Part 5 — Training and supervision

Provide training and supervision

To keep the workplace safe, provide proper training so everyone knows how to move safely when entering, leaving, and moving around the building. Supervisors should also watch over the staff and provide feedback to make sure they are following the safety rules and doing their jobs correctly.

Provide training to employees and supervisors on:

• the significance and the importance to prevent slips, trips and falls
• maintaining clear and clean designated accessways. For example, expectations for housekeeping and cleaning, responsibility not to block accessways and how to set up exclusions for movement of heavy vehicles on shared accessways
• using designated paths, that will be safer than shortcuts
• selecting, wearing and maintaining suitable footwear
• the importance of clear vision and visibility of path and hazards as well as minimising distractions when walking
• necessary cleaning and housekeeping procedures relevant to their job
• the importance of using safety equipment, for example, spill kits and barriers
• restricted areas to maintain safe access, for example, areas where employees are able to bring in food and drinks.

Consistent supervision is important to support and monitor measures to prevent slips, trips and falls and help assess if they are working. This includes supervision to ensure that:

• housekeeping responsibilities are followed, and standards are maintained
• accessways are kept clean and clear
• cleaning procedures are followed and effective
• suitable and maintained footwear is worn.

Footwear

If you wear shoes that are right for the job you're doing, are comfortable and secure, and that are made for the kind of things you might step on, it will make you less likely to slip, trip or fall.

Wearing the right shoes alone isn't enough to prevent slips, trips and falls, you also need to keep walkways clean and clear of obstacles. Good shoes, especially those with deep treads and special anti-slip soles, improve your grip on surfaces. Wearing clean, suitable footwear is important because it gives you better traction, but you must also ensure the surrounding area is safe for moving around.

Suitable footwear means:

• selecting the right footwear for employees to do their work safely, for example, tread for working outdoors with loose gravel underfoot, is different to working in an environment with mostly wet hard floors
• selecting footwear for the work environment, as well as suiting the employee’s individual requirements for fit and comfort
• maintaining footwear regularly to keep it in good condition, for example, ensuring clean tread with minimal worn areas good depth so that it continues to provide as much traction as possible
• providing cleaning stations or equipment to remove any contaminants from the tread to maintain grip
• repairing or replacing footwear when it is no longer in good condition and suited to the work.

Consider individual characteristics of pedestrians

To prevent slips, trips, and falls, think about who uses the area, like employees or the public. The elderly, or people with disabilities may need more care, so tailor safety measures to help them stay safe.

Individual characteristics of pedestrians requires you to consider:

• factors that can influence their ability to safely walk through the area, for example, their mobility, balance or vision
• low lighting may be required in some cases for sensory disability issues
• footwear they may be wearing
• activities they may be also doing at the same time as walking
• their level of knowledge, experience or familiarity with the work task and the work area, for example, new employees who are unaware that certain areas may become slippery after rain.

Some people may have difficulty seeing a trip hazards and may not have the agility, speed or strength to regain their balance after a small slip or trip.

The people at most risk of slips, trips and falls include those who:

• have reduced mobility, strength and/or balance
• have reduced vision, impaired hearing or reduced cognitive ability
• are unwell or affected by medication, drugs or alcohol
• are fatigued or tired which can reduce concentration and attention
• are handling loads
• have competing visual or cognitive demands, for example, walking patients or looking after children
• are distracted, for example, by looking at their mobile phone while walking
• are unable to look at the floor surface or ground while they are walking.

For areas that will be accessed by the general public or people with a high risk of slips, trips and falls, there is a greater need to provide safe entry, exit and movement.

Measures to assist those at higher risk of slips, trips and falls include:

• improving early detection of hazards
• improving detection of changes in the path
• providing accessways that are even, with minimal changes in level
• providing accessways that are clean and clear of contaminants
• ensuring that safety markings have high visual contrast
• ensuring necessary lighting.