Walkway Safety for Employees: Hazard Prevention and Incident Response

Falls within the workplace are a worldwide problem and cannot be ignored. Walkways can be found in every type of industry and are intended to enable both employees and guests to safely walk around the property. The unfortunate reality is, not all walkways are properly designed or maintained. To make matters worse, we are a highly distracted society. As the capabilities of our handheld devices increase, so does our risk of injury while using our phones while walking.

The statistics related to falls are alarming. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported falls as the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths, after road traffic injuries, with approximately 650,000 falls occurring each year. While this number includes falls from an elevated surface, people can, and do, die from falling on the same level. Additionally, falls often result in injury, which can cost a substantial amount of money for both the company and the person who becomes injured.

While some environments are naturally more prone to falls, they can happen to anyone, anywhere. Employers and employees alike can make a difference in helping to prevent injuries and fatalities from slips, trips, and falls.

The Walkway Safety for Employees Curriculum consists of three modules designed to provide learners with an introduction to general walkway safety and help them recognize and prevent falls from the same level.

After completing this course, learners will be able to:

• Summarize different proactive measures employers take to prevent fall incidents.
• Identify different ways employees can prevent walkways hazards in the workplace.
• Describe how to appropriately respond to a fall incident.