Construction sites may be safer than ever, but they remain to be a culprit for a large portion of workplace injuries. A common accident, especially in the UK where there are four seasons of weather in one day, are slips. Trips, too, are an issue when in high traffic zones.
Many are far too quick to write these off as unavoidable accidents. Actually, we should assume there was a preventable failure in the site manager until proven otherwise. To keep a safe workplace that is fully compliant, you can learn more here about risk reduction strategies by industry-leading voice Seton.
The Cost of Underestimating Slips and Trips
Commercial project managers may underestimate the risk of slips and trips, but it’s a very expensive operational mistake to. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) claim that these accidents, along with falls, remain the most common cause of non-fatal major workplace injuries in the country. They make up about 30% of all reported agricultural, manufacturing, and construction site accidents.
There is a physical and mental toll placed on workers, even if the accidents are minor. It reaffirms vigilance and being overly hesitant. Overthinking the rest of the day with a painful arm isn’t going to help the bottom line or how they view the company environment.
Disrupting project timelines is a huge cost to the British economy. Across all industries, nearly 1 million working days are lost each year because of slips and trips – it’s a genuine bottleneck when tight construction schedules leave no room for delay. They happen all the time.
It only takes one twisted ankle to stall an entire sub-contractor crew for days. The legal ramifications (under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974) aren’t ideal either, as they result in:
- Costly HSE interventions
- Fees for intervention (FFI)
- Substantial civil litigation payouts
- Irreparable damage to a main contractor’s commercial reputation.
Finding High-risk Zones
Controlling risk is all about identifying exactly where foot traffic and hazards come together. Transition points are known to be high-risk areas on any active site. As workers move from outside, muddy terrain into internal fit-out zones, they bring with them wet clay, rainwater, and loose gravel. These elements create a slick film on any smooth concrete subfloors or temporary timber walkways. It’s particularly dodgy during the winter months when the early morning frost sets in – exactly the time they arrive to work.
Canteen facilities and welfare blocks are also an indoor hazard profile, albeit a little different. Here, it’s the spilled drinks, condensation, and greasy food residue that can turn turn standard vinyl floors into liabilities.
Solid particulates are also a mechanical hazard. On-site materials like sawdust and plasterboard dust are everywhere – they become microscopic ball bearings, the same way we use semolina flour to shimmy a pizza off the peel. They remove the friction.
When settled on a hard surface, these fine dusts do the same thing on a worker’s boot sole and the floor. It causes unpredictable slips, even in completely dry conditions. It’s common for slips to be difficult to identify because there wasn’t one obvious spillage or obstacle.
Engineering Out the Risk With Heavy-duty Safety Flooring
The best way to handle these hazards is to build slip resistance directly into the site environment. For temporary internal corridors and busy site offices, heavy-duty safety flooring can bring a durable surface that withstands this steel-toe boot traffic with a high Pendulum Test Value (PTV).
When sourcing materials, procurement managers should specify HSE compliant flooring. This means the material is rated to provide sufficient grip even when contaminated with surface water, oils, or fine dust. In other words, we cannot keep out all the elements, so we must concede that and change the flooring. Proper boots, too, will help.
For long-term welfare blocks and site tool-stores, using robust industrial warehouse flooring solutions can stop water from pooling and creating slick spots.
Tactical zonal is also used. This can capture contaminants before they spread. Placing high-traction anti-slip rubber matting at the main external entry points allows workers to scrape the thick mud and grit off, as well as the moisture, from their boots. It’s not perfect but it can slash the amount of elements brought into work zones.
Proactive Housekeeping
A “see it, sort it” mandate culture is what will make sure that spills are cleaned up right away. Examples include:
- Hydraulic fluids from machinery
- Wet concrete wash-water
- Rainwater ingress from unsealed roofs
Visibility in also important to consider, where PPE, reflective gear, LED task lighting, and generally bright lights can illuminate the floor.
Cables are also an issue, so cable management needs to be enforced at all times, even for temporary power lines. Whether you are managing an active fit-out phase or for a construction project in its earliest design stages, establishing these clear operational workflows is vital to keeping a site running safely.
Preventing slips and trips is never a matter of luck. While any one-off trip can happen at any time, there is usually a culprit, and workplace-wide data will reveal all. To counter this, a cultural change is needed, along with high-traction safety floorings and improved footwear.
