Approximately one in five accidents notified to the Health and Safety Authority, every month, are as the result of a Slip, Trip or a Fall (STF), on the same level in the workplace. A quarter of these accidents result in workers being off work for over a month.
As part of the Authoritys’ involvement in the EU Senior Labour Inspectors Committee it is participating in the European Campaign on slips, trips and falls. The campaign is organised and led by the Senior Labour Inspectors Committee and is taking place in 26 Member States across Europe during 2014.
Throughout the campaign, Inspectors from the Authority will be concentrating on this issue, particularly in the Healthcare, Retail and Cleaning sectors.
The Healthcare sector, which is the second largest employer, had the largest number of STF (270) across all sectors in 2011 with a rate of STF per 1000 employees of 1.2 compared to 0.8 across all other industry sectors.
Cleaning can be a significant contributing factor in slips, trips and falls with improper cleaning and the wrong use of chemicals often responsible for floors losing their slip resistance.
Within these three sectors, topics to be examined relating to slips, trips and falls include;
- management,
- activities with an increased risk,
- cleaning,
- housekeeping,
- maintenance,
- stairs,
- pathways,
- pedestrian surfaces,
- entrances, footwear and
- awareness levels among the sectors.
This EU wide campaign will give the Authority a valuable opportunity to focus on and increase awareness of those factors causing slips, trips and falls.
Visit the HSA Website for guidance on preventing slips, trips and falls in your workplace.
