Slips, trips and the mess we walk past
A toolbox talk on wet floors, trailing cables and the housekeeping that stops slips and trips.
This is a DRAFT for a competent person to review before anyone uses it in a talk. It is not legal advice and it does not make a workplace compliant.
What happened
Wet leaves, rain on smooth floors, a trailing lead, a pallet left in a walkway. None of these looks serious when you step over it. This talk is for weeks when nobody has reported a near miss, and the hazard is still the ordinary mess of the site.
Why it matters
Slips and trips are still one of the most common ways people get hurt at work in Britain. A twisted ankle takes someone off the job. A fall onto a hard floor can be much worse. Walking past it teaches everyone else that it can wait.
What we do differently
If you made the spill, you own it until it is dry or signed. Cables go overhead or along the wall, not across a doorway. Deliveries are put away, not left in the route to the fire exit. If you cannot fix it in the moment, report it before the end of the shift.
Discussion
- What is the slippiest place on this site when it rains?
- What do we do in the ten minutes after a delivery arrives?
- If you saw a lead across a doorway, would you move it or step over it?
SafeMonday helps a workplace keep a record of near-miss reports, toolbox talks and who attended. That record can support evidence of instruction and consultation. It does not, by itself, make a workplace compliant with the health and safety law that applies where you operate.