Everybody can relate to that horrifying feeling of suddenly losing footing on a wet surface. Not only incredibly damaging to the ego, wet weather slips and trips on business premises can result in serious injuries, and possibly end in compensation claims by staff or members of the public.
So what are the key safety tips to help protect yourself, your clients and your workers when conditions outside are wet and wild?
1. Eliminate avoidable hazards
Most offices during winter are recognisable by the sight of one or more umbrellas propped up near the doorway, spraying droplets of water all over the floor and making it almost impossible to navigate through the office space.
Apart from being a bad look for customers and clients who attend your premises, allowing brollies and other wet weather gear to effectively create indoor puddles can significantly increase the chances of slips and trips. Enforce a “no umbrellas inside” rule in the office, or arrange a designated area away from any traffic to store umbrellas and other wet items.
2. Review your office setup
Once you have removed obvious tripping hazards, consider the set-up of the rest of your office.
Perhaps there are areas which are dimly lit so that any areas of pooled water cannot easily be seen. There may be a certain window that is always left open, permitting rainwater to come in easily. Or potentially your business is set up in a location which easily floods, such as the bottom or even basement floor of a building. Once you have done a mental audit of how things are set up and could be improved, take steps to improve your business’ wet weather safety rating.
This can be done by installing ramps for slippery slopes, revising whether windows or doors need to be open during winter, and having a sufficient number of warning signs to warn customers and staff that certain areas of your premises may be prone to being slippery underfoot. It is also wise to ensure that any overhead leaks or other areas of water ingress during winter are repaired as quickly as possible.
3. Arrange for slip testing
Even when office and business areas are kept secure from rainwater or other outside elements, some floors are by their nature inherently slippery. If you are concerned about the risks to your clients or employees, arrange for a professional slip test to be conducted today.
At the conclusion of the assessment, you will be provided with an indication of how “slip proof” your premises are, as well as recommendations as to how to improve areas of weakness and increase the safety of your office during wet weather.
When it is cold and wet outside, the inside of your office or business premises should be somewhere safe, dry and warm. Take steps today to slip-proof your premises, and make sure that the miserable conditions don’t follow everyone inside.