Cyber Security

Floor Safety Investments Prevent Slips and Falls

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, floors and flooring materials contribute to more than 2 million slip-and-fall injuries each year. No doubt, these types of incidents in any facility market can lead to workers’ compensation claims, not to mention costly litigation should visitors or customers injure themselves on the premises. 

Many of the potential contributors to slip-and-fall incidents are within the purview of facility services — and are easily preventable. Common culprits include insufficient or improper matting at entrances, lack of safety signs, and poor floor maintenance practices, including — but not limited to — the overuse of chemicals and the wrong products. 

Ensuring the safety of floors requires an investment in training, equipment, and labor — expenditures that are more than justifiable, given the exorbitant costs associated with slip-and-fall injuries. 

  • $70 billion: Annual workers’ compensation and medical costs associated with slip-and-fall accidents. 

  • 80: The percentage of sand and dirt trapped by a three-part entryway matting system, preventing it from being tracked into the rest of the facility. 

  • 7: The percentage of slip-and-fall accidents attributed to training issues, such as improper use of floor finishes and cleaning chemicals. 

  • 8 million: The number of falls that lead to emergency room visits in the United States every year. 

  • 87: The percentage of all fractures among people over the age of 65 that can be attributed to falls. 

  • $45,000: The amount facilities can be charged in settlement fees for every guest or employee slip-and-fall incident. 

  • 38 days: Across all industries, slips and falls are the second most common form of injuries, causing workers to miss an average of 38 workdays per year. 

  • 67 percent: The number of falls that occur on the walking level as a result of slips and trips. 

The Business of Cleaning in Offices 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Foundation notes that absenteeism costs employers $225.8 billion a year in lost productivity. Undoubtedly, one of the most common reasons people miss work is due to illness: Offices where employees work in close proximity to one another (think call centers and cubicles) are ripe for the spread of infection, which is why cleaning and disinfecting high-touch points is a top priority in commercial office buildings.  

Door handles, phones, elevator buttons, and light switches are some of the most commonly cited sources of cross-contamination. Restrooms are another hotspot in commercial office buildings. When neglected, they become a breeding ground not only for bacteria, but for negative impressions of the business. According to a Essity/Tork 2024 Insights Survey, 1 in 6 respondents (17 percent) said they actually left a job because of a poor restroom. 

  • 20,000: The number of germs per square inch on the average worker’s desk in a shared workspace. 

  • 94 percent: Number of workers who reported feeling more productive in a clean workspace, while 77 percent claimed they produce a higher quality of work in a clean environment. 

  • 69 percent: The percentage of facility cleaning departments focused on cleaning personal workspaces, including desks, offices and cubicles, because of the pandemic. 

  • 75 percent: The percentage of sink faucet handles covered with germs in break rooms. 

  • 2 weeks: The number of weeks respiratory viruses can survive on surfaces like conference tables. 

  • 25 percent: The percentage of days worked from home, which has held steady since early 2023 and is more than triple the pre-Covid rate. 

  • 41 percent: The number of employees who would take a 10 percent pay cut for a company that cares more about their health and wellness. 

  • 78 percent: Those who believe their employers have a responsibility to help them stay mentally and physically well.  

An Appetite for Cleaning in Food Service 

Illnesses related to foodborne pathogens frequently dominate headlines and result in untold economic hardships. Restaurants seem to garner the most unwanted press, but any facility that serves food is at risk — whether it’s a school, a hospital or an office building. 

A foodborne disease outbreak is defined as an occurrence of two or more cases of similar illness resulting from the ingestion of a common food — but even a single case is one too many. Facility cleaning services teams can do their part by thoroughly cleaning and sanitizing food service areas susceptible to the spread of disease, including restrooms, kitchens, tabletops and counters.  

  • 2 to 3: The number of days it takes to start feeling sick after eating contaminated food. 

  • 40: The percentage of foodborne illness outbreaks at restaurants from 2017 to 2019 associated with sick or infectious workers. 

  • 3,000: The number of people who die from foodborne illnesses each year. 

  • $15.5 billion: The economic burden of foodborne pathogens on the US public each year. 

  • 88 percent: The amount of people who encounter a dirty restroom at a restaurant and connect it to the sanitation of the rest of the establishment, including the kitchen and food preparation areas. Of those, a full 29 percent would never come back to a restaurant whose restroom they consider to be very dirty. 

  • 90 percent: The amount of restroom odors that are caused from urine on restroom floors. 

  • 71 percent: The number of Americans who believe a clogged toilet or unsanitary restroom would negatively impact their entire perception of a brand/company. 

  • 800: The number of foodborne outbreaks reported to the CDC every year. 

  • $110 billion: Amount that is lost each year in productivity and medical expenses resulting from unsafe food. 

  • 128,000: Of those 48 million people who are sickened with a foodborne illness every year, 128,000 people will become sick enough to be hospitalized, and 3,000 of those people will die. 

  • 35.9 percent: The most frequently observed action that could lead to contamination of food in a commercial setting was bare-hand or dirty glove contact with ready-to-eat food. 

previous page of this article:
Stats That Support Cleaning in Healthcare, Education and Hospitality Facilities



POSTED ON: 11/27/2024