Slips, Trips and Falls

To reduce injuries, inspections should be completed regularly to identify and remediate hazards.

Things you should look for during your inspections, especially in high-traffic areas:

• Slippery surfaces – spills, seasonal hazards such as snow and ice
• Unsecured mats – mats can sometimes roll up and create a tripping hazard
• Uneven surfaces
• Debris
• Poor lighting
• Poor housekeeping and obstructions to walkways
• Protruding cords or cables

How to prevent injury:

• Slip-resistant flooring and mats
• Set up wet floor signage when applicable
• Ensure prompt maintenance, removal of debris, snow and ice, and spill clean up
• Routinely clean floors with appropriate solutions
• Clear obstructions from walkways
• Good housekeeping practices
• Cover/tape down cords and cables
• Install handrails/guardrails
• Awareness and prevention training
• Appropriate training and certification for working at heights
• Use proper footwear
• Pay attention when walking – limit usage of electronic devices
• Inspect, report and remedy hazards
• Report and track incidents when they occur – look for trends

Inspecting daily will reduce hazards, prevent injuries and ensure due diligence. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety has a useful infographic on preventing slips, trips and falls on their website, which comes in a downloadable poster that you can post in your workplace and socialize with your teams. Check it out here.


Being proactive when it comes to slips, trips and falls is the best approach. However, when an incident occurs it is important to have a reliable and effective reporting system in place to capture essential details.

Tap Report now offers a reporting system as part of its product suite. Why use Tap Report Incidents:

• Ensures the right information is asked and gathered for specific incidents
• Allows multiple photos and documents to be attached to each incident
• All incidents are locked so there's no way for anyone to modify the legal document
• Automatically emails the right people for incidents allowing them to be aware and/or contribute
• Provides privacy between departments allowing only the right people to see specific incident reports
• Sends follow ups on specific incidents so nothing is forgotten
• Drives analytics to gain a deeper understanding of your company to reduce incidents and costs

For more information, contact us at 1-855-727-9388.

Resources: 
Prevent Slips, Trips and Falls in all Workplaces – Safe At Work Ontario 
Falls – Ministry of Labour 
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety - Preventing Falls from Slips and Trips Infographic