Lighting, cords, clutter and obstructions

People can only avoid hazards they can see. Many trips and missteps happen not because a hazard was invisible in good conditions, but because the lighting was too dim, the glare too strong, the edge did not contrast with the floor, or the person's view was blocked by a load or distracted by something else. Equally, many trips happen over objects that simply should not have been on the floor: extension cords, hoses, boxes, tools, open drawers, bags and waste. This lesson covers lighting for safe walking, visibility and contrast, and the control of cords, cables, clutter and other obstructions in walkways.

Lighting for safe movement

Good lighting lets people see the walking surface, spot changes in level, judge the edges of steps and notice spills and obstacles in time to avoid them. Lighting levels are measured in lux (lumens per square meter) or foot-candles (lumens per square foot; 1 foot-candle is about 10.76 lux). The amount of light needed depends on the task and the area: a stairway needs more light than a storage room that people rarely enter, and detailed inspection work needs far more than either.

In the US, building and life safety codes require means of egress, including exit stairs and corridors, to be illuminated to at least 1 foot-candle (about 11 lux) at the walking surface whenever the building is occupied, with emergency lighting maintaining an average of at least 1 foot-candle for 90 minutes during a power failure. OSHA has no general industry lighting table, but its construction standard (1926.56) sets minimum levels such as 5 foot-candles for general construction areas, corridors, warehouses and exitways, 10 foot-candles for general shops and 30 foot-candles for offices and first aid stations. Many employers follow the recommended practices published by the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES).

Minimum code levels are just that: minimums, often intended for emergency egress. For everyday safe walking and spotting hazards, recommended levels are usually higher. Stairs, ramps, entrances and areas where floors are often contaminated deserve particular attention.

Glare, shadows and transitions

The quantity of light is not the only factor. Glare from bright windows, unshielded fixtures or reflective floors makes it hard to see the floor and can hide spills, which look like shiny reflections anyway. Shadows cast by people, racks or equipment can hide steps and obstacles. Moving from bright sunlight into a dim building, or from a lit room into a dark corridor, leaves people temporarily unable to see well because the eyes need time to adapt; adaptation to darkness can take several minutes. This is one reason so many trips happen at entrances, in stairwells and at the doors of walk-in coolers.

Controls include window blinds and films, diffusers on fixtures, matte floor finishes that reduce reflection, gradual lighting transitions at entrances, and lighting placed to light stair treads from above and in front rather than behind the person descending. When lights fail, replace them quickly, especially in stairs and exit routes. Include lighting in workplace inspections and check it at night for outdoor areas and shift work.

Contrast and marking

People see edges best when there is a contrast in brightness between adjacent surfaces. A gray step on a gray floor in a gray stairwell is much harder to see than one with a light strip on the nosing. Marking helps make hazards visible:

• Contrasting nosing strips on each stair tread, and at least on the top and bottom steps.
• Contrasting edges on single steps, ramps, platform edges and loading dock edges.
• Yellow or yellow-and-black marking on curbs, wheel stops, low obstructions and the edges of pits.
• Floor marking tape or paint to define aisles, walkways and storage areas, which helps keep walkways clear.
• Tactile walking surface indicators at the top of stairs and at curb ramps where accessibility standards require them.

Marking does not remove a hazard and fades with traffic, so it must be maintained. Busy floor patterns, such as patterned carpet on stairs, can also camouflage edges and should be avoided where people need to see steps.

Cords, cables and hoses

Extension cords, power cables, computer cables, air hoses and water hoses across walkways are among the most common trip hazards. They are often temporary when first placed and become permanent through habit. Each one is also a potential electrical, fire or equipment hazard if damaged by feet, carts or doors.

