Keeping Walking and Working Surfaces Safe

1910.22(a) sets three plain requirements:

• (a)(1) — surfaces, passageways, storerooms, and service rooms kept clean, orderly, and sanitary.
• (a)(2) — floors kept clean and, to the extent feasible, dry. Where wet processes are used, keep drainage working and provide dry standing places like platforms or mats.
• (a)(3) — surfaces kept free of hazards such as sharp or protruding objects, loose boards, corrosion, leaks, spills, snow, and ice.

That last list is basically the whole slips-and-trips problem written into one sentence. If any of those show up on a surface people cross, it needs to be cleaned, repaired, or guarded.

Two more parts of 1910.22 matter for staying on your feet:

• (b) — every surface has to support the maximum intended load. Don't overload a mezzanine, platform, or temporary deck past its rating; a surface that gives way is the worst kind of fall.
• (c) — the employer has to provide and maintain a safe means of access and egress. You should always have a real, clear path in and out — not a climb over stacked material or a shortcut across an unguarded edge.

1910.22(d) is the follow-through that keeps surfaces safe over time:

• (d)(1) — surfaces inspected regularly and as necessary, and maintained in a safe condition.
• (d)(2) — hazardous conditions corrected or repaired before anyone uses the surface again; if that can't happen right away, the hazard has to be guarded to keep people off it.
• (d)(3) — when a repair involves the structural integrity of the surface, a qualified person does or supervises the work.

In plain terms: walk your area, look for the hazards in (a)(3), and don't let people cross a bad surface. Fix it, or barricade it until it's fixed. A spill mopped now is a fall that never happens.