Slips, Trips and Falls – Good Housekeeping Lowers Your Claims Liability Costs
Improve Your Bottom Line Where You Haven’t Looked Before.
Maintaining a safe environment at your facility is an essential element of any risk management strategy. Slips, trips and falls are among the most common and costly workplace accidents across all industries, accounting for 35% of incidents and 65% of lost work days1.
According to the Canadian Universities Reciprocal Insurance Exchange (CURIE), the numbers are higher at post-secondary educational institutions with slips trips and falls accounting for 40% of incidents and 41% of liability claims costs.
The good news is that the majority of slips, trips and falls in the workplace are preventable.
Implementing safety training and practices into your daily operations is critical. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety recommends good housekeeping as the first and most important fundamental component of your risk mitigation strategy.
The top 10 slip trip and fall hazards2 are:
- Contamination of floors
- Poor drainage
- Indoor walking surface irregularities
- Outdoor walking surface irregularities
- Adverse weather conditions, such as ice and snow
- Inadequate lighting
- Stairs and handrails
- Stepstools and ladders
- Messy work areas
- Improper use of floor mats and runners
A good housekeeping strategy will prevent falls and mitigate the related costs by:
- 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
- securing (tacking, taping, etc.) mats, rugs and carpets that do not lay flat
- covering cables that cross walkways
- keeping working areas and walkways well lit
- replacing used light bulbs and faulty switches
This is where your janitorial services provider becomes a critical component of your injury prevention and risk mitigation strategy. Without a team of dedicated on-site professionals the chances of slips trips and falls becomes a much more likely scenario.
If you would like to learn more about how adding a comprehensive cleaning program can ensure the health and safety of everyone at your facility, please give us a call 1.855.GET BEST (436.2368).