Slippery floor: things to know and how to fix it
Slipperiness, the invisible one
Slips and Falls on floors are often underestimated by employers and managers and the workers themselves, who frequently attribute the injury to their inattention.
The underlying causes of many injuries of this type may instead depend on:
- living and working environments with
- unsafe surfaces, such as a slippery floor
- unsuitable procedures
- careless behaviour
A risk that affects everyone. It is also a question of civilization.
It can happen to anyone to slip, stumble and fall regardless of age, the context in which they find themselves and their state of health.
Slipping occurs when the coefficient of adhesion between the person and the floor suddenly decreases and the legs begin to move faster than the upper body.
A slippery floor, especially when wet, is a potential cause of accidents, even serious ones, in civil matters and the workplace.
But there is more ... a slippery floor is also an architectural barrier
It makes it difficult or completely prevents normal walking for a person with temporary or permanent physical handicaps.
Making non-slip flooring, especially in public and work places, must be part of a risk prevention strategy and is at the same time a sign of civility and attention to others.
What European statistics say
Recent studies at the European level show that slips and falls in the workplace (slippery floor) represent the cause of the most significant number of accidents in all working sectors, including the tertiary sector.
According to these estimates, the percentage incidence is 24% of accidents. It is equivalent to saying that one in four accidents in the workplace derives from slips or trips.
These injuries are very frequent, but they are among the main reasons for absences from work of more than thirty days.
It is a situation that affects both large companies and small and medium-sized enterprises and affects all sectors of work, including office work.
A far-reaching problem, then.
This is also demonstrated by the fact that in 2014 the SLIC – European Committee of Senior Managers of Labor Inspectorates promoted a campaign to prevent injuries due to the risk of tripping and slipping on a slippery floor.
Data on slipperiness in Malta
Data on accidents at work reported by companies speak of at least 3,000 episodes of falls and slips. They represent the second cause of temporary disability and the first of permanent disability, with average values of absence from work and compensation among the highest absolutely.
In this article, you can read the story of a slip and fall accident between employee and employer.
The data show that the problem does not only concern the heavy industry sectors but also extends to the tertiary sector, an area in which it is widely underestimated if not often completely uncontrolled.
Slippery floors in-house
Another chapter, no less worrying, is that of the risk of slippery surfaces in domestic environments.
The statistical record, in the general framework of accidents from optional insurance, dedicates a specific item to the phenomenon of slipping episodes, thus examining them in a disaggregated way from tripping and other possible causes of falling on the flat.
Thus it emerges that in 2020, over 450 slip injuries were reported between the walls of the house in Malta.
Slip resistance: what it is and how it is measured
Much can be done and must be done to counter a phenomenon with alarming outlines and social costs that are anything but irrelevant.
The fronts mainly concern:
- information and education
- the adoption of correct behavior
- the adaptation of the workplace conditions, but also of life and leisure
The simple concept is this: in most cases the fall on the same level is due to an inadequate interaction between the surface of the floor and the surface of the shoe sole (or foot) that slips.
The quantity that expresses the slip resistance is the friction coefficient: the higher this is, the lower the slipperiness.
There are several methods to measure the coefficient of friction of flooring: the best-known methods in force in the various countries, according to the regulations in force, are B.C.R.A., DIN 51097 (bare foot) and DIN 51139 (shod foot), ASTM, PENDULUM, UPI R 9729.
The best-known test protocol is probably the DIN method, or the so-called inclined ramp; is a laboratory method that measures the slip angle and classifies non-slip surfaces as R9, R10, R11, R12, R13 or as A, B, C.
Secure a slippery floor
Not all floors are made (and remain) non-slip.
Suppose it is true that the sensitivity of tile manufacturers has increased a lot. Today, many brands offer lines designed with greater attention to slip resistance characteristics. In that case, it is equally valid that not all flooring on the market ensures performance strictly in accordance with the law.
Without considering that in any case most of the existing surfaces do not possess these requisites or have lost them over time due to intense foot traffic or poor maintenance conditions. We are therefore talking about floors that appear to be potentially risky.
It should also be considered that the massive spread of porcelain stoneware – a compact and low-porous material, appreciated for its aesthetic characteristics and practicality of use – has accentuated the need to intervene on the floor already laid to remedy the risk.
Anti-slip treatment: what's the solution?
If the negative data, as mentioned above, is that no one can feel completely safe, the positive aspect is that today a slippery floor is a problem that can be tackled and solved in a reliable, long-lasting and above all non-invasive way.
This is where Anti-Slip Malta intervenes, with the experience and expertise of those dealing with the safety of surfaces in the civil field and the workplace for over twenty years.
Designers, security managers, experts, company technicians, condominium administrators, and facility managers can benefit from a serious and competent partner who supports them with 360 ° advice – from diagnosis to definition of treatment, from installation to certification – and can offer a turnkey service in any situation.
For mineral surfaces in general – stoneware, porcelain, clinker, terracotta, cement, majolica, marble – the ideal solution is an anti-slip treatment which doesn’t change the appearance and the look of the floor; while making it safe to walk.
An invisible solution, immediately effective – the treated surface can already be walked on after a few minutes – and economical if compared to other solutions because it does not require other applications or special maintenance over time.
Anti-Slip Malta is also the only treatment to offer a 20 years life time expectation on its treatments, with non-slip certification accredited by a third-party laboratory.
Anti-Slip Malta also offers an after-sales service, provided free of charge, which allows you to monitor the coefficient of friction of the flooring made safe in accordance with the law over time.
For information: info@antislipmalta.com
Contact us page here.
