Healthy,
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HSA Launches Free ‘Slips, Trips and Falls’ Online Course

Friday 14 August

The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has today (Friday 14 August) launched a free short on-line course, aimed at employees and employers across all work sectors on its e-learning portal http://hsalearning.ie. The 30 minute introductory courses will give learners a quick, free guide to avoiding slips, trips and falls in the workplace.

Slips, trips and falls are the second highest single cause of workplace injuries. In 2014, there were more than 1,400 slips, trips and falls reported to the HSA. Approximately one-in-four of those incidents led to the injured person missing over a month from work, resulting in significant costs to the persons and businesses involved.

The course presents an overview of slip, trip and fall hazards in the workplace. At the end of this course learners will be able to:

  • understand slip, trip and fall accidents and how and where they can occur;
  • identify a variety of slip, trip and fall hazards in the workplace, and assess their risks; and
  • recognise suitable controls for eliminating or reducing slips, trips and falls in the workplace.

Senior Inspector with the HSA, Yvonne Mullooly said: “This free introductory course will help employers assess the risks of slips, trips and falls in their workplaces and confirm the controls that can be put in place in a practical and straightforward way. Employees will also benefit from taking the short course by understanding how they can play their own part in working safely to avoid slipping and tripping accidents in their daily work.”

HSA Education Manager, Joanne Harmon said: “This short on-line course will be of interest to those across all sectors of employment. Employers can usefully incorporate it into staff induction or training programmes and it will be particularly relevant for those working in service industries such as hospitality and retail. The group manager facility means that employers, managers or tutors can register groups of learners to take the course in their own time and remotely monitor their progress.”

Ms Harmon added: “Learners can take courses during their own time, at their own pace and can download a certificate of completion on passing the short assessment. Although not a formal qualification, certification can form part of an individual’s training or continuous professional development record.”

To see the full range of HSA on-line courses on offer, browse or register as a learner on http://hsalearning.ie. If you are interested in further information on HSA on-line learning or to register these or other courses for continuing professional development points, contact: joanne_harmon@hsa.ie.

For further advice on preventing slips, trips and falls visit http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Topics/Slips_Trips_Falls/.

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