What Can Cause Falling Incidents at Work?

Falls at the workplace make up some of the most dangerous and common injury incidents that occur on the job. They can occur from any height in almost any situation, and they can impact any worker from a librarian to a metalsmith.

What are the most common causes of fall incidents, though? In order to help cut down on them and prevent them from occurring, it is important to understand where they stem from.

What Causes Falls Most Often?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention takes a look at falls in the workplace. They discuss some of the most common causes of falls at just about any job location. First, fall incidents in the environment often involve:

• Ladders positioned in an unsafe way

• Cluttered, unstable or slippery surfaces that people walk on

• Misused fall protection

• Holes in the floor

• Wall openings

• Unprotected edges

Threats According to Industry

Needless to say, the majority of threats come from the actual surfaces that someone walks or works on. For example, a common tripping hazard in offices and schools involves the use of wires for electronics that simply get left out in the open, uncovered and exposed.

At construction jobs, however, workers are more likely to suffer from fall incidents that involve greater heights due to the fact that they often work on scaffolding. Jobs that involve ladders like painters, maintenance workers and roofers can also suffer from a higher rate of falls from heights.

Any fall can lead to potential injury, though. Thus, it is important to recognize sources of danger and do whatever possible to mitigate the risks involved.