Fall Prevention in the Workplace: How to Prevent Slips, Trips & Spills

Workplace Fall Hazards: How to Prevent Slips, Trips, and Costly Downtime

Slips, trips, and falls can sideline your people and your operations. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 865 fatalities due to slips, trips, and falls in 2022. Those are lives and livelihoods, and they’re also a reminder that fall prevention in the workplace is about more than compliance. Your team and your customers rely on you to take care of them. At Lawson Products, we believe the safest facilities are built on resilient, everyday habits and reliable supplies. This post lays out a simple, proven framework that helps you engineer out hazards, keep walking paths obvious, and sustain a program that performs in real-world conditions.

Key takeaways from this blog:

●     Engineer out slips, trips, and spills with source control (sorbents/containment), safety mats, and cord/hoseline management.

●     Make safe paths obvious using durable floor marking, clear safety signage, and flagging for temporary hazards.

●     Sustain results with routine inspections, training, and reliable restocking—simplified by Lawson Managed Inventory.

●     Anchor your program to OSHA 1910.22 (Walking-Working Surfaces) and act with urgency.

Prevent: Engineer Out Hazards Before They Become Incidents

The most effective way to reduce fall risk is to stop hazards from forming in the first place. OSHA’s Walking-Working Surfaces standard (1910.22) requires that floors, aisles, and passageways be kept clean, orderly, and in a sanitary condition. That’s both a rule and a roadmap: control liquids, stabilize high-traffic areas, and remove trip points so your people can move with confidence.

1. Control liquids at the source. Fluids are part of the job, but risk spikes when oil, coolant, or water reach walking paths. Stage sorbent pads or loose sorbents where liquids are stored and dispensed, and pair them with spill containment (berms, trays, drain covers) so slicks don’t spread. If you can name the fluid, you should be able to point to the matching absorbent and containment—turning a slip hazard into a quick, routine cleanup.
   
   
2. Stabilize workstations with safety mats. At benches, lines, and counters, mats add traction to prevent slips and reduce fatigue for long shifts. Match surfaces to conditions—aggressive textures for oily floors, scraper-style at entrances, and anti-fatigue mats for stand-up tasks—and rotate/clean them on a schedule. In wet seasons, extend matting at exterior doors to keep water out of aisles.
   
   
3. Tame cords and hoses. Use cable protection systems for any necessary crossovers, route lines along walls or overhead, and create “parking” for mobile equipment to avoid improvised runs. If a temporary line is unavoidable, cover it, mark it, and remove it promptly once the task ends. These small engineering choices eliminate common trip points and keep people moving safely.

Mark: Make Safe Paths Obvious

Preventing hazards is step one; making safe movement visible is step two. Visual management turns a clean, orderly floor into a deliberate navigation system that cues safe behavior at a glance. OSHA 1910.22 emphasizes keeping walking-working surfaces free of hazards—clear marking tape, safety signage, and temporary flagging tape help you uphold that standard in dynamic environments.

1. Define aisles and zones. Use durable floor striping and marking tape to separate pedestrian lanes, forklift routes, and staging areas. Color-code for clarity—one color for travel lanes, another for keep-outs, and high-visibility markings for emergency equipment. In harsh areas, choose high-bond tapes or epoxy striping so lines last. Clear, consistent cues cut down near-misses before they become incidents.
   
   
2. Signal temporary and fixed hazards with signage. Conditions change, so respond fast: place “Slippery floor” signs at the first sign of moisture and keep them up until the surface is dry. Use “Trip hazard” signs where a raised threshold or temporary cord can’t be removed and deploy flagging tape for short-duration tasks. The key is speed and placement—put signs before the hazard, at eye-catching height and angle.
   
   
3. Make entrances work for you. Entrances track in moisture and debris, so pair high-performance mats with clear signage and a short “transition zone” of floor marking that prompts slower, deliberate steps. If you use automatic doors or air curtains, sync timing and airflow to reduce tracked-in moisture. These small adjustments keep contaminants at the threshold—not on your aisles.

