Don’t let slippery floors slip you up

The autumn showers have meant that workplaces are becoming more vulnerable to slipping incidents.

HSE and local authority inspectors have recently been issued with updated guidance on the prevention of slipping incidents as required under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.

The Regulations require:

• Every floor in a workplace and the surface of every traffic route in a workplace shall be of a construction such that the floor or surface of the traffic route is suitable for the purpose for which it is used; and
  
  
• That so far as is reasonably practicable, every floor in a workplace and the surface of every traffic route in a workplace shall be kept free from obstructions and from any article or substance which may cause a person to slip, trip or fall.

In some instances this may require the consideration of the installation of slip resistant flooring.

Nearly 11,000 workers suffered serious injury as a result of a slip or trip last year. To ensure that the risk of an accident occurring in your workplace is kept to a minimum you should remind yourself of the simple and cost effective measures you can take by using HSE's interactive STEP tool http://www.hse.gov.uk/slips/preventing.htm