WINTER WEATHER

THINK TWICE BEFORE VENTURING ON SNOW & ICE

How do we prevent slip and fall injuries during icy conditions?

With the recent weather conditions we had some slip and fall near misses and a first aid injury. In previous years we had recordable injuries due to these winter weather hazards.

What can we do differently that we are not doing now to prevent these near misses and injuries from occurring?

Take the following extra precautions when walking or driving and to use salt/sand on walking surfaces:

• When you know that snowy or icy conditions may be a problem on walking or working surfaces, wear your ice grippers over your work boots.
• Be sure that entrances to buildings, gates, and turnstiles are salted.
• De-ice ladders and stairs if safe to do so.
• Consider using safety cones or barricade tape to exclude individuals and traffic from areas of significant icing.
• Report problem areas to a supervisor or to someone capable of addressing it.

If you don’t need to walk on ice, don’t.  If you believe conditions are unsafe to work, stop and discuss what needs to happen to make it safe.  We can get through the winter months accident free, but it requires everyone to be observant and to take appropriate action to remain safe when conditions turn icy.