Employees are more likely to use ice cleats consistently when the equipment fits their work, training makes proper use clear, and supervisors address the obstacles that lead people to skip them. A practical rollout combines appropriate traction, hands-on instruction, convenient access, and regular follow-up.
For a safety manager, distributing ice cleats is only the beginning. The daily challenge is making sure employees have them available and understand when and how to use them.
A pair left in a locker cannot help an employee crossing an icy loading area. A pair that fits poorly may lead to repeated adjustments. And unclear instructions about indoor floors or vehicle use can leave employees guessing. Here is how to build ice cleat use into your winter safety program.
Start with the employee’s route through the workday. How much time do they spend outdoors? Do they enter buildings frequently? Do they operate vehicles? What footwear do they wear?
A maintenance employee moving between buildings has different needs from a crew member working outdoors for hours. Giving both employees the same ice cleats may create avoidable difficulties.
Winter Walking organizes ice cleats into three traction categories:
For indoor/outdoor use, evaluate the specific ice cleats on your facility’s surfaces. Confirm vehicle suitability for the particular model, footwear, and vehicle before authorizing use while driving.
Use the Ice Cleat Traction Assessment to help identify a starting category for your team.
“Wear your ice cleats when needed” leaves room for interpretation. Employees need to know which tasks, areas, and conditions trigger your workplace’s requirements.
For example, your program might identify outdoor delivery routes, loading areas, or walks between buildings as locations requiring additional precautions when snow or ice is present. Explain who communicates changing conditions and what employees should do if their assigned ice cleats are unavailable or unsuitable.
Make sure employees can answer these questions:
Keep the instructions consistent across shifts, locations, and supervisors. Include temporary employees and new hires who may miss the initial rollout.
An instruction sheet is useful, but a demonstration gives employees a chance to practice and ask questions.
Ask employees to bring the footwear they actually wear on the job. Following the model’s instructions, demonstrate how to position the ice cleats, secure them, check the fit, and remove them.
Then have each employee practice in a designated safe area. Confirm that the ice cleats stay positioned as intended and that the employee can put them on and remove them correctly.
Training should also cover inspection, storage, and the surfaces or activities for which that model is unsuitable. If an employee needs help getting a secure fit, resolve it before sending them into winter conditions.
Reinforce that ice cleats are one part of the safety program. OSHA’s winter weather guidance also calls for clearing snow and ice, applying deicer, and using appropriate footwear. Continue maintaining walking surfaces and addressing reported hazards.
Review where employees begin outdoor tasks and where their equipment is stored.
If ice cleats are kept far from the exit employees use, retrieving them becomes an extra trip. If a driver’s pair stays at the main facility, it may be unavailable at the next stop.
Assign storage that fits the job. Depending on your operation, that could mean an individual locker, a designated location near an appropriate exit, or an assigned storage bag in a work vehicle.
Where employees need to put on or remove ice cleats, provide a suitable area away from traffic and slippery surfaces. Make replacements accessible through a clear process, including during early, late, and overnight shifts.
Walk the route yourself: can employees access and put on their ice cleats before reaching the conditions where they need them?
When employees say they do not like their ice cleats, ask what happens during the task.
“They’re uncomfortable” may point to a fit issue. “They take too long” may reveal difficulty putting them on over work boots. “I keep taking them off” may indicate that the selected traction does not suit frequent indoor/outdoor movement.
Use specific follow-up questions:
Respond with an action: check fit, repeat the demonstration, inspect the equipment, or reassess the model. Let employees know what you changed and why.
For a larger rollout, a structured trial can help identify these issues before outfitting everyone. See how safety managers test ice cleats before buying for 500 or more employees.
Supervisors connect the written program to everyday work. Equip them to check availability, reinforce instructions, and resolve problems.
At the start of a shift with winter exposure, a supervisor can review conditions, confirm that affected employees have their assigned equipment, and remind the team how to report hazards.
When someone skips their ice cleats, find out why. The response may require coaching, replacement equipment, or a change to the work setup. Follow your workplace’s established process for addressing repeated failures to follow safety instructions.
Supervisors should follow the same requirements when performing the same tasks. Consistent direction helps employees understand what is expected.
Schedule a check after the first period of use and revisit the program when conditions, tasks, or staffing change.
Ask employees whether their ice cleats stay secure, whether they can access them when needed, and whether the instructions match the surfaces they encounter.
Look at more than distribution totals. Useful checks include:
Use incident information to inform the review, while recognizing that weather, exposure, surface maintenance, and reporting practices also affect the results.
Adapt this talk to your assigned equipment and workplace requirements:
Before heading outside, check the conditions and follow our ice cleat requirements for your task. Put your assigned ice cleats on in the designated safe area before reaching snow or ice.
Check that they fit securely on your work footwear and inspect them for damage. Follow the instructions for your model, including when to remove them before entering buildings or operating vehicles.
If they do not fit, are damaged, or interfere with your work, contact your supervisor so we can resolve the problem. Continue using maintained routes and report icy areas. Ice cleats do not make every surface safe.
Finish by asking employees to demonstrate fit and identify where they should report a problem.
Possible reasons include poor fit, difficulty putting them on, inconvenient storage, uncertainty about appropriate use, or a mismatch between the equipment and the task. Ask employees about the specific obstacle before deciding how to address it.
Train employees before their first use and provide refreshers when equipment, tasks, or instructions change. A preseason review and follow-up after initial use can help identify questions that a single demonstration missed.
Suitability depends on the specific ice cleats and indoor surfaces. Aggressive outdoor traction may be inappropriate on hard floors. Ice cleats designed for indoor/outdoor transitions still require evaluation against the manufacturer’s instructions and your workplace conditions.
Review the fit, model, footwear, and task with the employee. Resolve the issue through adjustment, training, a suitable alternative, or a revised work procedure before continuing the affected activity.
Use shared selection criteria and training materials, assign local responsibility for distribution and replacements, and give employees at every location a clear way to report problems. Adapt instructions to each location’s actual conditions.
A useful ice cleat program connects selection, training, access, and follow-up. Employees need equipment suited to their work and a straightforward way to resolve problems before those problems become reasons to skip it.
Start by checking whether your current ice cleats match the work your employees perform.
Find the right ice cleats for your crew with the Ice Cleat Traction Assessment.