FLOOR SAFETY DON’T SLIP UP
Scott Saunders, Technical Service Manager at Watco, discusses how to stay on top of floor safety hazards to prevent accidents in winter months.
In the winter months, the combination of shorter daylight hours and unpredictable weather can increase the number of risks around the workplace.
Research by Watco revealed that only 25% of facilities hadn’t been affected by slips, trips and falls within the previous 12 months. Uneven flooring, slippery surfaces, and worn steps are common hazards that can lead to slips and trips, particularly in areas such as car parks and building entrances when visibility is poor. In the winter months, this can be caused by the lower levels of daylight, or during periods of rain or snowfall.
Simple solutions including new lighting, applying anti slip coatings, and conducting regular inspections can make a big difference in ensuring safety. By planning for the hazards that occur year-after-year, you can reduce the number of them, protecting the team and company’s resources.
SLIPS: ADDING ANTI-SLIP COATINGS
In the winter, the wet weather adds a constant layer of water to outdoor surfaces, which can become very slippery. High rainfall is common in the UK, however, with reduced light in winter, it is harder to assess slippery surfaces, leading to accidents. Increasing lighting in outdoor spaces and introducing signage for areas that become particularly slippery when wet, such as decking, will help to reduce accidents – particularly for those visiting an unfamiliar premises.
Rainwater is also brought into buildings on clothing and shoes. Anti-slip coatings can be applied to areas close to entrances where water gathers in the wetter seasons, to increase grip underfoot and highlight where to take caution. Wet floor signs should also be readily available for team members to put out, and the process for addressing wet floors should be clearly communicated to all in the building, such as what to do as an individual vs when to alert the cleaning team.
TRIPS: REPAIRING UNEVEN FLOOR SURFACES
Trips are often the result of surface damage, with holes in the floor or loose material causing people to lose their footing. Cracks, holes, potholes and loose door thresholds make the floor surface uneven and increase
Steps pose a greater threat to safety in the winter because the edges are harder to see in low lighting, and water or ice can collect on the surface. Inside, rainwater brought in on clothes and shoes can still collect on steps. This can result in both indoor and outdoor areas becoming slippery and increasing the risk of falls.
Applying step covers, treads and tapes will increase grip underfoot. Treads, covers and tapes can be selected in a different colour to the step, often a bright colour like yellow for added visibility of the step edge too.
USING RELEVANT RESOURCES
Conducting a team session or circulating resources with teams to highlight hazards that are more common in winter and how to tackle them will help to ensure that all members of a building are up to date on processes. Resources should be tailored to the building, and may include where to find salt or grit for ice, the location of wet floor signs for exposed entranceways or how to report hazards such as loose step treads.
To download free resources from Watco on safety underfoot, floor repairs and more, click here.
https://www.watco.co.uk/help-advice/guides-and-resources www.watco.co.uk
the number of trip hazards in and around a building. In the winter months, with less daylight and wet or icy surfaces, these damages become harder to safely navigate.
Incorporating common areas for surface damage into building inspection lists will help to identify and address these hazards as early as possible. Freezing temperatures overnight can lead to rapid deterioration in floor damage because water pools in the crack or hole, freezing then thawing which weakens the floor surface and widens the damage. Therefore, this effort must be supported with capacity to complete repair work. It is also critical to have a damage reporting system in place throughout the building so that damages are logged for repair when first spotted. By logging areas of surface damage more quickly, FMs can also ensure that signage is used to block off areas of the floor and prevent trips prior to the repair.
FALLS: INCREASING GRIP ON STEPS
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