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SAFE FLOORS ARE NO ACCIDENT
The primary objective of a floor safety programme is of course, to help prevent accidents. Since such accidents can result in lawsuits, the financial well being of a business must also be addressed.
In recent years, slip/fall lawsuits have increased in both frequency and in the amount of monetary award. The business owner, the cleaning contractor, the floor finish manufacturer, and the floor care supply distributor, can all be held liable, and often are. As a consequence, the cost of liability insurance is reducing corporate profitability on many fronts, and forcing some smaller companies, due to the skyrocketing cost of coverage, to either close their doors or risk continuing without insurance.
Clearly, something has to be done. Following the steps in this section will do much to protect you, your company and the people who utilize the facility you help to maintain. We will outline procedures that create a safer floor, and provide guidance for the care of a fallen person, should an accident occur.
TEN STEPS TO AVOID A SLIP AND FALL
1. Select products with proven slip resistance, and regularly test the floor. Responsible manufacturers go to great lengths to build slip resistance into their floor care products. These companies also confirm the slip resistance of their products through independent testing companies.
1. Choose your floor care supplier carefully. There are thousands of companies formulating floor care products, but the quality of expertise and end-user support varies widely. Know your supplier before you buy. Before you choose your floor care supplier, you should feel comfortable that the one you select has the know-how, resources, and commitment to back you up in the event of a problem. A few questions you will want to ask are:
• To what extent do they stand behind their products?
• Will they support you in the event of a slip/fall?
• Are their promises in writing?
• Is appropriate product technical data readily available?
• Who actually manufactures the products?
• How is their overall distributor support?
• Do they have an up-to-date manufacturing plant with adequate quality control systems in place?
3. Establish an effective floor maintenance programme. With the help of your supplier, establish and communicate a written programme, including a floor care procedures manual or outline. Make sure everyone reads and understands your floor care manual. Train your staff, monitor their performance, and re-train them as necessary.
4. Test slip resistance of floors regularly and record your findings. Use an instrument like the Pendulum tester to regularly check the safety of your floors. By doing so, you demonstrate your concern for safety and document the condition of your floors in the event of litigation.
5. Maintain a clean floor. Train personnel to constantly monitor floors and to respond immediately to spills, debris, or other hazards such as misplaced or misarranged floor mats. Damp mop spills promptly. Clean or replace soiled ‘spot mops’ to avoid spreading contaminants elsewhere. With finished resilient tile, scrub and re-coat slippery areas which have been sprayed with furniture polish, lubricants, silicone, etc. Sweep or dust mop often.
6. Warn of wet or hazardous floors. Always place ‘wet floor’ signs where maintenance is being performed. Barriers, rope and signs should be used to cordon off cleaning area and spill clean up areas. Be aware of locations that are susceptible to wet conditions such as entrances and, in supermarket produce areas. Place warning signs in these areas as soon as conditions require them.
7. Use good housekeeping practices. When possible, perform floor maintenance when traffic is at a minimum. Never leave equipment and chemicals unattended if the building is open. After use, return them to their storage area. Do not allow extension cables to cross-travelled areas. Remove obstructions that may cause accidents.
8. Use barrier mats. Place mats of sufficient size at all entrances to help remove dirt and moisture. Mats should be kept in good condition and in place at all times. Additional mats are recommended during inclement weather. Replace mats that do not lie flat.
9. Immediately protect the public from a spill. While sending for and awaiting a clean up should be the duty of the first employee on the scene to guide the public around the spill. If possible, this person should immediately remove the spill and any debris from the floor. For large spills, the clean-up person should use barriers, ropes, and ‘wet floor’ signs to cordon of the area.
10. Keep a written record. After performing floor maintenance, document it by recording the maintenance step performed (sweeping, refinishing, etc.), the time and date the cleaning took place, the area cleaned and the person who performed the operation. Ideally, use a form that includes the above data, which may be quickly filled in (a checklist with date and time blanks, for instance). Such a form verifies that a responsible floor care programme has been implemented. A supervisor should check written records regularly, and inspect the floor to confirm that the documented procedure was actually performed.
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