How to Mitigate Slips, Trips, and Falls—The #1 Workplace Injury
The High Cost of Complacency
Imagine looking at your company’s safety budget and realizing a single, common type of incident is responsible for a significant portion of your costs. The U.S. National Safety Council estimates that falls, slips, and trips cost businesses more than $17 billion a year in workers’ compensation and medical expenses. This figure is staggering, and it highlights a fundamental truth: Slips, trips, and falls (STFs) are the single most common and most expensive type of workplace injury.
From a minor ankle twist in the office lobby to a catastrophic fall from a ladder on a construction site, STFs result in lost workdays, rising insurance premiums, and the potential for severe OSHA scrutiny. Yet, despite their massive financial and human toll, these incidents are also the most preventable in the workplace.
The good news is that tackling this problem doesn't require complex, costly equipment. It requires training, attention, and a consistent system. This post will provide the simple, actionable steps necessary to eliminate the bulk of this risk, protecting your people and your bottom line.
The single most common and most expensive type of workplace injury is Slips, Trips, and Falls (STFs). These incidents cost U.S. businesses more than $17 billion a year in workers’ compensation and medical expenses. Beyond the financial impact, STFs are major contributors to lost workdays, rising insurance premiums, and potential OSHA violations.
The content breaks STFs down by their root cause:
Slips: Caused by too little friction between the footwear and the walking surface (e.g., wet floors, grease, ice, or loose powder).
Trips: Caused by a person's foot hitting an object and losing balance (e.g., electrical cords, clutter in walkways, or changes in elevation).
Falls: Caused by an unexpected change in elevation (e.g., falling down stairs, falling from a ladder, or stepping off an unprotected edge).
The blog identifies three proactive strategies that form the foundation of an effective prevention program:
Proactive Housekeeping & Immediate Action: Maintaining perpetually clear walkways ("Clear is Safe") and implementing an immediate response protocol like "See It, Secure It, Clean It" for all spills and loose materials.
Proper Communication and Signage: Using clear, compliant temporary signs for short-term hazards (e.g., "Wet Floor" cones) and ensuring permanent physical hazards (like a loose tile) are immediately repaired, not just covered by a sign.
Employee Ownership and Personal Responsibility: Ensuring employees are trained to actively scan for hazards, report them, and adhere to policies on proper footwear and avoiding distractions while walking.
Yes, they are a significant compliance issue. OSHA regulations, particularly those concerning Walking-Working Surfaces (29 CFR 1910 Subpart D), strictly mandate that employers maintain workplace conditions that are free from recognized hazards. Failing to ensure clear and safe walking areas makes a business vulnerable to citations and substantial fines, especially for repeat violations.
Understanding the Problem: Why STFs Dominate Workplace Injuries
Slips, trips, and falls injuries account for a huge number of days away from work and they carry a severity that is often underestimated. While an STF might sound minor, the resulting injuries can include debilitating sprains and strains, painful fractures, and severe concussions or head injuries.
Beyond the physical toll, this is a core compliance issue. OSHA regulations, particularly those concerning Walking-Working Surfaces (29 CFR 1910 Subpart D), strictly mandate workplace conditions that are free from recognized hazards. Failing to maintain clear, safe walking areas is an immediate citation risk.
Understanding the root causes is the first step toward prevention:
Slips: Occur when there is too little friction between the footwear and the walking surface, often caused by wet floors, grease, ice, or loose materials like powder or dust.
Trips: Occur when a person's foot hits an object, causing them to lose balance. Common causes include electrical cords, clutter in walkways, changes in elevation, or uncovered cables.
Falls: Occur when a person unexpectedly changes elevation, such as falling down stairs, stepping off an unprotected loading dock, or falling from a ladder or scaffolding.
While the causes are varied, the solutions are found in a consistent, three-pronged approach.
The 3 Pillars of Prevention: Simple Solutions for Major Impact
Pillar 1: Proactive Housekeeping & Immediate Action
The foundation of STF prevention is the "Clear is Safe" Rule. If something shouldn't be on the floor, it shouldn't be there—ever. This isn't just about appearance; it's about engineering a safe environment.
