19: Walking and Working Surfaces
“An incident is just the tip of the iceberg, a sign of a much larger problem below the surface.” – Don Brown
Overview
Walking and working surfaces are many and vary widely. Yet the walking-working surfaces standard is sparse on specific safety requirements for every type of surface and existing direction is rather generic. This does not mean however that the safety standards are not comprehensive. The standard simply states upfront that: All places of employment, passageways, storerooms, service rooms, and walking-working surfaces are kept in a clean, orderly, and sanitary condition. This simple premise speaks volumes.
Slips, trips, and falls are one of the leading causes of workplace incidents, accidents, and fatalities. Working surfaces should not be the cause of these and every employer must understand what clean, orderly, and sanitary looks like for their specific environments.
The working-walking surfaces standard has within its scope safety requirements on ladders, stairways, scaffolds, and dock boards specifically, but must apply to every surface a worker is expected to perform work.
Chapter Objective:
- Understand the scope of the walking-working surfaces standard.
- Discuss fall prevention methods.
- Discuss fall protection methods.
Learning Outcome:
- Apply housekeeping best practices for maintaining walking-working surfaces.
- Understand and apply best fall prevention and protection methods for the job.
Standards: 1910 Subpart D Walking-Working Surfaces, 1910 Subpart F Powered Platforms, Man lifts, Vehicle Mounted Work Platforms
Key Terms:
Arrest, deceleration, guardrails, mid-rail, step bolt, travel restraint
Mini-Lecture: Walking-Working Surfaces
Required Time: 1 hour; Independent Study and reflection 1 ½ hour.
Thumbnail: Scissorlift, attribution Jahudleston, Pixabay