• Eliminate the need: add outlets, data ports and air drops where they are needed, use wireless connections, and position equipment near power sources.
• Route around: run cords along walls, behind furniture, overhead with cable hooks or trays, or through floor boxes and cable channels.
• Cover: where a cord must cross a walkway temporarily, use a cable protector or ramp with sloped edges and a contrasting color, rated for the traffic, including carts and forklifts if applicable.
• Do not tape cords to floors as a long-term solution; tape lifts, collects dirt and leaves edges that catch toes.
• Never run cords under carpets or mats, where they can overheat and wear unseen, and do not run cords through doorways where doors can pinch them.
• Retract hoses and coil cords when not in use.

Clutter and obstructions

Clutter on floors is one of the clearest signs of poor housekeeping and one of the easiest trip hazards to prevent. Typical culprits include boxes and stock awaiting put-away, pallets, packaging, tools and parts, bags and backpacks under desks, waste awaiting removal, and equipment left after use. Open drawers and cabinet doors, low furniture, chairs pushed into aisles, and items protruding from shelves or racks also cause trips and collisions.

Most clutter results from a shortage of storage space, a lack of defined places for things, or work processes that leave material in transit. Solutions include:

• Defined storage: a place for everything, with shelving, bins and racks sized for the items.
• Marked walkways and aisles kept clear at all times, with marked staging areas for deliveries and work in progress.
• Enough waste and recycling containers, emptied often enough that they do not overflow.
• Clean-as-you-go rules, so tools and materials are put away when a task is finished.
• Desk and office layouts that keep cables and bags out of walkways, and closed drawers when not in use.
• Regular inspections that check walkways specifically.

Exit routes must always be kept clear. Building and fire codes and OHS regulations require exits, exit routes and access to emergency equipment to be unobstructed, and blocked exits are both a trip hazard in normal use and a life safety hazard in an emergency.

Carrying, pushing and visibility

Even in a well-lit, uncluttered space, people cannot see hazards when a load blocks their view. Carrying boxes, laundry, trays or equipment in front of the body hides the floor and any steps or cords. Providing carts, trolleys and lift equipment, limiting the size of loads, and using elevators instead of stairs for bulky items all help. Carts should be pushed rather than pulled where possible, and their loads should not be stacked so high that the person pushing cannot see over them. Mirrors at blind corners help people see oncoming traffic, and doors with vision panels reduce collisions.

Lighting surveys

A light meter survey gives objective information about lighting levels. Inexpensive handheld meters, and even some phone apps for rough screening, measure illuminance in lux or foot-candles. To survey a walkway or stair, take readings at floor or tread level at regular intervals, including the darkest spots between fixtures, and record them on a floor plan. Compare the results with the code minimums and recommended levels for that area, and note uniformity: a corridor that averages a good level but has dark patches between fixtures can still hide hazards. Repeat the survey at night for outdoor areas and areas with windows, and after changes such as new racking, partitions or lighting retrofits. Lighting retrofits to LED fixtures are a good opportunity to improve levels and uniformity on stairs and walkways, but check for glare from bright, small sources.

Doors, furniture and protruding objects

Not all obstructions sit on the floor. Doors that swing into corridors, cabinet doors and drawers left open, low shelves, wall-mounted objects that stick out into walkways, and the overhanging forks or loads of parked equipment can all cause collisions and trips, especially for people with low vision. Accessibility standards limit how far objects may protrude into circulation routes at certain heights, and these are good benchmarks for all walkways. Keep drawers and doors closed when not in use, position furniture so that chair backs and legs do not intrude into aisles, and park mobile equipment in designated areas away from walkways with forks lowered to the floor.

Temporary work and events

Construction, renovations, deliveries, moves, inventory counts and special events often bring temporary cords, hoses, materials and barriers into normally clear areas. Planning for these activities should include walking routes, temporary lighting, cable management and clean-up at the end of each day. A simple pre-task check by the person in charge can catch most problems before people start tripping over them.

Emergency lighting and power failures

When the power fails, people must still be able to leave the building safely. Emergency lighting units and exit signs light stairs and exit routes for a set time, usually at least 30 minutes to two hours depending on the code. They need regular testing, typically a short monthly functional test and a longer annual duration test, with results recorded. Failed units should be repaired quickly, because a power failure is exactly when people are most likely to fall on stairs in the dark.