Tackling slips and trips in a further education establishment

A member of a college's Health and Safety Team attended a Health and Safety Executive seminar on preventing slip, trip and fall injuries. They also consulted HSE's free Education Information Sheet No 2 - 'Preventing slip & trip incidents in the education sector' .They decided to assess the risks on their own college site.

Initial assessment found that some areas were not a problem in clean and dry conditions but became 'high risk' when dirty or wet. Water walked into the vinyl-floored corridors from outdoors, spillages on common room vinyl floors and dust created & deposited on the painted floors of the college workshops presented just such wet or contaminated conditions and so had a high slip risk.

The college Senior Management Team was involved at the earliest opportunity and were able to give backing to the Health & Safety Team's recommendations for action.

Initial action included

Improved entrance matting

Improved entrance matting

Anti-slip 'abrasive' floor in clay work area

Anti-slip 'abrasive' floor in clay work area

Other action taken or under way

Lidded drinks containers to prevent spillage

Lidded drinks containers to prevent spillage on walkways

The college has experienced a year by year decrease in the number of slip-trip-fall incidents since the instigation of the action programme.

Grateful acknowledgements to Aberdeen College.

2021-06-03