleaning solution. This can mean that when the water from the cleaning solution evaporates, it may leave a little dirt behind. To avoid this, remove as much of the cleaning solution as possible, perhaps by using a dry mop or a wet vacuum, to leave the floor really dry. Acid-etch treatments can sometimes be effective in improving the slip resistance of hard floors (such as tiles) in wet conditions. The acid works by dissolving part of the floor surface to provide greater surface roughness, and so has an effect on both appearance and lifespan. Beware that many acid-etch treatments use hydrofluoric acid - there are countering health risks associated with this. Staying Safe If you see something you might slip or trip on, report it Clean up spills and anything slippery Be clear about how to use cleaning products Avoid cleaning materials that could make the floor slippery. Clear walkways, stairs, and lobbies of trip hazards Floor mats must lay flat Use handrails Check ladder extensions and legs Ladders have load limits! Make sure lighting is sufficient and that slopes or steps are clearly visible Get the right footwear Avoid rushing and overcrowding Remove obstacles and trailing cables