August 26, 2024

Slips on wet surfaces and awareness of restricted areas

As a service to our policyholders, Texas Mutual shares serious workplace injury trends based on catastrophic injuries and fatalities reported to our claims department. Not all of these reported injuries are covered by workers’ compensation insurance, but our goal is to help you ensure these types of incidents do not happen in your workplace. Find safety tips below to help keep your employees safe on the job.

If you have questions, we encourage you to contact our safety services support center at 844-WORKSAFE (967-5723) or safety@texasmutual.com.

In this alert:

• Slips on wet surfaces
• Awareness of restricted areas

Slips on wet surfaces

While walking up a metal ramp in the rain, an employee slipped and fell, causing serious injuries. In a separate incident, an employee was working on the bed of a pickup truck and slipped on grease, causing them to fall and strike their head.

Although falls from heights are certainly dangerous, same-level falls are one of the top causes of injuries across industries. When a walking surface is wet from liquids or grease, a hazardous situation is created that must be taken seriously.

• Wear shoes with slip-resistant soles.
• Report walking hazards like spills, poor lighting or wet surfaces to your supervisor immediately.
• Be aware of your surroundings and watch your step, especially in wet or damp areas.
• Clean up spills immediately or block off the area and place warning signs until the spill is cleaned up.
• Use handrails when going up or down stairs.

Awareness of restricted areas

While a tree was being trimmed, a restricted area was set up around the tree to keep employees safe from falling limbs. An employee left the safe zone, entered the restricted area and was, unfortunately, fatally wounded by a falling branch. In an unrelated incident, another employee attempted to cross the track of a large saw during operation, which was a restricted area. The employee fell on the track and was seriously injured by the spinning blade.

Setting up restricted and safe areas is an administrative control meant to create distance between employees and hazards. However, it is up to each employee to respect restricted zone signage and barriers so they can stay safe.

• Obtain proper authorization and training before entering a restricted zone.
• Follow designated entry and exit points for restricted areas.
• Wear required personal protective equipment (PPE) within restricted zones.
• Report any unauthorized personnel or unsafe conditions in restricted zones to your supervisor immediately and use stop work authority if needed.

Get free safety resources

Texas Mutual policyholders have access to thousands of free training materials in our multimedia safety resource center, including our safety catalog with up-to-date resources.

To access the free materials, log in to your texasmutual.com account and select Safety. If you need help accessing safety resources or you have a safety question, call us toll-free at 844-WORKSAFE (967-5723).

Download a PDF (175KB) version of the August Safety Alert.