“Contractor gets record $537,500 fine after Senior burns to death on heated bathroom floor”
“Use of wrong floor design leads to death of contractor”
“Swissbake manager’s death at workplace due to fall on oily and slippery floor: Coroner”
“The majority of wet floors, slip, trip and fall victims are female”
These are headlines from around the world and they point out the importance of our floors. Most times, floors are taken for granted but they contribute largely to most of the accidents that happen at home or in the workplace. They are a major source of accidents and work interruptions. It could be as little as bruises from a fall or damage to the hips most especially for elderly people. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), floors and flooring materials contribute directly to more than 2 million fall injuries each year in the United States.
What does this mean for people in business and career?
People most especially women wear various types of shoes because of the fit, beautiful designs and carriage it gives them. We need to go the extra mile to protect ourselves by making safer choices when buying footwear and ensuring the shoes are properly maintained. This is because to a large extent we have control over this. However, this is not foolproof as the right shoes on wrong floors (oily, slippery, no traction floors) is still a recipe for disaster. Imagine then what happens when wrong shoes meet wrong floors? You’re right, that would be a great fall.
Accidents arising from floors could lead to absence from work and reduced productivity. We can’t afford to let that happen always. Therefore as much as possible, floors should be chosen not for aesthetics but for functionality to avoid future accidents. We need to begin to own our homes and workplaces by being on the lookout for these details. Sometimes, the decision on floors might be beyond our scope most especially if we are visiting. Nevertheless, it doesn’t hurt to offer good advice to others.
You might wonder, what happens if the space has been paid for already and the floor doesn’t have good traction? It’s simple, improvise. There are a variety of floor coverings that provide traction and reduce incidences of falls to the barest minimum. Invest in them.
Additional tips for floor safety are:
– Mop up spills as soon as possible and always place a caution sign when there are wet floors.
– Floor cleaning should be done when there is less human traffic.
With these in mind, you can be sure your floor won’t injure or kill you.
Image credit: google images
