Slip, Trip, and Fall Prevention at Work: What OSHA Requires in 2026

Slips, trips, and falls account for more non-fatal workplace injuries than almost any other hazard category. The Bureau of Labor Statistics consistently ranks them second among all causes of non-fatal occupational injuries, behind only overexertion. In manufacturing, warehousing, food service, and retail, they top the list. And the vast majority are preventable.

The problem isn’t usually a lack of awareness. Most safety managers know the basics. The problem is that the most common response, putting up a wet floor sign, addresses the symptom instead of the cause.

Three Different Problems, Three Different Solutions

The terms slip, trip, and fall get used interchangeably, but they’re distinct events with different root causes and different controls.

A slip is a loss of traction between the foot and the floor. Wet floors are the classic cause, but contaminated footwear, oily surfaces, polished floors that weren’t specified for foot traffic, and inadequate drainage all create slip conditions. The floor itself is usually the problem.

A trip happens when the foot strikes or catches on something: a cable running across an aisle, a damaged threshold, a pallet edge, uneven flooring, or even an object someone left in a walkway. The issue is the walking path, not the surface texture.

A fall from elevation is different still. It can follow a slip or trip, but it can also happen when there’s no protective system at an elevated edge, stairway, or floor opening. This is where OSHA’s fall protection requirements come in most directly.

Each category requires its own controls. Fixing drainage won’t stop a worker from tripping over a cable. Clearing aisles won’t prevent a fall from an unguarded mezzanine edge.

What OSHA 1910.22 Actually Requires

OSHA’s general industry standard for walking working surfaces (29 CFR 1910.22) sets the baseline. The requirements are straightforward, but enforcement citations show they’re still widely missed.

The standard requires that all walking working surfaces be kept clean, orderly, and sanitary. Wet surfaces must have drainage. Aisles and passageways must remain clear and in good repair. Every floor opening must be guarded.

Floor openings are a common citation point. A floor opening is any gap large enough to let a person fall through, including open pits, floor drains without covers, and holes left by removed equipment. Covers must be strong enough to support the load that may be placed on them, and they must be marked to indicate they’re floor opening covers, not just scraps of plywood.

For lighting, OSHA references ANSI/IES standards as guidance. A minimum of 5 foot-candles applies to general work areas. Stairways require at least 10 foot-candles. Low lighting is a contributing factor in both trips and falls, especially in areas where workers are moving quickly or carrying loads.

Engineering Controls Come First

The hierarchy of controls isn’t optional. Before you reach for a sign, ask what you can change about the surface, the space, or the drainage.

Anti-slip flooring materials are the highest-order control for slip prevention. Abrasive-coated safety surfaces, interlocking floor tiles with raised profiles, and slip-resistant epoxy coatings all reduce traction loss at the source. The right choice depends on the contaminant. Water calls for a different surface specification than oil or chemical spills.

Drainage channels and floor slopes matter more than most employers realize. A floor that slopes to a drain dries faster than a flat floor being mopped. In food processing, commercial kitchens, and wash-down areas, drainage design is the first line of defense against slip conditions.

Threshold transitions and floor level changes need attention too. Even a half-inch rise between surfaces is enough to cause a trip, especially for workers carrying loads or moving at pace. Beveled transitions and floor markings at level changes reduce incident rates.

Cable management is the most commonly overlooked trip hazard in light manufacturing and office environments. Cables running across travel paths should be routed overhead, through floor channels, or along walls. Tape is not a cable management solution.

Administrative Controls That Work

Once engineering controls are in place, administrative controls reinforce them. These include inspection schedules, spill response procedures, and footwear policies.

Inspection schedules should be tied to shift changes and task-specific events, not just weekly walkthroughs. A mop-up spill after a production run creates conditions that a Monday inspection won’t catch. Assign responsibility by zone, document the inspection, and close out deficiencies with a deadline.

Spill response procedures need to specify who responds, what they use, and how they mark the area during cleanup. A worker who discovers a spill and doesn’t know whether to clean it up, report it, or both creates a gap in your system.

Footwear policy is where many employers underestimate their obligations. OSHA 1910.136 requires protective footwear wherever there is a danger of foot injury from slip hazards that can’t be controlled at the source. If your floor remains slippery despite drainage and surface treatment, that’s a hazard assessment finding that triggers a footwear requirement. Employer-provided footwear or a documented PPE program with an allowance are both compliant approaches. Telling workers to “wear good shoes” is not.

The Wet Floor Sign Problem

A wet floor sign tells workers the hazard is there. It doesn’t remove the hazard. OSHA inspectors know the difference between a hazard warning and a hazard control.

If your floor is wet because a condensation line drips on the walkway, the control is fixing the condensation source, not putting up a cone. If your entrance gets slippery every winter because snow and ice track in on footwear, the control is mat management at the entry, a drainage-capable floor surface, and a clear exterior walkway, not a sign that stays up from November to March.

Signs have a place. They alert workers during an active spill cleanup when drainage hasn’t yet cleared the area. But relying on signs as a permanent control for a recurring condition is a compliance failure and a predictable injury waiting to happen.

Seasonal Factors

Winter introduces slip hazards that many facilities underestimate. Snow and ice tracked in from parking lots and loading docks creates a different contamination pattern than production-related spills.

Building entries need mat systems that capture moisture before it reaches the main floor. A single mat is rarely enough. A three-mat system, one outside to scrape, one at the door to absorb, and one inside to dry, significantly reduces the amount of moisture entering the building. Mats must be inspected daily and replaced when saturated. A wet mat that doesn’t drain is now a slip hazard itself.

Outdoor walkways to and from parking and dock areas need a winter maintenance plan. That means ice melt application before accumulation, not after a slip event. It means designated clear paths, not just “we shovel when it gets bad.” It means documenting conditions and maintenance activities as part of your OSHA 300 log incident prevention record.

Footwear transitions matter too. Workers wearing boots in the parking lot who change to lighter footwear inside need a transition area that doesn’t create a track-in zone. Footwear lockers near the entry, combined with mat systems, break the contamination chain.

Common Citation Patterns

OSHA citations under 1910.22 and 1910.23 follow predictable patterns. If you’re preparing for an inspection, or trying to build a sustainable program, these are the areas to check first.

Cluttered aisles and passageways are cited constantly. The standard requires aisles and passageways used by employees to be kept clear. That means stored materials, equipment cords, and temporary pallets don’t belong in travel paths, even temporarily.

Uncovered floor openings are cited under 1910.23. Every pit, hole, or open drain in a walking area needs a cover strong enough to support the anticipated load, marked to indicate what it is.

Missing or damaged handrails on stairs come up regularly under 1910.23 and 1910.25. Handrails must be between 30 and 38 inches in height, continuous along the full length of the stair, and free of conditions that would cause laceration. A handrail that’s been hit by a forklift and is now bent is a citation.

Inadequate lighting is cited as a contributing violation. Inspectors will measure foot-candle levels if they observe conditions that suggest lighting is insufficient.

The Bottom Line

Fix drainage before you add signage. That’s the clearest way to restate the hierarchy of controls for this hazard category. Signs are cheap. They’re also the weakest control on the list. Drainage channels, anti-slip surfaces, cable management, and mat systems at entries cost more upfront and prevent far more incidents over time.

For more on OSHA’s specific fall protection requirements, see the walking working surfaces OSHA guide. If you’re tracking incidents that result from slip, trip, and fall events, the OSHA 300 log recordkeeping guide covers recording requirements.

Sources: OSHA Walking Working Surfaces 29 CFR 1910.22 | BLS Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities