Product category:
Slip, trip and fall protection
News Release from: HSE Health and Safety Executive
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 25 October 2005
Warehouse apathy produces more accidents
Simple apathy is exacerbating the incidence of employee falls in the transport and warehousing sector, according to an opinion survey from the Health and Safety Executive.
Simple apathy is exacerbating the incidence of workplace falls in the transport and warehousing sector, according to an opinion survey published today by the UK's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as part of its Watch Your Step campaign Already one of the biggest causes of workplace injuries in the sector with 4,133 incidents reported to HSE last year, the opinion survey reveals that half of workers in transport and warehousing believe apathy is to blame for ignoring slip and trip hazards at work
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 31 Aug 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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"When one in five of the transport and warehousing employees surveyed has suffered an injury from a slip or trip incident at work and a quarter of those injured were off work for over two months, the extent of the problem is plain to see and it can have an acute effect on both the individuals and businesses involved," said Justin McCracken, acting chief executive, HSE.
Nationally, a slip or trip incident takes place every three minutes and every hour someone breaks a bone.
All in all, it is estimated that workplace falls cost the UK economy approximately GBP 800 million each year, of which GBP 500 million is directly borne by businesses.
According to the survey, the three most common causes of workplace falls in transport and warehousing are: * Slipping on a wet floor (26%).
* Tripping over an object on the floor (21%).
* Tripping on a step (21%).
All of these hazards can easily be removed at little or no cost to businesses.
"To address the problem there really needs to be a shift in attitude from 'ignore it' to 'do something about it'," said McCracken.
"Every employee needs to take this on board so that incidents are prevented before it is too late.
Our message is clear - don not just see it, sort it," McCracken continued.
Watch Your Step is a cross-industry campaign in partnership with other stakeholders, including Local Authorities, which aims to combat the increasing number of workplace falls by highlighting the scale of the problem for UK businesses; encouraging people to take the risks seriously; and raising awareness about cost-effective measures that can be put in place to reduce incidents and keep the costs to a minimum.
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