Making sure your business premises is ready for winter is essential to keeping staff safe and fully productive. Which is why we’re highlighting simple winter safety and protection measures you apply to protect your team.
Winter is not all cosy jumpers, hot chocolate and duvet days when you have a business to run.
In fact, this one is set to be tougher than normal, and keeping staff healthy, able to work and motivated will be a constant concern, making winter safety measures something you can’t overlook.
Here are three things you can do to fend off the dark, cold and wet weather, for a brighter New Year.
Preventing Slips Trips and Falls is Important For Winter Safety and Protection
The biggest cause of workplace injuries in the UK is trips, slips and falls, which are even more common during the winter – indoors as well as out.
We will come on to risks within your building later, but what are the best ways to protect against icy conditions in your car park and external entrances, and along walkways used by your staff or visitors?
According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, thousands of people are admitted to hospital every winter due to tumbles. If that happens on your land it could result in staff unable to work. You might also face H&S penalties or even civil litigation if someone has a nasty fall on icy surfaces you ignored.
Steps to avoid this include making sure staff who move around outdoors have appropriate footwear.
As daylight is scarce, making sure your building and outside areas are well-lit will help people enter and exit safely. Also, making sure any standing water and decaying leaves are removed promptly, and potholes are filled or have warning signs nearby will make your site much safer to navigate.
Making sure you have well-stocked grit bins and salt spreaders in the winter months are key. And having snow shovels and manual snow ploughs handy makes sense too. Our Spyker ERGO-PRO 100 Broadcast Salt Spreader is a great way to cover a large area, quickly and effectively, with no slip-ups.
Put down additional matting in key areas
Slipping is also more common indoors at this time of year. Feet drag in water, dirt and even slush around reception areas, staff entrances and loading bays. Vehicles and machinery can also transfer slippery substances onto places with pedestrian traffic.
The solution is simple. We supply a range of anti-slip mats for various workplace locations, to create a firm grip. They are designed with features such as bevelled edges to avoid new issues, such as trips or impeding the passage of forklift trucks.
A great example is individual COBA workstation mats that can be quickly installed where moisture gathers. These are high-vis anti-slip mats with large holes to drain water and trap debris and dirt.
How can you prevent winter slips in reception areas and foyers? One solution is our Entraplush Entrance Mat which is attractive but also brilliant at protecting floors, containing moisture and reducing the chance of people slipping.
If footfall varies at your premises – and the riskiest areas change in winter – a great versatile solution is to use anti-slip tape, stair treads or one-way footprint markers. These low-cost items can be firmly stuck down to keep pedestrians safe.
Workplace infection control measures – COVID, colds and flu
The worst month for sickness absenteeism in the UK is January, when colds, flu but also mental health problems tend to be more common. One study found a 53% upturn in sick days in January compared to other months.
So taking the right steps to make sure your workforce feel safe and well looked after will be vital to keeping morale high during the winter months when people could be feeling at their worst.
Who knows what January 2021 will bring.
Encouraging staff to wash their hands thoroughly and dispose of personal waste sensibly has always made a big difference in reducing the rate germs are shared around. As this winter features the spectre of COVID-19, keeping staff safe means putting even greater emphasis on hygiene control.
One of the best ways to tackle this is to set up additional hand sanitation stations around your building. Investing in a mobile sanitising spray unit could well prove money well spent too.
Avoiding winter blues, and staff who are black and blue.
To keep staff safe in winter, audit all your signage and safety barriers, including bollards and pillar wraps. And take the time to check in with your team and listen to their concerns.
If you need some advice on the best products to help you manage workplace risks year-round, as well as winter must-haves for infection control and slip prevention.
We can suggest ways your team can stay healthy and safe until Spring.
Just give us a call on 01344 596240 to discuss your winter safety and protection wish list, or email our support team.Â