Wet, Oily, and Slippery Surfaces

It's not just spills. Watch for:

• Rain, snowmelt, and tracked-in water near entrances and openings.
• Wet processes — washing, coring, wet-cutting, concrete work, pressure washing.
• Oil, grease, and hydraulic leaks under equipment and vehicles.
• Mud dragged in on boots and tires from the yard.
• Fine dust, sawdust, or dry powder on a smooth floor, which rolls under your foot like ball bearings.
• Freshly mopped or coated floors that look dry but aren't.

Deal with the water before it becomes a fall:

• Keep drainage clear and working where wet processes run (1910.22(a)(2)).
• Provide dry standing places — platforms, false floors, or slip-resistant mats — where a floor stays wet.
• Put down entrance mats to catch tracked-in water, and keep them flat so they don't become a trip hazard themselves.
• Clean up spills the moment you see them, and fix leaks at the source instead of chasing the puddle.
• Use absorbent on oil and grease; water alone spreads it.
• Wear slip-resistant footwear rated for the surface (covered in its own talk).

When a spill happens, the person who sees it owns it until it's handled. Contain it, clean it, or guard it — never just walk past and leave it for the next person to find with their feet.

If you can't clean it right away, mark it and block it off so people route around it. That matches 1910.22(d)(2): if a hazard can't be corrected immediately, it has to be guarded. A wet-floor sign is a guard only if people can actually see it and it keeps them off the slick — set it before the wet area, not in the middle of it.