Hints & Tips

How To Prevent Slips, Trips & Falls This Winter

Thanks to falling temperatures and the risk of ice, sleet and snow, winter can bring a wealth of problems to business owners. During the colder months businesses must take extra precautions to prevent accidents and keep customers and staff safe.

With slips, trips and falls costing businesses approximately £512 million each year, it makes sense for companies to ensure they have taken safety into account.

Here are just a few ways to prevent floor-related injuries in winter:

Keep floors clean and dry

Keeping the floor clean and dry sounds like an obvious precaution but during the winter months it can become more difficult to maintain. With people entering your building with snow covered shoes and soaking wet umbrellas, keeping risks to a minimum can be tricky.

If a wet floor is unavoidable due to rain, a spillage or routine cleaning, be sure to display a wet floor sign to remind people to take care when walking in the area.

Whether you use an external cleaning company or you have a cleaner within your team, give someone the responsibility of keeping on top of wet floors. Create a rota to ensure high risk areas are regularly inspected.

You could further reduce the risk of slips by purchasing a large entrance doormat. When people enter your premises, this will help to soak up some of the water from shoes and umbrellas.

Use the right tools

Although a mop and bucket is perhaps one of the most affordable floor cleaning tools, you could save time and improve standards by investing in equipment that dries floors immediately after cleaning them.

A scrubber dryer, for example, is perfect for cleaning up and spillages without leaving the floor drenched.

Choose the right flooring

Some floors are more prone to causing slips, trips and falls than others. So whether you manage a supermarket, school or office, it’s important to think carefully about which type of flooring would be most suitable for your business.

If you’re unsure which type of flooring is appropriate, we can help. From vinyl to solid wood, we have a wide selection of flooring suitable for any purpose. To learn more about us, please get in touch.

Comments are closed here.