Do any of these scenarios sound familiar? After a slip and fall incident, you purchased ice cleats but regretted the choice. You felt “rushed” into the decision and didn’t have the time to research properly. You purchased ice cleats at a big-box retailed, but your employees complained they couldn’t wear them indoors…or the cleats keep falling off…or they broke…or they take too long to put on.

It may still be warm, but you know as well as we do, winter is right around the corner. And for safety professionals who care about their company’s safety record, the next 60 days are critical to your employees’ safety. If you plan on buying ice cleats or other winter traction aids for your employees to prevent slips and falls on ice and snow, ask yourself:

If you are reading this blog, you are most likely a safety professional of some sort. That being the case, I ask you: What is your biggest safety sin or workplace hazard? 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 perso[…]

Last winter, I wrote a blog post entitled, “Why Are There No Regulations Around Ice Cleats?” It turned out to be one of my most popular blog entries, so I figured it was time to revisit the topic. In the original post, I wrote that the main reason for a lack of industry standards or regulations around ice cleats is the number of variables in recreating an outdoorslippery surface. But I don’t think that my post was popular because people wanted to hear why these regulations don’t exist. Instead, what safety professionals really want to know is what can they do in light of the lack of regulation[…]

Until recently, winter had been pretty calm and warmer than normal for most of the U.S. But then, you read the news headlines and see that winter’s first big snowstorm is coming to your area. It’s late January, after all, and winter weather really isn’t uncommon this time of year, is it? So, after reading about this storm approaching, you decide to check your ice cleat inventory. Only to realize you’re low on stock – or worse, completely out! Now, the panic starts to set in, “Oh man, I wish I had done something about this a few weeks ago.”

We live in such an instant gratification world today. If you’re willing to pay a high premium for shipping overnight, you can get just about anything you want, when you want it. The hottest toys for holiday shopping? No problem. The latest cell phones? No biggie. Last-minute clothing purchases? Easily done. Now is the time of year when “just ship it overnight” quickly becomes the most often heard statement I hear. Of course you can have ice cleats or traction aids shipped overnight, right? Well, the answer is both yes and no.