Employees are entitled to a safe workplace and it’s up to safety managers and owners to provide it for them. To keep workers safe you must evaluate the hazards inside your facility and do everything you can to eliminate or minimize them. That includes the leading cause of accidents in industrial facilities according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics: slips, trips, and falls. This means you’re required to provide fall protection for workers within your facility. In addition, OSHA requirements for fall protection require you to practice good housekeeping in order to keep the walking/working surfaces free of trip, slip, and fall hazards. To identify and address fall hazards and general safety, you need to follow a risk assessment matrix that will help you determine what fall prevention equipment you need to protect workers.
How to Use a Risk Management Matrix to Assess Your Facility
A risk assessment matrix for slips, trips, and falls helps determine what areas of your facility pose the most risk to workers, based on a range of specific criteria and numeric scoring. Armed with this information and knowing how to interpret it, you and your safety expert will be able to make good decisions about the types of fall protection equipment that you should install and use. When completing a risk management matrix, ask these key questions:
How bad could a worker be injured if exposed to this hazard?
When observing an area of your facility, whether it’s an elevated platform, catwalk, or stairway, determine the most severe injury they are likely to sustain if one were to fall here. Assign a number between 1 and 10 to the risk based on how badly the worker could be injured, assuming the fall occurs.
How often are workers going to be exposed to the fall hazard?
Again, using the same number scale as above, you must assign a value to the area for the number of employees exposed to the hazard, the amount of exposure to the hazard they will have while there, and the frequency of exposure to the hazard area. So, areas that fewer employees frequent would have a lower score than a stairway or other area that is used on a daily basis by many workers. Consult a safety expert to ensure that these interrelated values (each of which has its own scale) are properly assigned.
How likely is it that someone will be injured if they slip, trip, or fall at this particular location?
It’s impossible to see into the future to tell if anyone will trip and fall in your facility. However, you can make an educated guess about the likelihood of injury if and when they do. A scale of 1 to 6 is used, with 1 for falls in which injury from a fall is unlikely; 2 in which it is more realistically possible; 4 for falls which will likely result in injury; and 6 for falls in which the injury is virtual certain to be sustained.
Performing a Fall Hazard Risk Assessment
Once you have a risk assessment matrix in hand, it’s time to gather your team, which should include a qualified safety expert, managers, and affected employees to perform the assessment. Focus your attention on any potential hazards including:
- Uneven floors
- Fixed ladders
- Stairwells
- Mezzanines
- Catwalks
- Pits, vaults, and other floor openings
- Loading docks
- Around dangerous equipment and machinery
As you inspect each area that you perceive to be a hazard, ask the questions noted above and assign a number value to the answer. Once you’ve completed the assessment, you will be able to quickly glance at your risk assessment matrix to determine what actions you need to take next.
Are there any risks that need to be immediately addressed?
If there is a fall hazard that has not been addressed that presents a potential serious risk, it is an imminent danger. Immediate action must be taken if a fall hazard is deemed an imminent danger to workers. This may include immediately restricting access to the area, installing temporary guardrails, or perhaps providing personal fall protection devices for use in the interim.
What further action needs to be taken to control the hazards?
As you inspect and assess each area of your facility where employees may encounter a fall risk, evaluate the steps you need to take to improve safety. This may include replacing personal fall arrest equipment and installing new fall prevention equipment to meet OSHA requirements for fall protection.
What’s the Difference Between a Slip, Trip, and Fall?
Although any of these things could result in a worker being injured, there is a distinct difference between them. It’s important to understand that these fall hazards may be encountered alone or in combination with one another.
- Slips are defined by OSHA as a loss of balance caused by too little friction between your feet and the surface you walk or work on. Surfaces can be slippery because of water, snow and ice, dirt or mud, grease and oil, food particles, dust, or powders, and even housekeeping practices like waxing a floor.
- According to OSHA, trips occur when your foot strikes an object and there is enough momentum to throw you off balance. Trip hazards in the workplace can include tools and equipment, materials, supplies, debris, and any other object that may impede your ability to walk through.
- A fall is an instance that results in a worker losing their balance or bodily support. Although OSHA fall protection rules state that workers must be protected at heights of 4 feet or more, a fall can occur at the same level or to a lower level, regardless of height.
OSHA-Compliant Fall Protection and Fall Prevention Equipment
You must comply with OSHA regulations, or your company may face stiff fines and penalties for non-compliance. In addition, you may be putting your employees at risk of falls if you are not following the guidelines properly. Completing a risk assessment matrix is an excellent way to ensure compliance and employee safety.
After performing a thorough evaluation and taking stock of the fall hazards within your commercial building, it’s time for action. If you determine that you need to update or install new fall protection equipment to meet the OSHA requirements for fall protection, contact Fabenco. Our qualified safety experts will guide you through the process of determining what fall prevention equipment is right for your application.
