How to stay safe
All safety flooring needs to be maintained to make sure it performs to expected standards. Things to consider include:
Cleaning
Always follow the manufacturer's cleaning recommendations. Incorrect cleaning can lead to a build-up of dirt and/or cleaning chemicals on the surface of the flooring which can act as a barrier to effective slip resistance.
View our manual, mechanical and steam cleaning guides.
Footwear
Footwear plays an important role in slip prevention and recommendations can be made to staff in certain locations like hospitals and restaurants to significantly reduce the risk of injury.
So what's the risk?
We strongly recommend carrying out a risk assessment on any area you're thinking of installing flooring to identify all potential slip hazards. Some sectors clearly outline the need for risk assessments. The Department of Health's Healthcare Building Requirements set out essential quality and safety standards.
These requirements state that before a new or replacement floor covering is specified, a risk assessment should be conducted considering:
- Environment
- Contamination
- Appearance
- Acoustics
- Use
- Footwear
- Slip and trip potential of foot traffic etc under different conditions
Many of these factors can be made worse if lighting isn't good enough for users to see potential hazards. And stairs are a particularly dangerous area.
Because we take safety so seriously, we think that risk assessments should become best practice in all sectors. This would protect people who use the flooring, and also those who are responsible for the health and safety of their employees and visitors.
If you need help carrying out a risk assessment, please refer to the guidelines on risk assessments document on the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) website.
The HSA website has numerous publications available to give you more information about these issues, including a brochure about slips, trips and falls.
What am I legally obliged to do about slips and falls?
Please refer to the Safety, Health and Welfare Act (2005) and the HSA website for more information.