Preventing Slips, Trips and Falls

Why should falls on the same level be taken seriously?

Everyone thinks of falls from height; yet one of the most frequent incidents in production areas is a person slipping on the floor they walk on or tripping over an obstacle. A fall on the same level looks like "a minor stumble", but for a worker carrying a hot tray, a knife or a crate, the result can be a fracture, a burn or a cut. A person who slips next to a machine may grab at the danger zone with their hand to keep their balance.

The legislation is clear on this. Regulation on Health and Safety Measures to be Taken in Workplace Buildings and Annexes, Annex 1:

Art. 26: Floor surfaces and coverings shall be sound, dry and as level as possible, non-slip and free of differences in level; dangerous slopes, holes and obstacles shall not be present.
Art. 36: Access routes within the workplace, including stairs, corridors, passageways, loading areas and ramps, shall not be uneven, holed or slippery, and shall be maintained.
Art. 22–23: Lighting shall be adequate, standard TS EN 12464-1 shall be taken as the basis, and lighting systems shall be positioned so as not to create a risk of accidents.

Article 5 of the Regulation also requires the employer to keep buildings and annexes cleaned regularly and to keep the workplace in an order that does not create health and safety risks.

Slip and fall prevention: five sources, five solutions

In food production, floors change at every hour of the day because of wash water, oil, flour, syrup and condensation. The table below shows a typical example and the order of measures for each source:

Source	Typical example in a food business	Measure
Floor	Worn epoxy, broken tiles, blocked drains, washing area without a fall	Non-slip coating, a fall that directs water to the drain, drain grates flush with the floor
Cleaning routine	Hosing down mid-shift, foamy detergent residue	Planned washing times, separation of wet and dry zones, drying
Lighting	A dead light fitting in a warehouse corner, shadow at the cold room door	Maintenance of fittings, adequate light at transition points
Footwear	Worn soles, slippers or trainers unsuitable for the job	Work shoes with slip-resistant soles suited to the job, and a replacement interval
Cables and hoses	Extension leads laid on the floor, water hoses coiled on the floor	Overhead supply, hose reels, cable channels

Floors: non-slip flooring is chosen once and maintained continuously

When choosing non-slip flooring, think not only about its condition when new but also about how it will be after cleaning chemicals and wear. Pay attention to the following:

Wet and oily areas need a rougher surface; however, a very rough surface is hard to clean, so decide together with the hygiene team.
In washing areas the floor should have a fall that directs water to the drain. Every point where water pools is a slip point.
Drain grates should be flush with the floor, and broken grates should be replaced immediately.
Mark any differences in level at ramps and door thresholds with colour.

Cleaning routine: contain liquids at source

Cleaning reduces risk, but done at the wrong time it also creates risk. A workable routine:

Define wet and dry zones; choose footwear and flooring in the wet zone accordingly.
Contain spills where they arise: drip trays, worktops with raised edges, closed transfer.
Plan the main wash for shift changes or for times when the section is empty.
Introduce a "clean it as soon as you see it" rule for spilled liquids and place cleaning materials nearby.
Set a separate method for dry residues such as oil and flour; flour dust is as slippery as a wet floor.

Lighting: seeing what is on the floor

A wet area in the shadows goes unnoticed. Make sure lighting works at all times, especially at warehouse entrances, cold room doors, stairs and ramps. Define a reporting route and a repair time for dead fittings.

Footwear: the role of personal protective equipment in slips

The sole of a work shoe must suit the floor and the type of contamination. A worn sole makes even the best floor slippery. Select footwear through trials by workers, set the replacement interval according to the condition of the sole and keep records of issue. Footwear does not replace floor and cleaning measures; it is an additional layer on top of them.

Cables and hoses: the trip hazard

A trip hazard usually arises when temporary solutions become permanent. An extension lead run temporarily can stay on the floor for months. For permanent needs, supply power from the ceiling or wall, use reels for washing hoses, and use cable channels or ramps for cables that must cross a walkway. Pallets, crates and packaging waste spilling over into walkways also fall under this heading.

