Don’t Slip Up!

I was out and about on the road recently and I heard a radio advertisement from the HSE.  I’m sure you’ve all heard it; the one comparing the number of people injured at work as a result of slips and trips with the average number of people in a football stadium.  It reminded me once again of the role that flooring contractors can play in reducing the risk of accidents and why awareness of health and safety responsibilities has to be high on the agenda for us all, from manufacturers and specifiers, through to the contractor installing the flooring. 

Slips and trips remain the most common cause of accidents and we’re all familiar with the horrifying statistics detailing their huge impact on individuals, employers and the health service. Last year, over 10,000 people suffered a major injury as a result of a slip or trip at work, costing employers £512 million in lost production and compensation claims. 

According to the HSE, the law requires that “floors must not be slippery, so as to expose any person to a risk to their safety” and the Construction Design management (CDM) regulations mean that contractors, specifiers and suppliers all have a duty to build safety into a design and ensure that any products chosen are fit for purpose when the building is open for use by the public.  If you fail to get the type of flooring correct, you could be hauled before the courts if there is an accident following the installation.  This means that those of us responsible for buying, designing and installing flooring need to ensure we adhere to these guidelines when choosing or recommending surfaces.

We all have a role to play, but it has often been hard to keep up with how the various regulations and standards are interpreted.   In all locations where the occasional spill may present a risk, even in corridors, and anywhere where floors may be wet after cleaning, a floor covering with a minimum slip resistance value (SRV) of 36 is now clearly recommended.  It is also considered necessary to specify flooring that complies with or exceeds this requirement throughout its working life if safety levels are to be maintained.

As you would expect, a properly maintained Altro safety floor is one way to reduce the risk of slips and trips and comply with legislation.  Altro has spent over 50 years continually improving the performance and designs of its safety floors; all of which exceed the minimum slip resistance standards of the HSE. In fact, Altro is a member of the UK Slip Resistance Group, working with the HSE and British Standards Institution to develop accurate assessment of slipperiness of walkway surfaces. 

The publication, Safer Surfaces to Walk On is an excellent in-depth guide for flooring professional on slips and trips and how to choose the right surface for each job. Produced by CIRIA, the independent organisation promoting best practice in the construction industry, the report reviews the extent of the problem, shows examples of good and bad practice, and suggests which materials and slip test methods to recommend. 

A summary of this CIRIA publication is available from us, together with Altro’s own advisory booklet, Slips & Trips: the essential modern guide to prevention, which gives an easy to read overview of the topic.

Providing specialist advice and technical information in a clear and easy to understand way is an important step towards a brighter future for the industry and UK business as a whole.  We call upon architects, designers, flooring installers, contractors and facility managers to embrace the HSE and CDM guidelines to improve industry standards and together, we can all take responsibility for reducing the risk of slips and trips.

This article first appeared in the April 2010 edition of the CFJ.