This GBCA Toolbox Talk provides tips for recognizing and avoiding issues that cause slips, trips, and falls on the jobsite. Click below to download the Toolbox Talk as a handout (includes Sign-In Sheet).
Slips, Trips, and Falls
Slips, trips, and falls cause many disabling injuries and deaths each year. These accidents usually result from poor housekeeping practices, and can take place anywhere: the office, the construction site, or the home. Prevent slips, trips, and falls by being proactive: observe your environment and PLAN your movements.
REMEMBER: FAILING TO PLAN IS PLANNING TO FAIL
Examples of Slip, Trip, & Fall Hazards:
- Tools and materials such as hoses, hand tools, buckets, or timber, etc. left on the ground.
- General construction debris such as pieces of brick, lumber, pipes, or other materials.
- Construction waste such as oils, greases, sawdust, or other fine dusts.
- Mud on the ground, walkways, or the rungs of a ladder.
- Spilled liquids, such as rainwater, spilled drinks, and plumbing leaks.
- Poor lighting levels that limit visibility, such as natural light during winter months, or insufficient lighting under scaffolds and inside buildings.
Key Points & Reminders:
- Concentrate on where you’re going, what you’re doing, and those working around you.
- Stay off cell phones while walking or working.
- Ask yourself, “Can someone else be affected by what I am doing or about to do?”
- Remove, fix, or report hazards in your path.
- Don’t leave a hazard for the next person to fall over!
- Wear proper fitting footwear with soles in good condition.
- Avoid baggy, loose, or torn clothing that could get caught on something and cause you to trip.
- Pants should be worn on the waist or hips, not below the hips or at the thighs.
- Remove or clean muddy footwear when entering buildings, or wipe your feet when you come in from rain or snow. Secured entrance way carpets can reduce potential slips.
- Keep your work area clean. Clean up debris and waste regularly.
- Report any defective or inadequate lighting.
- Watch out for floors that are uneven, have holes, are wet, or have torn carpeting.
- When carrying loads, ensure that you have good visibility of the surface in front of you.
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