Second only to motor vehicle accidents, slips, trips and falls are the most frequent accidents leading to personal injury. Slips, trips and falls can result in head injuries, back injuries, broken bones, cuts and lacerations, sprained joints or strained muscles. The Federated Employer's Mutual Assurance Company (FEM) has identified "slips, trips and falls" as one of the top five causes of workers' compensation claims over the last six years.

Statistics show that the majority (66 percent) of falls happen on the same level resulting from slips and trips. The remaining 34 percent falls from a height.

Slip

A "slip" occurs when there is too little traction or friction between the shoe and walking surface.

Trip

A "trip" occurs when a person’s foot contacts an object in their way or drops to a lower level unexpectedly, causing them to be thrown off-balance. A trip most often results in a person falling forward, while a slip most often results in the person falling backwards.

Fall

A "fall" occurs when you are too far off-balance.

There are many situations that may cause slips, trips, and falls, such as ice, wet spots, grease, polished floors, loose flooring or carpeting, uneven walking surfaces, clutter, electrical cords, and open desk drawers and filing cabinets. Loose, irregular surfaces such as gravel, shifting floor tiles, and uneven sidewalks can make it difficult to maintain your footing. Most slip, trip and fall incidents are preventable with general precautions and safety measures.

Injuries from falls may be caused by a variety of sources. Many of these sources, like curbs, flaws in parking lots and uneven lawns, are not of significant height, but have the potential to cause significant injuries. The best way to prevent injuries such as these is to be aware of where you are going and pay attention to your walking surface.

Report even a minor fall. It could prevent someone from experiencing a more serious injury down the line.

Common causes of slips are:

• wet or oily surfaces;

• occasional spills;

• weather hazards;

• loose, unanchored rugs or mats; and

• flooring or other walking surfaces that do not have same degree of traction in all areas.

Trips happen when your foot collides with (strikes, hits) an object causing you to lose the balance and, eventually, fall.

Common causes of tripping are:

• obstructed view;

• poor lighting;

• clutter in your way;

• wrinkled carpeting;

• uncovered cables;

• bottom drawers not being closed; and

• uneven steps, thresholds, or walking surfaces.

How do you prevent falls due to slips and trips?

Both slips and trips result from some kind of unintended or unexpected change in the contact between the feet and the ground or walking surface. This shows that good housekeeping, quality of walking surfaces (flooring), selection of proper footwear, and appropriate pace of walking are critical for preventing fall accidents.

Housekeeping

Good housekeeping is the first and the most important (fundamental) level of preventing falls due to slips and trips.

It includes:

• cleaning all spills immediately;

• marking spills and wet areas;

• mopping or sweeping debris from floors;

• removing obstacles from walkways and always keeping them free of clutter;

• tacking and taping of mats, rugs and carpets that do not lay flat;

• always closing file cabinet or storage drawers;

• covering cables that cross walkways;

• keeping working areas and walkways well lit; and

• replacing used light bulbs and faulty switches.

Without good housekeeping practices, any other preventive measures, such as installation of sophisticated flooring, specialty footwear or training on techniques of walking and safe falling, will never be fully effective.

Flooring

Changing or modifying walking surfaces is the next level of preventing slip and trips. Recoating or replacing floors, installing mats, pressure-sensitive abrasive strips or abrasive-filled paint-on coating and metal or synthetic decking can further improve safety and reduce risk of falling.

However, it is critical to remember that high-tech flooring requires good housekeeping as much as any other flooring. In addition, resilient, non-slippery flooring prevents or reduces foot fatigue and contributes to slip prevention measures.

Footwear

In workplaces where floors may be oily or wet, or where workers spend considerable time outdoors, prevention of fall accidents should focus on selecting proper footwear. Since there is no footwear with anti-slip properties for every condition, consultation with manufacturers is highly recommended.

Properly fitting footwear increases comfort and prevents fatigue which, in turn, improves safety for the employee.

References: Based on research from various websites.