Painted Concrete Floors Can Lead to Slip & Fall Accidents

Most concrete surfaces have a naturally rough, textured surface. The property of a floor that makes it slip resistant is its surface roughness. This allows for a solid, safe interface between the walking surface and the individual’s shoe, even when the surface is wet. On a microscopic level, all surfaces have peaks and valleys. When paint is applied to the concrete surface, the paint fills the valleys leveling off the properties that create a safe walking surface. When a wet or otherwise lubricated contaminate is applied to the painted surface, this can lead to a Maxi-Slip or as it is technically referred to as “Boundary Lubrication”. In this consideration, only part of the shoe bottom contact area touches the surface while the remainder skims over a foreign contaminant, causing a slip and fall.

For additional information, visit www.getagripdontslip.com.

Third Party Surface Testing Can Assist in Reducing Liability for Property Owners & Building Service Contractors

Most people walk across a floor and never give it a second thought. However, property owners and managers, building service contractors, and other cleaning professionals lack that luxury.

BSCs and maintenance personnel must take into consideration the type of walking surface they are cleaning and the maintenance protocol to be followed for that unique surface. Interior walkways that are not slip resistant when wet should be maintained dry during periods of pedestrian use.

To ensure that proper maintenance protocol is being followed, BSCs and maintenance personnel need to keep accurate records of their cleaning practices and periodically conduct surface testing to ensure that pedestrian walkways are meeting standards for “safe” surfaces.  If the surface does not meet an adequate level of slip resistance, both the BSCs and property owners of the facility may be held liable.

For additional information, visit www.getagripdontslip.com.

What is the purpose of a wet floor sign?

The purpose of a wet floor sign is to alert pedestrians of a hazardous condition that lies ahead. Wet floor signs are meant to be used temporarily and are not meant for permanent use.Once the hazardous condition has been rectified, the wet floor sign should be removed .

Property owners and managers have the misconception that wet floor signs can serve as a first line of defense in slip and fall litigation.

What is the cause of slip and fall accidents?

Slip resistance is affected by floor material and finish, pedestrian shoe bottom material and texture, environmental surface contaminants and pedestrian gait dynamics. How the pedestrian performs his behavioral dynamics may be beyond one’s control and sometimes shoe characteristics are relatively uncontrollable. However, floor construction and maintenance relative to surface condition and contamination are almost always controllable, therefore, providing the greatest opportunities for responsible parties to affect slip resistance under foot.  

The property of a floor that makes it slip resistant is its surface roughness. On a microscopic level, all surfaces have peaks and valleys. However, they must be tall enough and sharp enough to extend upward to engage a shoe bottom in a manner not unlike sand paper. For additional information, visit www.getagripdontslip.com.