Walkway Discipline: Walkways, aisles, and emergency exits must be perpetually clear of debris, clutter, tools, and non-essential inventory.
The Spill Protocol: We teach a "See It, Secure It, Clean It" protocol. Every employee must be trained to immediately spot a liquid hazard, secure the area with a cone or barrier, and clean it up—or alert someone who can—immediately. No employee should ever walk past a spill.
Facility Maintenance: This addresses fixed hazards. Loose carpeting, damaged floor tiles, broken handrails, or missing lighting are permanent risk factors. These issues must be repaired immediately, not ignored. If you have a permanent puddle or grease spot due to equipment leakage, that is not a spill—it is a maintenance failure that must be corrected at the source.
Pillar 2: Proper Communication and Signage
When a hazard cannot be immediately eliminated, it must be clearly and visibly communicated.
Temporary Hazard Visibility: Signs are critical for temporary hazards, such as a recently mopped hallway or a patch of fresh wax. These must be clear, easily visible, and placed directly in the path of the approaching hazard.
The Right Signage: Discuss the difference between temporary caution signs (e.g., the yellow "Wet Floor" cones) and permanent warning signs (e.g., "Watch Your Step" on an unexpected ramp or step). All signage must comply with standard safety requirements for visibility, size, and messaging.
The Signage Trap: Warning the hazard is only as temporary as the sign implies. If a "Caution: Wet Floor" sign is left out for days because of a leak, it signals a systemic failure to fix the underlying problem. An inspector will see this as evidence of management neglect, not proactive warning.
Pillar 3: Employee Ownership and Personal Responsibility
No amount of physical maintenance can replace the vigilance of a safety-conscious team. Safety is a collective task, and employees are the first line of defense.
Training and Scanning: Employees must be trained to actively scan for hazards as they walk. Rushing, carrying oversized loads that block vision, or using mobile devices while walking are major contributing factors to STFs—these are human behaviors that must be corrected through training and policy enforcement.
Proper Footwear: The type of footwear is a critical engineering control, especially in industrial, food service, or constantly wet environments. Slip-resistant, non-marking soles should be mandated for areas with slick surfaces, as general street shoes are inadequate for these conditions.
Report, Don’t Walk By: Every worker must understand that their responsibility extends to correcting or reporting a hazard. A culture where employees feel empowered to stop a process or report an issue without fear of reprimand is the most effective defense against STFs.
Building a Sustainable Safety Culture
Many managers rely on the flimsy concept of "common sense" to prevent these injuries. The truth is that STFs are rarely caused by a single, obvious act of carelessness. They are often caused by the convergence of minor, ignored issues: a loose cord that has been stepped over dozens of times, a leaking gasket that no one bothered to report, and an employee who is rushing or distracted.
Formalized reporting is the solution. You need a simple, clear system for employees to report hazards. If a hazard is reported, management must have a transparent and speedy plan to address it. A hazard report that sits in a binder for weeks is a safety liability waiting to happen.
The Return on Investment (ROI) of a proactive safety system is clear. Investing in improved floor maintenance, better lighting, and rigorous training costs exponentially less than one serious injury claim, long-term disability, or the subsequent increase in your worker compensation premiums. You protect your cash flow and your reputation simultaneously.
The Walmsley Safety Partnership
The practical steps to preventing slips, trips, and falls are simple, but implementing and maintaining these standards across an entire business—especially one with shifting priorities and different work environments—is complex. You are focused on your product or service; Walmsley Safety simplifies safety compliance and hazard mitigation for you.
Walmsley Safety is your dedicated external safety partner, offering the deep-dive analysis and cultural integration that a simple video cannot provide. We don’t just offer generic advice; we offer an executable plan.
We provide the customized solutions you need to protect your team and your bottom line:
We conduct detailed Walking-Working Surface Risk Assessments to identify the hidden, fixed hazards and organizational blind spots that your team may overlook.
We develop Customized Training Programs that go beyond basic awareness to foster the proactive, "See It, Secure It, Clean It" culture you need to prevent injuries.
We ensure Full OSHA Compliance with Walking-Working Surface standards and proper documentation so you can focus on growing your core business without compliance anxiety.