Fall Protection Awareness is about more than falls from heights
Fall Protection Training (Alberta)
As we move into summer and more workers find themselves working outdoors again after months inside, it is a good time for a refresher in fall protection awareness. Indeed, as temperatures begin to climb, so do more workers. Construction workers, roofers, window washers – all these kinds of seasonal workers are exposed to the hazard of falling and need fall protection training (Alberta) to help reduce the risks they are presented with every day.
Thinking of fall protection, many tend to think of falls from heights; however, when it comes to lost-time injuries reported in Canada, more come from slips and trips than from the seemingly more hazardous drops from heights.
Slips occur when there is no traction between your foot and what you’re walking on. Whether it’s ice, a freshly waxed floor, or a soapy spill, no matter how good a person’s balance is, the surprise of a slip can leave anyone on the floor.
Tripping occurs when balance is lost after coming into contact with another object. These objects are generally not large pieces of equipment in your path. These objects can be boxes left on the floor, stray tools, or uneven flooring.
Injuries as a result of trips and slips often lead to scratches, contusions, sprains, or broken bones. A worker who trips and hits his or her head on the ground or another object can end up with a concussion, the devastating effects of which are becoming clearer to researchers in recent years.
Mitigating fall hazards particular to slips and trips seems simple. Cleaning spills promptly, keeping walkways tidy, and enforcing mandatory non-slip footwear are all steps in injury prevention. While these may seem like the duties of the manager, it is important for all workers to be trained in preventing fall injuries.
The Canadian Online Safety Training Association (COSTA), an organization that brings together the top safety courses in Canada, provides an extensive fall protection awareness course which covers both falls from heights as well as the more common and more costly falls from slipping and tripping. This course can be adapted to cover site-specific fall protection hazards and standards for any workplace.
You can also avail different safety training courses which includes customized WHMIS training, Winter Driving training (Canada), and a lithium battery safety course.
Matthew Albertson is author of this article. To know more about fall protection training ontario, online basic fire fighting and whmis training, please visit http://www.safetytrainingassociation.com
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