is this a genuine question or a joke? You cannot trip over nothing.

We haeva set of stairs and people seem to fall/trip in therm all of the time. Idetical sairs in another part of the building do not seem to cause any sort of problems

I'm with #2

Has 'BJC' re-appeared under a different screen name....

Thanks for your comments.
Just to clarify, this is not a joke. We are currently having 2-3 accidents a week. So whilst the injuries are minor; grazes, cuts etc and a few red faces. They are still accidents and going by the quantity we are having I'm thinking something isnt quite right.

I will continue to monitor, in the hope that it is just a matter of getting used to the building.

Thanks again.

This is why I am asking for help. I am completely stumped for reasons why the accidents are occurring.

The people falling over are all office workers, who have fallen in their normal workspace. They are ablebodied. They were all wearing normal shoes.

The carpets where they are falling, are not frayed or damaged in any way. The floor is level, the lighting is normal / sufficient.

Does someone has a suggestion of another angle for me to look into?

Sounds almost like ‘Royal Free Disease’. Back in the let 1950’s there was a mysterious epidemic at the named hospital and after loads of studies the doctors concluded it was down to what they called ‘group hysteria’- people convinced themselves that there was a disease rampant in the hospital and they went down with it. Could it be that staff have convinced themselves that the new carpets are a problem and so …

I do think there is a serious side to this, some everyday environments can have a disorientating effect.

On a lighter note, could we call it Carpet Tunnel Syndrome?

Do the staff trip before or after lunch???? ;)

The carpet in my local pub also has these issues. Its not such a problem when the pub first opens, but I think with constant use during the day, the carpet material gets warmer exacerbating the trip hazard towards the evening. By the last orders, some regulars cant even stand up and have to be helped out to the pavement.

As for the fumes from the carpet, many of suffer headaches the next day.......(etc)

I am aware of two very obscure reasons for this on occassion happening. Sorry but can't remember where I got the info. First you can get strange optical effects based on pattern/stripes/etc - ever tried walking on a stationary escalator (its the stripes on the metal surface that play a bit of an optical trick on you and your foot over compensates). Also I am aware of big open plan offices having "flicker" off the lighting if they are all on the same circuit (in effect a strobe effect - just too quick to notice). This can be countered by running the lights off more than one circuit.
Have a google - it's friday after all.

Hello Carrie,

This is a clear case of mind safety,

When we are used to something we do it without thinking. For example-when we are at home and if we need to get up during the night how many of us put the light on? not many, why? because we are very familiar with the surroundings. This is the case when we are at work. We had an issue whereby an individual tripped on a flight of stairs. During the investigation it was found that one step on the stairs was higher than the other steps. As our legs automatically lift to a certain height when climbing stairs due to our brains assessing the situation a difference in step height can easily be missed.

The issue posted above is definitely the case that workers are used to the old building and are treating the new building with complacency.

To resolve the issue it would be best to raise awareness and expect everyone to be alert in their new surroundings.

Carry out some behaviour audits to assess how people are actually moving about the building-concentrate on individuals alertness to the new surroundings.

Hope this helps,