Did you know that each year, over 8 million emergency room visits are due to slips, trips and falls? These are the most common cause of traumatic brain injuries. As a property manager, it’s important to look for ways to prevent slips and falls in office buildings from ever happening. With high hallway traffic from your residents and their guest, it’s your responsibility to keep your hallways and walk-through areas safe at all times.
Poorly Lit Areas
One of the biggest reasons someone can experience a slip and fall is because they don’t see what’s ahead of them due to poorly lit areas. Always keep your hallways properly lit no matter what time of day it is. Being able to visualize objects or wet floors ahead can easily prevent any future accidents.
Visible Signage
Another way to build awareness around slippery areas is to set up proper signage. Let your guests know when there is a loose tile or wet floor by setting up brightly lit signs. This will warn them to walk around the area. Be sure that the signs stand out enough for people to clearly see. Anything from oranges cones to yellow “Wet Floor” signs can do the trick.
Floor Grip
Take note of where your high traffic areas of your property are. The more frequent sections of where people walk through can develop slippery floors after a while. Adding thick carpet floor mats or anti-skid adhesive tape can provide a better grip for people to walk on. This can also help prevent slip and fall accidents from happening throughout your property.
Although this is such a common issue to have, there are clearly simple and effective ways to go about preventing these accidents from ever happening. Take time to look over your areas where these accidents could possibly happen. Speak with your janitors or maintenance staff and let them know how they can make walkways safe and visible for both workers and residents. Bringing everyone’s overall awareness up will help prevent slips and falls in office buildings from happening.
This article was written by Justin LaRocque (Marketing Communications Manager) for Planned Companies, the industry leaders in janitorial, maintenance, concierge/front desk, and security services in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Catering to both residential and commercial properties, we proudly provide services throughout New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC and San Francisco. For more information about our services, please visit our website at www.plannedcompanies.com or call us at 888-706-8600.