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Slips and trips in the printing industry

What you need to know

Slips and trips are the second highest accident type in printing. Most accidents occur in production areas[34] followed by outdoor areas, car parks and stairways.
Common causes of accidents include

  • Poor housekeeping;
  • Poor maintenance; and
  • Inclement weather.

What you need to do

Reduce tripping hazards such as pallets, uneven ground and strapping;

  • Keep walkways well marked and clear of pallets and other obstructions
  • Identify specific places for pallet unloading/loading
  • Provide suitable bins for disposal of strapping, wrapping, paper
  • Designate storage areas for equipment such as trolleys and lift trucks
  • Avoid trailing cables, provide cable covers for temporary arrangements
  • Repair potholes in floor surfaces

You can reduce slipping hazards such as water and wetness, oil and ice by

  • Prevent oil leaks by maintaining equipment 
  • Clean up spillages of all liquids immediately, dry the area and provide signage

Find out more

The HSE free leaflet Preventing Slips and Trips at Work [35] provides further information which employers should consider when making an assessment of slipping and tripping risks

You can find more detailed guidance about preventing slips and trips on our slips and trips website[36].

Link URLs in this page

  1. Printinghttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/index.htm
  2. Managing printing safelyhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/basics.htm
  3. HSE and the printing industryhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/hse.htm
  4. Frequently asked questionshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/faqs.htm
  5. Overview - Health topicshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/health-topics.htm
  6. Overview - Chemicals in printinghttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/coshhessentials/index.htm
  7. Digital (Ink Jet) Printershttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/coshhessentials/digital.htm
  8. Flexographic printershttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/coshhessentials/flexographic.htm
  9. Gravure printers https://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/coshhessentials/gravure.htm
  10. Laminating https://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/coshhessentials/laminating.htm
  11. Lithographic printershttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/coshhessentials/lithographic.htm
  12. Screen printershttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/coshhessentials/screen.htm
  13. Overview - Dermatitishttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/dermatitis/index.htm
  14. Postershttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/dermatitis/posters.htm
  15. Noisehttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/noise.htm
  16. Overview - Manual handlinghttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/manual/index.htm
  17. Manual handling operations regulations https://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/manual/regulations.htm
  18. Safety topicshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/safety-topics.htm
  19. Overview - Safety topicshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/safety-topics.htm
  20. Fire and explosionhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/fire-explosion.htm
  21. Overview - Machinery safetyhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/machine/index.htm
  22. Risk assessment guidelineshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/machine/risk-assessment-guidelines.htm
  23. Safeguarding printing presseshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/machine/safeguarding-printing-presses.htm
  24. Control definitions for limited powered movementhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/machine/control-definitions.htm
  25. Defined safe systems of work for press cleaninghttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/machine/defined-safe-systems.htm
  26. Safe systems of work for cleaning printing presseshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/machine/safe-systems-cleaning-presses.htm
  27. Testing control performancehttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/machine/testing-control-performance.htm
  28. Overview - Slips and trips in the printing industryhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/slips/index.htm
  29. Slips and trips in production areashttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/slips/production.htm
  30. Overview - Resourceshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/resources.htm
  31. Linkshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/links.htm
  32. Publicationshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/information.htm
  33. Statisticshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/statistics.htm
  34. production areashttps://www.hse.gov.uk/printing/slips/production.htm
  35. Preventing Slips and Trips at Work https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg225.htm
  36. our slips and trips websitehttps://www.hse.gov.uk/slips/index.htm
  37. Safety at power-operated paper cutting guillotines https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/power-guillotines.htm
  38. Handling newspaper and magazine bundleshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg470.htm

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Updated: 2021-11-09