SLIPS, TRIPS & FALLS DON’T FALL SHORT Adopting a proactive approach to slip safety management can
dramatically reduce the risk of injury and save money says Christian Harris, MD of Slip Safety Services.
How well does your business protect against simple slips and falls? The chances are not quite as well as you think. Every year, tens of thousands of people suffer a slip or trip related incident with around 29% of all workplace injuries and around 40% of public incidents being attributed to slips and trips costing the economy over £1bn per year.
We live in a challenging economic climate. Budgets are tight, cash-flow is uncertain, and this can encourage firms to cut corners, which can be a false economy. Leaving businesses open to a host of other expenses including: compensation, loss of productivity, reputation damage and increased insurance costs.
ASSESSING RISK Managing risks is not necessarily straightforward. One of the biggest misconceptions we see is the assumption that a textured or profiled surface is anti-slip. Whilst a profiled surface may give good slip resistance, a surface’s grip will change over time due to wear but also be impacted by maintenance and conditions
The first step is to identify the key risks. These vary depending on the type of environment (e.g. wet environments) and factors such as usage of area, foot fall, type of flooring and composition can increase the risks dramatically and require thorough testing.
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the most common causes of slips are ascending and descending stairs, slippery surfaces and tripping on walkways.
TESTING These are all general risks, but every business is unique and will have its own specific set of hazards. That’s why Slip Safety Services offer a slip safety survey which can highlight areas of risk, quantify them and identify ways to reduce them.
Testing of the surfaces is carried out using the industry recognised pendulum testing method, as used by HSE and UK Slip Resistance Group (UKSRG). The method involves a swinging imitation heel which sweeps over a set area to produce a Pendulum test value.
An investment of £500 in a slip safety survey, for example, might save you £10,000 by uncovering some small tweak which prevents a single claim.
“AROUND 29% OF ALL WORKPLACE INJURIES AND AROUND 40% OF PUBLIC INCIDENTS ARE ATTRIBUTED TO SLIPS AND TRIPS.”
SOLUTIONS To follow-up on the recommendations of the survey, Slip Safety offer an end-to-end suite of services to measurably reduce risk. This might include:
Floor restoration services: Specialist deep cleaning and sealing services can improve the slip resistance of a floor.
Anti-slip coating: In many cases, a simple anti-slip coating can increase grip and reduce risks.
On-going preventative packages: Moving forward we can provide continuing advice and tips which can help you with your planning processes as well as occasional top up cleans to ensure flooring maintains its performance.
ONGOING MANAGEMENT The good news is that according to HSE research, effective management can reduce the risk of slips by at least 50%.
This more proactive approach can deliver dramatic results. We have helped clients to have 60% less accidents and others to receive £100k reductions in annual premium. That’s why at Slip Safety Services we have developed packages of ongoing maintenance to ensure our clients maintain their reduce risk – offering benefits including paid for services and reduced premiums.
At Slip Safety Services, we understand the requirement for proper management of the risk – which in turn can reduce accidents by over 50%. We partner with most leading insurers, who often offer part-funding for our work and / or premium benefits for clients carrying out effective risk management. This is the future of slip safety.
Fulfilling your health and safety obligations is one thing, but with effective slip risk management the payback comes in the form of lower risks of accident, lower risk of claims, lower insurance premiums and of course a happier and more productive team.
slipsafety.co.uk 30
www.tomorrowshs.com
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