Avoiding Slips, Trips and Falls on the Job and Outdoors
Temperatures are rising and for many of us that means more time outdoors walking and running and enjoying the sun. In honor of National Safety month’s weekly topic “Avoid Slips, Trips and Falls”, we want to remind you to be careful while walking. Be aware to avoid collisions, not with a rogue squirrel, but with distracted walkers staring at their cell phones. While we’d love to know what breaking Facebook news was so riveting, it reminds us that distracted walking has become a huge safety issue.
Solutions for Avoiding Collisions and Falls Outside
1) While out enjoying the warmer temps, a simple solution to distracted walking is to refrain from cell phone use and engagement in other distracting activities while walking. If you focus solely on the task at hand – getting from point A to point B – you can avoid distractions altogether
2) Taking frequent breaks while you are using your device and walking is another way to avoid a possible injury. Try taking a break and looking up every few seconds to assess your surroundings.
3) If you’re using headphones, keep the volume at a reasonable level so that you can hear any potential dangers and alerts before they become an issue. You can also keep just one ear bud in so that you can still have a decent level of hearing ability. Noise-cancelling headphones should not be worn while walking so that you can be aware of your surroundings.
4) At thyssenkrupp we discourage cell phone calls in our warehouses. We require staff or visitors to step into our safety zones if they must take a call. If you are on a busy pathway and need to use your phone, pretend you are at a Copper and Brass Sales warehouse and find a public safe zone. Step off busy trails or find a quiet spot on a sidewalk away from pedestrian and bike traffic to take the call or reply to the text.
Thank you for reading our weekly blog and be sure to visit the National Safety Council at www.nsc.org for more information on National Safety Week 2019.
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