Preventing serious accidents with small measures

Have you ever thought about equipping your office workers with knee pads and helmets to protect them from the dangers of accidents in office environments? Probably not. Nor is it necessary. You can ensure effective protection and safety in the workplace for your employees if you pay attention to appropriate safety and ergonomics in the choice of materials, execution and maintenance of building installations. Much of this is regulated in a binding manner. Managers have a duty to the authorities to ensure the occupational safety and health protection of their employees.

Avoiding slipping hazards and tripping hazards
When it is wet, snowy, icy, leafy and dirty, make sure that the entrances to buildings are well cleaned and kept slip-free - both inside and outside. By using a dirt trap, you also prevent moisture and dirt from being carried in and becoming a slip hazard inside the building. Do not clean floors at peak times and clean only in sections. Mark the wet sections or close them off completely.

Pay attention to level differences and floor coverings when it comes to floors. Level differences are classic tripping hazards: Thresholds, landings or uneven surfaces should be avoided wherever possible. The same applies to floor openings and open cable ducts. Where level differences cannot be prevented, they should be clearly marked

Falls on stairs are particularly dangerous. Stairs should therefore be equipped with handrails. They provide support if you lose your footing. Depending on the material, colouring and lighting, stair treads are difficult to recognise and can thus lead to missteps. Mark the edges of steps on stairs to increase visibility. Also ensure a secure grip with slip-resistant coverings and slip profiles - this is particularly important for stairs in entrance areas, where wetness and dirt greatly increase the risk of slipping.

Mark doors and escape routes
Glass doors make rooms bright and friendly. However, it often happens that a glass door is not perceived. The consequences can be very painful. Mark glass doors with bands, stripes, symbols or crossbars. Also, look for offset lever handles on manually operated doors to avoid bruising your hand. Only use automatic doors and gates that comply with the applicable safety regulations.

keep escape routes clear
In an emergency, such as a fire, the survival of all employees in the building depends on how safely and quickly they can escape from the building. Make escape routes clearly visible with emergency lighting and luminescent escape route signs. And consistently keep traffic routes and especially escape routes clear. Also install a panic release at emergency exits. It unlocks and opens the door with a single press and clears the way out in seconds.

Maintain electrical equipment and live parts
Care should also be taken with electrical equipment and live parts. Check plugs and cables regularly. Have defective equipment repaired immediately by a specialist and switch off the power source during maintenance work. Lack of insulation on cables, plugs and sockets can lead to dangerous electric shocks.