Maintain: Keep the Program Alive

A fall-prevention program is only as strong as its daily rhythm. OSHA 1910.22 doesn’t just speak to conditions; it implies maintenance—inspection, repair, and housekeeping that keep walking-working surfaces safe over time. That’s where a sustainable routine and dependable stocking come in.

1. Inspect, restock, and train on a cadence. Assign ownership for quick visual checks at the start and end of each shift: are mats seated and clean, are sorbents topped up, are trip hazard and slippery floor signs easy to grab? Keep a simple log for recurring issues so you can engineer out root causes. Build short, quarterly refreshers into your EHS calendar so new team members learn what “good” looks like and seasoned employees get a quick reset. Training doesn’t need to be long to be effective; it needs to be consistent and actionable.
   
   
2. Lean on inventory support. Nothing stalls a cleanup like an empty spill kit. Lawson Managed Inventory helps you keep essentials—absorbents, spill containment supplies, marking tape, flagging tape, safety signage, and safety mats—at the right levels so you’re ready every day, not just the day after a near-miss. Bin labels and min/max settings remove guesswork, while regular reviews help you adapt to seasonal or production changes.
   
   
3. Plan for the seasons. Fall prevention in the workplace shifts with the weather. In winter, ice and snow introduce new slip hazards at loading docks and entryways; in spring, rain and mud travel farther indoors; in summer, condensation can form on cold surfaces. Adjust matting, refresh exterior safety signage, and pre-stage additional sorbents ahead of these cycles. If your facility expands or changes layout, re-walk the floor and update marking tape and zone definitions so the visual system matches reality.

When a checklist helps, keep it short and practical. For example:

●     Walk all entrances daily: verify mats, check for tracked-in moisture, and place slippery floor signs during wet periods.

●     Scan aisles for cords/hoses; reroute or cover anything crossing a path.

●     Confirm spill-response points are stocked and visible; replace any used absorbents immediately.

●     Review floor markings weekly; touch up or replace worn tape before it fails.

Standards & Resources: Using OSHA 1910.22 as Your North Star

If you want a concise standard to anchor your program, start with OSHA 29 CFR 1910.22 (Walking-Working Surfaces). It requires employers to ensure surfaces are maintained clean, dry where possible, and free of hazards; to provide and maintain safe access and exit routes; and to repair or guard any conditions that could cause a slip, trip, or fall. In practice, that means housekeeping isn’t optional, floor condition matters, and temporary hazards must be controlled or clearly marked. When you align your safety program to OSHA 1910.22, you’re reducing incidents, and you’re building a repeatable system that stands up to audits and, more importantly, looks out for your people. Aligning your safety program with OSHA 1910.22 not only reduces incidents, but also creates a repeatable system that withstands audits and, most importantly, prioritizes the well-being of your employees.

Why Lawson

Our approach is simple: give teams dependable products, keep them stocked, and back it with people who care. Lawson’s portfolio covers the essentials that make fall prevention in the workplace real on the floor—sorbents and absorbents, spill containment solutions, durable marking tape and striping options, highly visible safety signage and flagging tape, and tough safety mats designed for the environments you work in. We test for performance and reliability so you don’t have to. And with Lawson Managed Inventory, you get the right items in the right places, replenished on time, so a safe choice is always the easy choice.

Most importantly, we meet you where you are. If you need a quick consult to set up spill-response points, we can do that. If you want to rethink your floor marking to handle new traffic patterns, we’ll help design a clear, color-coded plan. If your near-miss log shows repeat trip hazards, we’ll help you route, cover, or eliminate them. It’s resilience in action: a partnership that keeps your operations moving and your people heading home safe at the end of every shift.

Ready to build a safer floor? Let’s put a safety program in place that aligns with OSHA 1910.22 and fits your facility. Talk to a Lawson representative about a fall-prevention kit and a managed inventory plan tailored to your entrances, aisles, and workstations. Together, we’ll engineer out hazards, keep paths clear, and sustain a culture of safety you can see underfoot.