Health & safety bulletin
Raising Awareness of Slips, Trips and Falls
21st February 2008
Throughout February and March, Xmo Strata will be supporting a campaign on workplace slips, trips and falls run by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE).
Our aim is to highlight any instances where slips, trips or falls may occur and put preventative measures in place.
According to research compiled by the HSE, 38% of all major injuries to employees in 2006/07 were as a result of slips and trips. Although this number is a slight decrease from the previous year, it is still the most common kind of major workplace injury in the UK.
The HSE also reports that nearly half (48%) of all fatal injuries to workers in 2006/07 were due to falls from height, being struck by a moving or falling object, or being struck by a moving vehicle.
The number of workers killed by moving or falling objects saw an 18% increase between 2005/06 and 2006/07, while fatal injuries caused by moving vehicles decreased from 38 to 30 (the lowest figure on record).
The graph below details the findings of the HSE relating to major workplace injuries:
Near-miss procedures, health and safety bulletins, risk assessments, site audits and toolbox talks are all in place to reduce the risks involved in our daily work. The more we use these tools and raise awareness of potential hazards, the more chance we have of improving the statistics reported above.
All Xmo Strata and Xmo Veritas employees will receive a toolbox talk on housekeeping and auditors will be advised to be particularly vigilant and discuss potential trip hazards in detail.
If you see a potential hazard on-site, report it immediately. We want our sites and our employees to be as safe as possible.
(The above data was taken from the HSE website at www.hse.gov.uk and has been reproduced under the terms of the Click-Use Licence)