Three Common Flooring Follies That Cause Slips

With the wide range of environments that I visit it is perhaps surprising that there are actually a few very common mistakes that come up again and again.  This week was no different and I saw all of the following;

A WET FLOOR

Is it the case that almost all wet floors are slippery?  No.  Is it the case that almost all slips occur on wet floors?  Yes!

A wet floor will pose a hazard when the floor surface has not been design to provide safe grip levels in the wet, or the performance has degraded over time.  Almost every slip accident we have investigated has arisen out of the combination of a floor surface which performs poorly in the wet, and a gap in the risk management that permitted the floor to become wet in end use.  A floor can become sufficiently wet to present a slip hazard through numerous routes, however water tracked in from external surfaces, direct rainfall, showers/pools, spilled drinks, cleaning and work processes are among the most common.

Read More