A wet floor sign is not a control measure on its own

A wet floor sign sits at the administrative level of the hierarchy of controls: it does not remove the hazard, it only gives warning. Used correctly, it is useful:

Put the sign out only while the floor is wet and remove it once it is dry. A sign that is always there soon becomes invisible.
Place the sign at the entrances to the wet area; where possible, temporarily tape off the area.
If the wetness is permanent (for example a washing area), what is needed is a floor, fall and footwear solution, not a sign.

For the colours and meanings of warning signs, see our article on health and safety signs; for the order in which to choose measures, see our article on the hierarchy of controls.

Start-of-shift checklist

A list that a section supervisor in a food business can complete in five minutes at the start of each shift:

No water, oil, flour or product spilled on walkways.
Drain grates in place and flush with the floor.
No cables or hoses lying on the floor; hoses are on reels.
Pallets, crates and packaging waste are not on walkways.
All light fittings in the section and in passageways are working.
Stair treads and handrails are sound, and step edges are clearly visible.
No ice or condensation build-up in front of cold room and freezer doors.
Workers' footwear is suitable for the job and the soles are not worn.
Wet floor signs only in wet areas.

Post the list on the section noticeboard, record the deficiencies found and carry recurring points into the risk assessment. For the specific risks in cold stores, see our article on working in cold storage; for machine-specific risks, see our article on food machinery safety.

Example: investigating a slip incident

On a bakery line, a worker carrying a tray in front of the oven slips and sprains their wrist. The first record says "the floor was slippery". The investigation must find the causes behind this sentence:

Question	Finding
Why was the floor slippery?	A mixture of oil and flour splashing from the dough line was building up in front of the oven.
Why had it not been cleaned?	Cleaning was done only at the end of the shift; there was no one responsible for cleaning during the shift.
Was the footwear suitable?	The worker's shoe soles were worn; no replacement interval had been defined.
Was the lighting adequate?	One of the fittings in front of the oven had not been working for two weeks.
Had there been similar incidents before?	Two near misses had been reported verbally but never recorded.

The measures arising from this investigation are not limited to a single sign: a splash guard on the dough line, a person and materials for cleaning during the shift, a footwear replacement interval, fault reporting for light fittings and near miss recording. Each measure is given an owner and a date, and the risk assessment is updated.

Common mistakes

Recording slips as "carelessness". In every slip incident, the floor, cleaning time, footwear and lighting must be questioned.
Choosing floor coverings on hygiene grounds alone. Hygiene and slip resistance must be assessed together.
Not recording near misses. Every slip that ends without a fall is a warning of the next accident.
Forgetting outdoor areas. Loading ramps, car parks and building entrances ice up in winter; for seasonal measures, see our article on OHS in the winter months.

For food businesses in Bursa and the surrounding provinces, we inspect floors and cleaning routines on site as part of our risk assessment service, and run the shift checklist together with you during our OHS specialist visits. Sector-specific risks are on our food sector page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should falls on the same level be addressed separately in the risk assessment?

Yes. They should be assessed in separate rows for each section, taking into account the floor type, source of wetness, cleaning time and the loads carried. A single "general slip risk" row does not lead to concrete measures.

Is a wet floor warning sign an adequate measure?

Not on its own. A sign serves as a warning only for temporary wetness. Permanently wet areas need floor, fall, drainage, cleaning routine and footwear measures.

Is non-slip floor covering mandatory?

The Regulation on Workplace Buildings and Annexes requires floor surfaces and coverings to be sound, dry, as level as possible and non-slip. You need to choose the type of covering according to the level of wetness and contamination of the work.

Does a slip incident need to be recorded if no one was injured?

Yes. Art. 14/1 of Law No. 6331 on Occupational Health and Safety requires incidents that have the potential to harm workers to be investigated and reported even if they cause no injury. Slips that end without a fall show what needs to change in the floor and the cleaning routine before an accident happens.

Can a worker be allowed to work in their own shoes?

If the risk assessment has defined footwear as PPE, the employer must provide a suitable product free of charge. A worker's own shoes should not be accepted without assessing their suitability for the job.