Reducing slip-and-fall accidents in common areas

The most attractive, durable, carefully selected and properly installed flooring — from hard surfaces to carpet — can turn into a slip-and-fall hazard if it is not properly maintained. Clean floors are essential for reducing slip-and-fall risks. When floors are wet, dirty, or grimy they can become slick or sticky, especially in areas prone to spills. Regular professional cleaning helps eliminate grease, oil, water, and other substances that can create hazardous conditions. 

Yale University's Office of Environmental Health and Safety (Yale EHS) resources outline that understanding how slips, trips, and falls happen will aid building owners and building service contractors in identifying hazards and eliminating or minimizing them. 

Per Yale EHS research, slips happen because of a lack of friction or traction between a person’s footwear and the walking surface. Common causes of slips include spills, surfaces that are wet or oily, hazards created from weather (e.g. puddles, ice), and loose rugs or mats. 

Meanwhile, trips occur when a person's foot strikes or hits an object, which can cause them to lose their balance. Common causes of trips include obstructions and clutter on or near the floor (e.g. power cords, boxes, open drawers), poor lighting, uneven or irregular walking surfaces, and wrinkled or curled-up mats. 

Slips and trips can lead to falls, which may result in temporary embarrassment, but also the possibility of costly, life-changing, and long-term injuries. 

Building service contractors (BSCs) can play an important role in ensuring the floors in the facilities they service are as safe as possible for building occupants and should prioritize floor safety programs for their customers.  
 
“If you are in a building, then you are on a floor, and everything ultimately ends up on the floor.” says Stan Hulin, CEO of Future Floor Technology Inc. in Gladstone, Oregon. “The cleaning company, custodial, or housekeeping staff interact with the interior environment daily. They generally provide the tasks that are associated with providing a clean and safe workplace, which includes carpet care and hard floor maintenance.” 

Mat Maintenance Matters 

Floor safety begins before people even step inside a facility. Dirt, water, snow, oil, debris, and dust are tracked into facilities on people’s shoes. The accumulation of these elements can not only be an eyesore, but they can also damage flooring and create potential hazards. The first line of defense to reduce these potential hazards is to implement a comprehensive matting system. 

“Mats are designed to minimize the tracking of moisture and other contaminants from entering a building, thus reducing maintenance costs and reducing the risks of slip and falls,” says Rob McNealy, founder of Flooristics, LLC, Salt Lake City, Utah.  
 
The Carpet and Rug Institute advises that to properly trap soil and moisture, entrance mats be 12 to 15 feet in length for facilities such as an office building or up to 20 or 25 feet in length for grocery stores or hospitals. Entrance mats should cover the width of the door, and be placed right up to the door. Leaving a gap between the door and the mat can lead to a slip or trip hazard.  
 
An effective, safe matting system isn't limited to just entrance mats, however. A comprehensive matting program also includes exterior scraper mats. 

“Exterior scraper mats remove heavy dirt (e.g., gravel, rocks, and debris). These are often a plastic or vinyl mesh type and, in many larger buildings, a recessed scraper system,” says Hulin. If debris is removed from people's shoes before they enter, then they don't become a hazard on a facility's floors. 
 
When choosing mats, BSCs should consider the climate in which buildings are located. 
 
“Climate affects the types of mats used,” confirms Joel Craddock, president, Doc's Facility Solutions, Rochester, New York. “Dryer climates need more scraper mats, as we are trying to remove dry soils that have adhered to the bottom of a shoe. In snowy and wet environments, we need to use more absorbent mats to dry the shoe.” 

It’s also important to consider placement. Mats must be located where they will best capture as many footfalls as possible. 

“The mats need to be sitting in the traffic pattern,” Craddock adds, “and not where they look aesthetically pleasant. Safety first.” 

Mats themselves can become a safety hazard if they are not of sufficient quality to do the job they are intended to do, and they must be maintained.  

“Improperly maintained or worn mats themselves can become a slip, trip and fall hazard,” McNealy says. “Mats should be inspected along with the floors, generally, several times per hour, depending on the type of building, local weather conditions, and foot traffic.” 
 
That inspection includes properly cleaning mats on a daily basis andmaking sure they do not slide when walked on. When they do, it’s often because the backing of the mat is contaminated with dust, sand or debris. Cleaning programs should include regular sweeping and mopping of floors to remove those contaminants, as well as cleaning the underside of the mats. 

Although clean floors beneath the mat can help reduce shifting, Craddock points out that choosing a high-quality mat with some heft to it can also keep it in place. Hulin agrees that the weight of the mat is essential. “When people walk across a mat, the shifting weight has the potential to cause little ripples that carry through the entire mat, making the mats move, shift, buckle, and curl,” Hulin says. “The weight of the mat is a key component that is often overlooked. Some folks try to adapt by using double-back carpet tape to hold mats in place, which may work, but creates adhesive removal issues.” 

Meanwhile, mats that have curling, bucking, or fraying are no longer serviceable or safe and should immediately be taken out of service and replaced.