Stop slips & trips
June 1st 2005 With construction workers spending the majority of their working day walking on surfaces that are uneven, in addition to often being wet and muddy it is perhaps no surprise that slips and trips account for 25% of accidents in the construction sector. Here, Paul Hamer of Jallatte highlights how slip injury levels can be reduced by ensuring that safety footwear is not chosen solely on its physical protective qualities but that the sole unit and grip qualities are given a much higher priority. Slips and trip injuries in the construction sector are one of the main causes of major and over 3 day injuries, affecting thousands of workers every year, resulting in many thousands of lost working days, costing the industry millions of pounds annually. This should come as no surprise, as when you consider any construction site in the UK, it is quite literally littered with a multitude of slipping and tripping hazards. While it is standard advice to stress the importance of keeping work areas tidy and walkways and work stations free from obstructions and tripping hazards, it is difficult to apply this to construction sites.
For long periods of their existence, construction sites are set on rutted and uneven surfaces, with scaffold, building materials, and heavy plant and equipment amongst other things commonplace throughout .
Between 1996 and 2003 there were a reported 5066 slip and trip injuries in the construction sector that resulted in major injuries. During that time, the levels of these injuries have increased year on year, with the 2002/03 figure a staggering 68% higher than the 1996/97 figure. Approximately 36% of these slip and trip injuries resulted from tripping over an obstruction or slipping on an uneven surface. In addition to this, in 2002/03, over 3 day injuries resulting from slips and trips were also 38% higher compared to the 1996/97 statistics. So with the construction industry apparently failing to get to grips with slip and trip injuries, are there any real steps that can be taken to reduce injury levels or are the majority of these injuries impossible to ‘engineer out’ of the industry due to its nature? Without a shred of doubt, the reality is that slip and trip injury levels really can be reduced in the construction sector.
Given the uneven, undulating ground (often made even more hazardous as a result of rain) safety footwear is a most effective weapon in the fight against slips and trips. So when deciding on the type of protective qualities required from your safety footwear, the type of grip pattern and the level of comfort and shock absorption provided should be the key drivers in the selection process. For only by providing the right type of grip can real inroads be made.
There are a number of issues that need to be considered when selecting the right sole unit for the construction sector. These include: - Does the footwear have the right grip for the environment? - Grip is the essential feature. Sole units should be deep and all-terrain with multi-directional, self-cleaning tread patterns providing maximum grip • Is there a progressive shock absorber within the heel? - Jallatte is concerned that employees are suffering micro traumatic shock injuries, which, although in isolation are not enough to cause harm, accumulate over time to the point where the employee suffers a musculoskeletal injury
- Does the sole unit offer chemical resistance?
- Is the wearer going to be constantly on their feet? Then you will need to consider a grip that follows the pressure zones of the feet, that has an anti-torsion system under the arch and with a shock absorber in the heel ensuring high degrees of wearer comfort.
Grip can play a major factor in reducing the effects of trip injuries. This is because a significant proportion of trip injuries result from the trip taking place and the worker planting a foot onto the ground in a bid to steady themselves following the initial trip, only for the planted foot to slip away resulting in the trip injury.
Choosing comfortable safety footwear is also a factor that can improve productivity and reduce accident levels.
A lack of arch support and footwear that is too heavy or too narrow can all contribute to wearer discomfort.
Inappropriate materials that are not sufficiently breathable, lack resistance to abrasion or acids in human perspiration or feel rough on the foot can create poor air circulation causing discomfort and the development of further skin problems. Other more general problems may occur such as heavy legs, swollen feet, varicose veins or even back or lumber problems. These discomforts are all too frequent (two out of three workers complain of various foot problems) and, although often considered to be minor, can have long lasting health consequences.
The selection of the right type of sole technology is vital if injury levels are to be reduced. Grip is king when trying to reduce on site slip injuries. Get this right and the chances of losing employees to needless injury will be reduced.
Jallatte’s range is broken down into eight distinct fields of activity addressing the dangers encountered in different environments.
For more information on selecting the right safety footwear or for a FREE copy of Jallatte’s The Guide‚ contact Jallatte on 01827 266310 or or respond to this article via www.hsmsearch.com/ enquiry More articles from Jallatte UK: | 
