To put it in perspective, I’ll tell you mine. But let me first give you some background. Winter Walking is North America’s largest manufacturer of traction aid ice cleats. We help hundreds of companies and thousands of employees reduce the chance of suffering a slip and fall injury while on the job. We take tremendous pride in our product line, our company and our task. So can you imagine how embarrassed I would be if I personally suffered a slip and fall injury on ice or snow? Embarrassed is an understatement – I would be outright devastated. I would clearly call it my biggest work-related sin.
So, what would be my second biggest sin? Well, that would be if one of my employees suffered a slip and fall. And not just because of what we do here, but because I could have – and should have – prevented the incident from happening in the first place. How can I justify being the largest manufacturer or ice cleats and not provide my own employees with pairs of their own?
Now, I ask you, the safety professional who took the time to read this post: What would your biggest workplace hazard or work-related sin be? Surely, it would be related to you personally conducting yourself in an unsafe manor, right? What would your second biggest sin be? I’m going to venture a guess that it might be seeing someone whose safety you are responsible for suffer due to something that could have been prevented had you provided them with the tools and education necessary.
When it comes to preventing slips and falls this winter, do not risk committing your biggest sin. First and foremost, make sure that you are taking precautions and wearing your traction aids while walking on ice and snow. Secondly, make sure that the employees that you care for are provided with ice cleats and proper training before they ever step outside.
Implementing safety guidelines like wearing ice cleats needs to start at the top. If your employees do not see you wearing them, they will question why they should. And if you are wearing your ice cleats, their question may then become, “Why can’t I have a pair, too?” Once you realize that winter slips and falls can be prevented, it is up to you, the safety professional, to eliminate that risk.
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Jordan Bell is the Executive Vice President for Winter Walking. He has been helping organizations across a wide variety of business sectors prevent workplace slips and falls in ice and snow for over 12 years. Winter Walking currently helps some of the world’s largest organizations keep their employees both safer and more productive while working outdoors in the winter season. Contact jordan@winterwalking.com or visit www.winterwalking.com.
