Don’t let your floor safety slip By Heather Barker Vermeer Industry Reporter
Slips and trips cause most of the injuries that result in staff taking a week or more off work in New Zealand. Often preventable, falls on a same-level surface account for over 4,500 serious injuries a year and can result in broken bones, soft tissue damage, heavy bruising, and worse. Minor slips and trips can also cause knock-on injuries, where a person is more likely to fall down steps, for instance. Therefore, risk mitigation should be on the forefront of schools’ minds as we head into wetter seasons.
Image courtesy of GeckoTred
Always encourage widespread reporting of any unsafe sightings, as the safety of your school and its staff and students is everyone’s responsibility, not just the hi-vis wearing warden.
While you can never possibly anticipate the unsafe actions of everyone, there are not only certain physical environments to actively avoid, but behaviours to discourage too.
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Unmarked changes in flooring levels or steps
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Sub-standard or damaged flooring materials
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Unsecured mats or carpet
A health and safety audit can conduct an assessment and provide actionable steps.
Here are some of the high-risk (in)actions to beware of:
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Stray cables, and untidy areas with boxes, folders, or bags left on the floor
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Poor lighting, i.e., dark stairwells
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Overpopulated areas
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Inappropriate footwear, i.e., in pool areas
School kitchens, main entrances and external access classrooms are among the highest risk areas. Ensure role allocation and communication is key so everyone knows who is assigned to what task and who should be reported to on all health and safety matters.
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Leaving a wet spill unattended and unmarked
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Failing to provide sufficient effective matting to wipe wet feet on when stepping indoors
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Phone-use while walking, or travelling too fast
Having industrial carpet-like matting poolside is unlikely to
provide any form of accident prevention, for example, more likely cause more and become an unhealthy breeding ground for germs in that environment. Whereas inside a classroom, this could be the ideal answer to keeping the floor slip-free. A slip resistance surface treatment or coarse adhesive would be a much better option for pools and outdoor areas and options are available to suit different existing surfaces. Ramps also can be a safer – and significantly more accessible – alternative to steps, but choice of flooring surface is key to avoid turning a trip step hazard into a slip and slide.
DON'T LET YOUR FLOOR SAFETY SLIP
We’ve got your flooring needs covered! Alsco’s managed rental floorcare service provides your school with an affordable source of high-quality mats keeping areas safer and cleaner for longer. THOUGHT ABOUT A PERSONALISED DESIGN?
CONTACT US 0800 4 ALSCO · alsco.co.nz
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HEALTH & SAFETY
Term 2, 2022 | schoolnews.co.nz
