Fall Protection Compliance Game Plan

In everyday language, ‘fall’ is a generic verb describing the action of plunging downward as a result of losing balance. But workplace fall prevention and OHS compliance is about protecting against 3 different kinds of falls:

• Slips occur when a person’s foot or feet lose grip with the surface they’re walking or standing on. Slip hazards include ice, oil and other liquids that make the ground wet, banana peels and anything else that reduces friction between the feet and ground or surface.
• Trips occur when a person stumbles on or over an object. Trip hazards include objects that somebody can stumble over like holes or tools in a walkway or conditions that make stumbles over objects more likely such as loose steps, poor lighting or not paying attention to where you’re walking.
• Falls are vertical plunges from a surface above ground level like a platform, scaffold, roof or ladder.