12 Aug Housekeeping / Slip, Trip, and Fall Hazards – JSA

Housekeeping / Slip, Trip, and Fall Hazards Job Safety Analysis (JSA)

Job / Task

Routine housekeeping and work-area maintenance to prevent slips, trips, and falls in construction areas, shops, offices, storage areas, walkways, stairs, platforms, access routes, and other walking-working surfaces.

Purpose

This Job Safety Analysis (JSA), also known as a Job Hazard Analysis (JHA), identifies hazards associated with housekeeping and walking-working surfaces and establishes safe work practices and controls to prevent slips, trips, falls, cuts, punctures, struck-by incidents, blocked access, and other injuries.

Personnel Qualifications

Employees shall be trained to recognize housekeeping, walking-working surface, and slip, trip, and fall hazards applicable to their work areas.

Employees shall:

• Maintain work areas in a clean, orderly, and sanitary condition.
• Inspect walking and working surfaces before and during work.
• Correct housekeeping hazards when safe and authorized to do so.
• Immediately report hazards that cannot be corrected.
• Keep aisles, exits, stairs, ladders, access routes, and emergency equipment unobstructed.
• Use required barricades, warning signs, guardrails, covers, and fall protection.
• Follow spill-response procedures and Safety Data Sheet (SDS) requirements when hazardous substances are involved.
• Stop work when an uncontrolled slip, trip, or fall hazard exists.

Required PPE

PPE shall be selected based on the task, materials, and work environment and may include:

• Safety footwear with appropriate toe protection and slip-resistant soles.
• Safety glasses with side protection.
• Work gloves appropriate for the materials or waste being handled.
• Hard hat where overhead or falling-object hazards exist.
• High-visibility apparel where vehicles, mobile equipment, or traffic are present.
• Chemical-resistant gloves, eye/face protection, or other PPE when cleaning spills involving hazardous substances.
• Fall protection where required by the applicable work condition.
• Additional PPE required by the task or site.

PPE does not replace proper housekeeping, safe access, guarding, barricades, or correction of hazardous walking-working surfaces.

JSA – Job Steps, Hazards, and Controls

Step 1 – Inspect the Work Area

Potential Hazards

• Wet, oily, muddy, icy, or slippery surfaces.
• Uneven surfaces, holes, depressions, or damaged flooring.
• Loose debris or materials.
• Poor lighting.
• Obstructed walkways or access routes.
• Unprotected edges or openings.

Required Controls

• Inspect the work area and travel paths before work begins and periodically during the shift.
• Identify conditions that could cause a slip, trip, or fall.
• Correct hazards immediately when practical.
• Barricade, guard, cover, or clearly mark hazards that cannot be immediately corrected.
• Notify supervision of damaged surfaces or other conditions requiring repair.

Step 2 – Establish and Maintain Safe Access

Potential Hazards

• Blocked aisles, stairs, exits, or doorways.
• Cords, hoses, leads, or materials crossing walkways.
• Congested work areas.
• Trips while entering or leaving work areas.

Required Controls

• Keep aisles, passageways, stairs, exits, and access routes clear.
• Route cords, hoses, and leads away from walkways whenever practical.
• Where crossings cannot be avoided, secure or protect cords and hoses with suitable covers or other effective controls.
• Use designated walkways and access points.
• Maintain adequate clearance around emergency equipment and electrical panels.

Step 3 – Organize Tools and Materials

Potential Hazards

• Tools or materials creating trip hazards.
• Falling or shifting materials.
• Unstable stacks.
• Sharp or protruding objects.
• Blocked access.

Required Controls

• Store tools and materials in designated locations when not in use.
• Stack, block, interlock, or secure materials to prevent sliding, collapse, or displacement.
• Keep materials out of aisles, stairs, doorways, and access routes.
• Remove or protect protruding nails, wire, banding, and sharp edges.
• Do not place materials where they could fall onto employees below.

Step 4 – Maintain Housekeeping During Work

Potential Hazards

• Accumulated scrap and debris.
• Loose packaging or waste.
• Dust, mud, or granular material on walking surfaces.
• Fire hazards.
• Cuts or punctures.

Required Controls

• Use clean-as-you-go practices throughout the shift.
• Place scrap, packaging, and waste in designated containers.
• Remove debris at regular intervals so it does not accumulate.
• Keep platforms, stairs, ladders, workstations, and equipment access points clear.
• Separate combustible, hazardous, sharp, or regulated waste as required.

