Free HM Railway Inspectorate seminars on reducing slip & trip injuries at railway premises

HSE Press Release E012:04 - 22 January 2004

Statistics show that slips, trips and falls are the most common cause of injuries on the railways. In the year 1 April 2002-31 March 2003 slips, trips or falls on the same level resulted in 86 major injuries to staff and 460 passenger injuries requiring hospital treatment. A further 1,199 passengers were admitted to hospital following accidents on stairs and escalators at stations. This figure included two fatalities.

Altogether, more than two thirds of all reported accidents on the railway can be attributed to slips, trips and falls. To increase awareness of the scale of the problem, and to inform and encourage a wider industry debate on possible solutions, HMRI is holding two free one-day seminars in February and March 2004.

The seminars, which are aimed at station designers, managers and others with an interest in reducing such incidents on railway premises, will be presented by HMRI in conjunction with staff from HSE's Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL) and will include:

• information on the most frequent causes of slips, trips and falls;
• employers' legal obligations in relation to preventing injury to staff and the public;
• simple cost-effective solutions to particular problems; and
• an introduction to the Slips Assessment Tool (SAT), which can be used to measure the slipperiness of floors.

The first seminar will be held on 26 February at HSE's Rose Court offices in London SE1 and the second on 16 March, at the National Railway Museum in York. Places are limited and will be allocated on a 'first come, first served' basis.

Notes to editors

1. The latest estimate for the overall cost to employers of slip & trip accidents (at 2001/2002 prices) is £512 million per annum. The estimated cost to society ranges from a lower estimate of £815 to an upper estimate of £918 million; comprising: loss of output (£217 million); other resource costs including damages and medical, (£30-£133 million) and subjective costs pain and grief etc. (£568 million).

2. HSE and HSL are developing the new Slips Assessment Tool (SAT) - a PC-based package which allows 'non-experts' to assess the slip risk of pedestrian walkways/surfaces. The system prompts the user for information regarding the floor surface type, the cleaning regime used, the condition of the floor (in terms of its cleanliness and history) and human factors relating to pedestrian use. On completion, a 'slip-risk' rating is supplied. The system is also a valuable source of training information, which aims to increase awareness of the scale of the slips problem, and to familiarise the user with common 'slip-resistance' test methods. The system is currently being field tested by HSE and Local Authority Inspectors. It is HSE's intention that by summer 2004, the SAT software will be available for free download via the HSE website.

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