Whether your business is in a high rise building or one that is at ground level, there will always be a need to make any hard surface floor safe to walk on when either wet or dry. Floor Safety is truly paramount. Every business owner should be aware that there is true danger for staff and for customers, as well, when coming in contact with a wet, slippery floor. Remember, it is the NCCI modifier with regard to staff and the legal defense team with regard to civil litigation!
Often times, even when a floor is mopped and left to dry, the residue left behind on the floor from the soap just adds to the danger once the floor becomes wet again. Diligence in rinsing a floor thoroughly is imperative in order to be sure there is no soapy residue left behind to again “mix” with an accidental spill or rain water that is tracked in. Using the “correct” PH neutral everyday cleaner and then adequately rinsing is essential.
Entry walk off mats are everywhere. The intended purpose is good, but when flipped up as a result of catching on someone’s heel, or saturated with water (from the rain carried in) entry mats can become a serious detriment to walkway safety.
Cords strung across a floor, loose or torn carpeting, level changes-carpet to tile, improper lighting, ladders, planters, mop buckets, and debris blown in from outside also elevate the risk of slip, trips and falls. Think. Common sense prevails.
Solutions do exist for business owners in helping to prevent slip and fall accidents. Claims of injury due to slips, trips and falls can be mitigated if just a few simple steps are followed. According to Zurich’s claim data, slip, trip and fall losses account for about 14% of overall losses. Mitigate these and you will impact yours or the client’s bottom line.
Enhance the floors’ co-efficient of friction with an anti-slip floor treatment product. There are treatments available that are easy to apply and will increase the co-efficient of friction on virtually all types of mineral based flooring; quarry tile, ceramic, marble, granite, porcelain, concrete, etc. Be careful in your selection however, as most of these types of treatments contain hazardous chemicals that are not environmentally friendly. One excellent, safe, economical product available in today’s market that can increase your COF well above OSHA’s required 0.5 or even ADA’s 0.6. *(See reference below) is Safe Environmental Product’s Anti-Slip. It is easy to apply too– simply clean the treatable mineral based floor with a ph neutral every day cleaner, apply SEP anti-slip, leave on for 15-30 minutes making sure the treated area stays wet with the product, then rinse thoroughly. The floor is ready to walk on immediately with invisible traction and the COF raised to a safe level for non-slip wet floors.
*”The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) and the American Disability Act (ADA) also have requirements for walking surfaces and surface slip resistance. OSHA recommends that walking surfaces have a 0.5 static coefficient of friction. ADA recommends a static coefficient of friction of 0.6 for accessible routes and 0.8 for ramps.”-according to Zurich’s “A Risk Management Guide to Slips, Trips and Falls.”
Wayne Maynard is Manager of Technical Services and Product Development for Liberty Mutual’s Loss Control Advisory Services. Mr. Maynard was asked to comment on the Institute’s field investigation of slips and falls among restaurant workers and how its findings impact safety practice: “Which findings were the most surprising or intriguing to you?” His answer, “Without a doubt, the most intriguing finding was that incremental increases in a floor’s coefficient of friction, or COF, can make a real difference in lowering slipping rates. We learned that for every 0.1 increase in a kitchen floor’s mean COF, there was a corresponding 21 percent decrease in slips reported by workers. That is much greater than what might have been expected. This finding tells us that any efforts to improve COF-keeping the floor clean and dry, applying floor surface treatments, or selecting slip-resistant floorings-can enhance worker safety and produce savings by reducing the rate of slipping.”-Excerpt from Liberty Mutual Research for Safety, Scientific Update 2011 Volume 14, No. 1.
Steve Brown, CPCU, CIC, ARM: 20 + years in the insurance industry, 15 years in the PEO industry, Co-Founding officer of Safe Environmental Products . Steve can be reached at 800-530-6950 Ext. 101 www.sepusa.net
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