Walking and Working Surfaces Staying on Your Feet

Overview

Walking and working surfaces include floors, platforms, stairs, ramps, and any surface where workers walk or perform tasks. Hazards on these surfaces cause thousands of injuries annually, making awareness and maintenance critical for injury prevention.

Why This Is Important

We often take walking surfaces for granted until something goes wrong. Uneven surfaces, holes, loose flooring, wet areas, and debris create serious fall hazards. Workers performing tasks on elevated platforms face even greater risks from inadequate guardrails or unstable surfaces. OSHA’s Walking-Working Surfaces standard (29 CFR 1910.22) establishes requirements for maintaining safe surfaces. Compliance protects workers and reduces liability for employers when incidents occur.

Best Practices / Safety Tips

• Inspect walking and working surfaces before use—took for damage, debris, spills, and uneven areas.
• Report surface defects immediately to prevent others from encountering the same hazard.
• Keep surfaces dry and clean—remove ice, snow, water, oil, and other slippery substances promptly.
• Repair holes, cracks, and uneven surfaces immediately or barricade them until repairs are completed.
• Install warning signs and barriers around temporary surface hazards during repair periods.
• Verify that elevated surfaces have proper guardrails, toe boards, and fall protection systems.
• Avoid running or moving too quickly on any working surface, regardless of condition.

Takeaway

Safe walking and working surfaces are fundamental to injury prevention. By maintaining surfaces properly, reporting defects promptly, and walking carefully at all times, we can eliminate most surface-related injuries and keep everyone on their feet.