I am now on the third installment of this series, and things are not getting any better in the world of slips and falls.
If you paid close attention to my previous two articles and are paying close attention to the news now, you can see once again slips and falls haven't hit the airwaves like COVID-19 deaths and shootings in the workplace. Therefore, I keep pushing forward to battle this big problem in our industry, make your employees safer, and stop the bleeding of workers' compensation costs and days lost due to slips and falls.
As you read the staggering number of deaths happening every day by county, state and country, you can get a feel for the scope of this pandemic. In July, the U.S. surpassed 140,000 deaths, with no cure yet. But we can minimize the rate of spreading - simple, right? Wear a mask, practice social distancing and wash your hands. Now, I am no scientist, but look around you. What do you see? Some people follow certain guidelines, and others do not.
The same thing is true for slips and falls. The best solution is altering the floor surface in your facility anywhere that any type of contamination can make the floor more slippery than a soapy bathtub. The surface could be contaminated with water, oil, grease, dirt, etc. Should we be proactive or keep letting our employees hurt themselves while our liabilities add up? Again, some companies do the former and some the latter. Some require face masks, and some do not. I don't get it. Do you?
Now that you see the COVID-19 mortality numbers each night, would it shock you to learn slips and falls result in 8 million hospital emergency room visits per year, are among the top 10 leading causes of death in the U.S., and are responsible for 5 million lost workdays per year and 85 percent of all workers' compensation claims? According to the CDC, there are over 36,000 unintentional fall deaths in the U.S. each year. Is this surprising to you? I bet it is.
Some ways to combat this trend in the workplace are to immediately sweep and mop anything contaminating the floor before someone breaks their neck. Do your extension cords or computer wires lie on the floor? Cover cables and extension cords. If you tape down a cord in a conference room, a roll of duct tape can prevent a severe accident before it happens. Proper footwear should include nonslip shoes specially made to protect you when working around slippery surfaces. Remove obstacles from any aisle, pick up your tools, and keep work areas well lit so people can see where they are walking.
The biggest culprit is same-level falls. The best solution for this is to alter the surface more permanently using antislip floor coatings developed to keep a safe coefficient of friction (COF) for employees and traction for vehicles no matter what the contamination on the surface. There are specific products made to handle different types of traffic, whether barefoot traffic in a shower or locker room where water makes surfaces slick, pedestrian-grade for aisles and walkways, two-component epoxies for heavy pedestrian traffic and rolling equipment including pallet jacks and forklifts in a production plant, or heavy-duty antislips that contend with oils/greases and heavy vehicles, yet keep their surfaces safe and durable for years to come. To complement areas that are so contaminated they can't be properly prepped for a coating to adhere, the coating can be put on fiberglass plates and bolted in place. These fiberglass-reinforced panels can be used on grating, catwalks and steps as well.
Like everyone else, I hope the coronavirus is cured quickly, and I am sure it will be. A lot of very smart people all around the world are working on the solution. However, slips and falls will still happen, year after year. There is no magic pill, and there won't be. So listen up, safety directors, risk managers and owners: The high costs, lost-time accidents and deaths are unnecessary. Stop the financial bleeding in your company while protecting your most valuable assets: your people. If you proactively try to stop slips and falls in the workplace, you will reap tremendous rewards for your entire team. My next article will be about what causes employees or vehicles to slip or slide, the COF, and the solutions that are most effective and durable.
For more information, visit www.newguardcoatings.com or call (832) 243-6680.
