Slip and fall accidents are the #1 reason Americans show up at emergency rooms, according to data from the CDC. Slippery floors are a silent epidemic in America, and lawsuits are filed daily across the nation involving major injuries and deaths from slippery floors. Unless the negligent party is the victim’s employer, the victim of … Continue reading “Financial losses from slip and fall accidents”
Category: Anti-Slip Floor and Bath Treatments
Roughness and Wet Floor Slip Resistance
We all know intuitively that roughness has a lot to do with floor slip resistance. Very smooth floors tend to have low wet slip resistance, and to some types of shoe solings (as on some dancing shoes) can have low dry slip resistance too. However, “rough” appearing floors aren’t always slip-resistant, and this has to … Continue reading “Roughness and Wet Floor Slip Resistance”
What Makes a Good Safety Floor?
No matter the type of facility you operate, safety is important, and one of the more universal safety concerns is slips and falls. This can be a problem around entrances where people track in water from outside, or in areas of food preparations that are slick from frequent cleaning. The best way to mitigate these … Continue reading “What Makes a Good Safety Floor?”
A Caveat about Dal-Tile’s Situation-Specific Minimum DCOF AcuTest Values
This blog has previously praised Dal-Tile for recognizing that “one size fits all” does not work when it comes to slip resistance standards (or bikinis, for that matter). For instance, Dal-Tile has recommended a minimum ANSI A137.1 DCOF AcuTest wet dynamic coefficient of friction of 0.60 for swimming pool decks, public showers, and locker rooms. … Continue reading “A Caveat about Dal-Tile’s Situation-Specific Minimum DCOF AcuTest Values”
America Gets Another Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Slip Resistance Guideline
Wet, bare feet are soft and essentially treadless, and on a slippery hard floor can be treacherous — leading to falls that sometimes cause permanent brain damage or worse. It’s crucial to provide slip-resistant surfaces at swimming pools where people (some of them sober) will be walking, playing or running (even against the rules) with … Continue reading “America Gets Another Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Slip Resistance Guideline”
ANSI Issuing Another Standard Slip Test Method for Flooring Materials
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is issuing a new test method, with minimum dynamic coefficient of friction (DCOF rating), for slip resistance of hard flooring materials, wet or dry, laboratory or field testing. No minimum DCOF is provided for exterior applications. The BOT-3000E digital tribometer is used for the testing. The Secretariat for the … Continue reading “ANSI Issuing Another Standard Slip Test Method for Flooring Materials”
Fixing Your Slippery Epoxy/Polyurea/Polyaspartic Floor
We are continually amazed at how often contractors will install an epoxy (or polyurea or polyaspartic) floor coating (especially to garages and outdoor walkways) with little or no effort to make it slip-resistant under its known conditions of use — namely, sometimes wet and/or greasy. This happens in commercial, industrial, and household situations. Here’s what … Continue reading “Fixing Your Slippery Epoxy/Polyurea/Polyaspartic Floor”
John Glenn’s career-changing slip and fall
The world mourns the loss of pioneering astronaut and former U.S. senator John H. Glenn Jr., who in 1959 became one of America’s first astronauts, one of the “Mercury Seven,” and was the first American to orbit the Earth. Less remembered is the slip-and-fall accident that was a major factor in his early political career, … Continue reading “John Glenn’s career-changing slip and fall”
Introducing SparkleTuff™ Anti-Slip Floor Coating
For over a decade, we have been on the search for a totally non-slip and very glossy floor coating that could help people who have had the misfortune of installing slippery tiles, or those who have slippery tubs or showers. We’ve seen several attempts over the years in our floor slip resistance testing business, but … Continue reading “Introducing SparkleTuff™ Anti-Slip Floor Coating”
Top 10 Ways of Preventing Slips
Here’s a countdown of some of the most simple and cost-effective ways of stopping slip and fall accidents. 10. Post warnings when and where appropriate. 9. Use solings appropriate to the situation. 8. Chemically etch or grind concrete if it’s too smooth. 7. Make sure stairs comply with your local building code, and that nosings … Continue reading “Top 10 Ways of Preventing Slips”