Slips and falls are one of the worlds leading causes of accidents and injuries. Many thousands of people are injured and killed every year as a result of slip and fail accidents.
Thousands more suffer injuries caused by falls onto hard surfaces from walkways in factories, mining/building sites and commercial/industrial complexes.
Falls on stairs account for over 60% of slip, trip and fall deaths in the work environment and can occur due to a number of reasons.
- The visibility of the stairway
- Slip resistance of stair treads
- Dimensional geometry of stairs
- Provision of suitable handrails
The visibility of safe stairs is critical to ensure that a person can prepare to ascent or decent. For people with normal’ vision this relies on visual clues such as handrails, good lighting conditions and high visibility of step nosing. Poor delineation of the step edge may confuse people negotiating the stairs, particularly in poor lighting conditions thus increasing the risk of a fall.
To highlight best practice, these safe stair features are required for disability access requirements within Australian Standards 1428.1:2009, Design for Access and Mobility; Part 1: General requirements for access – Buildings.
Our products can help you to reduce the risk of accidents and injuries in a variety of working environments.