When ‘signage alone is not an adequate control’
What happened?
Water had been intermittently leaking from a sandwich chiller over a forty-four hour period at a major supermarket store.
Engineers had been called to the store the day before the accident happened and were thought to have successfully repaired the chiller. Water, however, continued to seep out.
Staff had placed a wet floor sign next to the leak, but had failed to report it as a maintenance issue. They had mopped up the water, but they had not taken any action to stop or contain the leak, nor to prevent customers walking into the area.
A man slipped and fell on the water and hit his head on the floor. He was taken to hospital but later died from a subdural haematoma.
Legal Outcome
The supermarket chain pleaded guilty to a charge under s3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act and was fined and ordered to pay costs of £50,000.
After the hearing, a representative from the Council which brought the prosecution, said the case “should serve as a warning to the retail industry, and particularly supermarkets, that signage alone is not an adequate control. Protective measures must be taken to either prevent floors becoming slippery or precluding public access.”
What can we learn from what happened?
While the advice from the prosecuting council about signage alone not being an adequate control applies to supermarkets, it can apply to pretty much every walk of life. Signs are an easy option, but they transfer the onus on to the member of public, or member of staff. For a sign to be effective, it needs to be seen, read, understood and complied with – those are four big hurdles to jump over so no wonder they rarely work on their own. Signs don’t deal with the source of the problem, and they can only make a contribution, sometimes very small, to the control of risk.
And also, another reminder that a simple slip, or trip, that leads to a fall and then impact between someone’s head and a hard surface can be fatal. Unlikely, but always possible.
Source of Information
IOSH Magazine