Don't Slip Up When It Comes To Floor Safety
Released
on: January 13, 2010, 7:27 am
Author:
Safetyshop.com
Industry: Industrial
Having the right warnings and vital safeguards in place can
prevent a nasty, and potentially expensive, accident
The icy start to 2010 has focused all our minds on conditions underfoot, and the
need to take extra care when things turn hazardous.
But many of the dangers which we’ve encountered during the cold snap are present
constantly in lots of working environments – and not being aware of them can have
some nasty consequences.
So at Safetyshop we can help you have the right warnings in place to alert people to
any hazards in your factory, warehouse or office, and the right equipment, work wear and fittings to help prevent any
mishaps.
When you consider that Health and Safety at Work legislation obliges companies to
have warnings in place – and carries the possibility of heavy penalties where they
aren’t displayed – then an outlay of just a few pounds must be a sensible investment
for any business.
“In 2009, nearly 11,000 workers suffered a serious injury as a result of a slip or
trip at work – that’s more than 30 EVERY DAY,” said Safetyshop’s Product Marketing
Manager, Bhavna Mistry.
“This is despite there being well-established regulations in place governing
employers’ responsibilities for carrying out risk assessments, including slip, trip
and falling hazards, and for pointing these out clearly to all staff and other
visitors.”
Hazards come in all shapes and sizes, but the penalties for not acknowledging them
can be onerous. For example, a warehouse worker from Bristol who slipped on a tomato
which had been dropped onto the floor was awarded £2,500 compensation from his
employer.
And the employer of a kitchen worker who fractured her skull on a slippery floor
after cleaners removed safety mats placed over the surface, leaving it to become
contaminated with food waste, water and oily residues, was ordered to pay more than£36,000 including court costs.
The use, type and style of such warnings are also tightly regulated, and are now
standardised across all of the European Union, under the Health & Safety (Safety
Signs & Signals) Regulations introduced in 2009. These also increased the number of
warning symbols in use, and stipulated that all hazard
safety signs included a pictogram as part of their design to aid
interpretation.
Safetyshop keeps right up-to-date with all such developments, so by taking advice
from us, you can be clear on where your obligations lie.
We can offer a range of safety
signs which make your safety messages highly visible and fully compliant
throughout your premises.
A range of the signs which Safetyshop offers is pictured below. For full details
visit http://www.safetyshop.com/products/productcategory.asp?topgroupcode=SS.
Contact Details:
Safetyshop. Douglas Bruce House, Corrie Way, Bredbury Ind
Park, Stockport, Cheshire. SK6 2RR
+44 161 406 5571
kimberley_slack@safetyshop.com
2012
