January 04, 2020
We have all seen the videos. A person stands on a loose shoelace or piece of clothing as they are walking, and falls flat on their face. In cold countries, we witness people helplessly falling over on an icy surface. In some movies and TV Shows, there is the classic “slipping on a banana” gag. Is this all just a bit of harmless fun? Unfortunately not.
What is seen as a trivial issue can actually be very serious, with the potential consequences from these incidents including life-changing injuries, even fatalities. So, we need to consider very carefully how to prevent these incidents occurring, or if they do, how we can protect our colleagues from the consequences of slips, trips and falls. First, let us look at the difference between the three terms – “slip”, “trip” and “fall”. Then we can take a deeper look at the causes and consequences, so we can outline the precautions and control measures you can use to help protect your business and colleagues.