Plenty of people make use of stairs every day while at work. However, it’s important to remember that these stairs can be dangerous. That’s why you’ll want to practice good stairway safety. Doing so will help you avoid some nasty falls…
Stairway Safety: Avoiding Falls
Use the handrails
Handrails are probably the most useful and important part of stairway safety. Most of the falls which occur on stairs are due to a lack of balance. If you don’t use the handrails, then you don’t have anything to lean on if you lose your balance. That means you’ll end up falling directly onto the stairs.
Therefore, you should be sure to use the handrails when on the stairs. After all, it’s always better to remove any risk of falling if possible. That also means you should watch how much you carry when using stairs. At least one hand should be free to use the handrail.
Watch for obstacles
Obstacles are another danger to stairway safety. These are things which could cause you to trip over them and lose your balance on the stairs. For example, it could be some kind of equipment someone left by the stairs. It could also be a cable running up the stairs that someone didn’t secure properly.
Make sure you pay attention to anything which could trip you up. Try to watch as you go up or down the stairs for anything that could be dangerous, and remove it if possible. When you’re carrying things, it helps to not carry too much that it makes it hard to see what is ahead of you.
Avoid spills
Slippery stairs are another danger to stairway safety. Slipping on stairs can cause you to fall in one of two ways. You could fall forwards down the stairs, which could result in injuries like bruises or broken bones. Or, you could fall backwards, which puts you at risk of hitting your head, neck, and back on the stairs.
Much like with obstacles, any spills on stairs should be taken care of as quickly as possible. If you lack the equipment to do so, then make sure there is some kind of warning posted. This could be a sign at the top and base of the stairs, or a wet floor sign placed near the spill itself.