Walking and Working Surfaces Training

Slips, trips, and falls account for the majority of on-the-job accidents, causing nearly 20% of disabling occupational injuries and thousands of fatalities each year — yet most of them are preventable. This course examines the walking and working surfaces employees depend on every day, from floors and aisles to platforms, stairways, ladders, and scaffolds, and explains the OSHA principles and practices that keep those surfaces safe. Employees will learn how everyday hazards develop, how guarding and good housekeeping eliminate them, and what specific requirements apply to railings, toe boards, stairs, fixed and portable ladders, and elevated work platforms.

Course Highlights

• Slip and trip hazards: How water, grease, oil, sawdust, metal shavings, dirt, and simple litter create slipping hazards, and how pallets, extension cords, and scattered materials cause trips.
• Good housekeeping: Why an orderly workplace with clean walking and working surfaces is the single most effective way to prevent these accidents.
• Guarding: Using covers and railings to protect against ditches, open pits, tanks, vats, and other equipment hazards.
• Floor load ratings: Why a floor’s load bearing capacity can’t be judged by sight, and why load limits must be clearly marked and conspicuously posted where floor-stressing activities occur.
• Aisles and passageways: How clear marking keeps foot traffic separated from working equipment and material handling, and identifies areas that must stay free of clutter.
• Floor and wall openings: Standard railing requirements — a 42-inch top rail, a midrail at half that height, and supporting uprights — plus toe boards at least 3½ inches tall to keep tools and materials from falling on workers below. Wall openings with a drop of more than four feet require barriers.
• Platforms and catwalks: Standard railings and toe boards are required at four feet or more above the ground, and full guarding is required at any height when platforms are above or next to dangerous equipment.
• Stairway safety: Why 90% of stairway falls result from unsafe behavior, along with requirements for uniform riser height and tread depth, handrails or stairway rails on stairways with four or more steps, rail height of 30 to 34 inches, three inches of hand clearance, and the load capacity standards for heavy-duty permanent stairs.
• Fixed ladders: How OSHA’s 2017 change requires new fixed ladders over 24 feet to include a personal fall arrest system or ladder safety system, and what extra caution is needed on older ladders protected only by cages or wells.
• Portable ladder inspection and setup: Checking for defects, broken or missing rungs, and worn feet; removing grease and oil; tagging out defective ladders; leveling the base; using fiberglass or wood near electricity; barricading ladders in traffic areas; applying the 4-to-1 ratio; and extending the ladder three feet above a roof edge.
• Scaffold safety: The difference between supported and suspended scaffolds, railing and toe board requirements above 10 feet, mesh protection when people work below, and personal fall protection using a full-body harness, lanyard, lifeline, or deceleration device anchored to a point capable of supporting 5,000 pounds.
• When to stay off a scaffold: Stormy or windy weather, ice or snow on the planking, and any time the scaffold is being moved, altered, loaded, or unloaded — plus why climbing frames and braces is never an acceptable shortcut.

By the end of the course, you will have learned

• How to recognize the substances, objects, and conditions that lead to slips, trips, and falls on walking and working surfaces.
• How good housekeeping and guarding work together to eliminate hazards before they cause an injury.
• Why floor load ratings matter and how to find the posted limits before placing equipment or heavy materials.
• The standard railing and toe board specifications that protect floor openings, wall openings, platforms, and catwalks.
• How to use stairways safely and what construction and railing requirements stairs must meet.
• What fall protection is required on fixed ladders and how older cage-protected ladders should be approached.
• How to inspect, set up, position, and safely use a portable ladder, including near electricity, doorways, and traffic.
• How guarding and personal fall protection equipment protect workers on supported and suspended scaffolds.
• The conditions under which you should stay off a scaffold platform entirely.
• Why avoiding slips, trips, and falls begins with never taking walking and working surfaces for granted.