Step 5 – Clean Spills and Wet Surfaces

Potential Hazards

• Slips and falls.
• Chemical exposure.
• Skin or eye contact.
• Tracking contamination into other areas.
• Unknown substances.

Required Controls

• Clean spills promptly when trained and equipped to do so.
• Identify the spilled material and follow applicable SDS and spill-response requirements.
• Use appropriate absorbents, spill kits, or cleaning methods.
• Barricade the area or post warning signs until the surface is clean and dry.
• Do not clean unknown or hazardous spills unless trained, authorized, and properly protected.

Step 6 – Use Stairs, Ramps, and Walkways

Potential Hazards

• Slips or trips on steps and ramps.
• Falls caused by damaged handrails or surfaces.
• Carrying loads that obstruct vision.
• Running or unsafe shortcuts.

Required Controls

• Keep stairs, ramps, landings, and walkways clean and unobstructed.
• Use handrails where provided.
• Maintain a clear view of the travel path.
• Do not carry loads that prevent safe movement or use of handrails when assistance or another method is available.
• Walk; do not run in work areas.
• Report damaged steps, handrails, grating, mats, or walking surfaces.

Step 7 – Control Floor Holes, Openings, and Elevation Changes

Potential Hazards

• Falls through holes or openings.
• Trips at elevation changes.
• Displaced covers.
• Unprotected edges.

Required Controls

• Guard or cover holes and openings as required.
• Ensure covers are capable of supporting applicable loads and are secured against accidental displacement.
• Mark covers when required.
• Maintain required guardrails or fall protection at exposed edges.
• Do not remove covers, guardrails, or barricades unless authorized and alternate protection is provided.

Step 8 – Maintain Outdoor Walking and Working Surfaces

Potential Hazards

• Ice, snow, mud, rain, or standing water.
• Loose gravel or soil.
• Uneven terrain.
• Reduced visibility.
• Weather-related slips and falls.

Required Controls

• Inspect outdoor travel routes and work areas for changing conditions.
• Remove or control snow, ice, mud, water, and loose materials when practical.
• Use traction measures, alternate routes, barricades, or other controls as necessary.
• Provide adequate lighting.
• Use additional caution on slopes, uneven terrain, and during adverse weather.

Step 9 – Dispose of Waste and Debris

Potential Hazards

• Cuts and punctures.
• Overfilled containers.
• Falling or shifting waste.
• Manual handling injuries.
• Combustible waste accumulation.

Required Controls

• Use designated waste containers appropriate for the material.
• Do not overfill containers.
• Do not compress waste by hand.
• Handle sharp objects with appropriate tools or gloves and place them in suitable containers.
• Remove waste frequently enough to prevent accumulation.
• Follow applicable requirements for hazardous, combustible, or regulated waste.

Step 10 – Complete End-of-Shift Housekeeping

Potential Hazards

• Hazards left for the next shift.
• Unsecured tools or materials.
• Blocked access.
• Residual spills or debris.
• Poor communication of unresolved hazards.

Required Controls

• Clean the work area before leaving.
• Store tools and materials securely.
• Remove waste and debris.
• Restore clear aisles, stairs, exits, and access routes.
• Ensure spills and slippery conditions are corrected or effectively barricaded.
• Communicate unresolved hazards to supervision or the incoming shift.

General Safe Work Requirements

• Walking-working surfaces shall be maintained in a clean, orderly, and sanitary condition.
• Floors shall be kept clean and, to the extent feasible, dry.
• Aisles, passageways, stairs, and access routes shall be kept clear and in good repair.
• Materials and waste shall not block exits, emergency equipment, fire protection equipment, or electrical equipment.
• Scrap lumber with protruding nails and other hazardous debris shall be removed or controlled.
• Guardrails, floor-hole covers, barricades, and other protective systems shall not be removed without authorization and appropriate alternate protection.
• Housekeeping shall be maintained throughout the work activity and not postponed until the end of the shift.
• Employees shall stop work when a walking-working surface or housekeeping hazard cannot be adequately controlled.

Training

Employees shall receive instruction appropriate to the housekeeping and walking-working surface hazards they may encounter. Training shall include hazard recognition, safe access and travel, material and waste storage, spill response, use of barricades and warning signs, fall-protection requirements when applicable, and procedures for reporting and correcting unsafe conditions.

References

• OSHA 29 CFR 1910.22 – General Requirements, Walking-Working Surfaces.
• OSHA 29 CFR 1910.28 – Duty to Have Fall Protection and Falling Object Protection.
• OSHA 29 CFR 1926.25 – Housekeeping.
• OSHA 29 CFR 1926 Subpart M – Fall Protection.