This is one reason so many lawsuits are filed on behalf of individuals who suffer a serious injury due to slip and fall negligence.

Slip and falls are among the most common type of accidents likely to occur at your place of business. In fact, according to the National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI) the average restaurant has three to nine slip and fall accidents each year.

Statistics show the average number of days away from work for a slip and fall is 38 days per accident. And the average cost to defend a slip and fall lawsuit is $50,000.

According to the National Safety Council, slip and fall injuries represent over 65 percent of all work days lost, and the average workers’ compensation claim per slip, trip or fall is $20,228. All these numbers total over $60 billion annually being spent on slip and fall incidents.

So we know the problem, but what is the solution? The key is the need for a company to show a proactive, rather than reactive approach to floor safety. And then to show its due diligence by its continued efforts in the prevention of slip, trips and falls. This article will focus on what your company can do to protect not only your employee’s and customers, but also your bottom line.

First a company must look at floor safety as its own entity, not just one safety issue in a sea of others. Those other safety issues should not be neglected or put aside but dealt with separate from the task at hand.

“There is one key program that is going to be discussed in this article and it is the need to have a well-documented floor safety program that is designed to instruct and protect your employees and customers. Within your floor safety program there should be at least six components that if put to use will aid in identifying and preventing slip, trip and falls.

1. Walkway Audits &Monitoring: First the need to identify any hazards that may present themselves within the facility. To help identify these areas the facility should have walkways audited to identify potential areas that may present a hazard. 

 So what is a walkway audit and how is it conducted?

Walkway auditing is basically a way to test the slip resistance of a facility’s floorsusing a tribometer or walkway tester that tests the static co-efficiency of friction (SCOF) of a floor. This information is compiled into a detailed report that will include diagrams as well as risk categories of the floor area.

The information in this report will allow your company to see first hand the condition of your floors and allows for remediation before an incident occurs.

Auditing serves another purpose that could save your company money. Auditing a floor allows your company to see just how effective or ineffective your maintenance program may be. Walkway audits should be done periodically to ensure conditions have not changed. So whether your cleaning is outsourced or in house, testing your floors on-site is an excellent way to monitor the safety and overall cleanliness of your floors. This brings us to the next key component to any floor safety program.

2. Proper maintenance: Often the SCOF of the floor is affected by improper maintenance procedures. Many floors when first installed have a high SCOF, but over time ineffective cleaning products and procedures may contaminate the floor, which results in a lower slip resistance. Improper maintenance procedures, such as improper use of mop buckets, transfer contaminants from one section of the building to another. Proper training of employees is crucial as well as the need to follow the floors manufacturers directions for maintaining the floor.

If the floor installed is not designed to be a slip resistant floor then the SCOF may be raised by using a product such as a cleaner, treatment or degreaser that raises the slip resistance with each use. Look for a product that is UL tested or NFSI Certified for slip resistance.

3. Employee Training: Included in your written floor safety program should be information that instructs the employee in the proper procedures for identifying, reporting and avoiding any slip, trip and fall hazards, as well as instructions on cleanup and disposal and placement of floor safety cones.

After a review of the company’s floor safety program it may be good to have each employee to take a question and answer on the material reviewed. As a part of your due diligence have each employee read and sign a letter from the company stating they have reviewed and agree to abide by the company’s safety program.

4. Footwear policy: Though you have no control over what your customers where on their feet, you do have control of what you require your employees to wear on theirs. Include in your documentation a list of approved slip resistant shoes. Slip resistant shoes now come in a variety of shapes and colors and are a vital key component in the prevention of slip and falls.

5. Proper signage: We’ve all seen it when we go into a store and just inside the door is a yellow safety cone that states “caution wet floor,” but the floor is dry and the sun is shining. This is a mistake! Never put a wet floor caution sign out when the potential for a slip and fall is not likely, just to have it out. If people see the caution sign out all the time then they will not pay attention to it when there is a real threat of slipping.

Signs should be placed when a spill occurs and when conditions outside warrant its use, such as snowy or rainy days. Be sure there is an adequate amount of caution signs available to cover each entrance and 1 or 2 for spills.

6. Proper use of floor matting in the entrance and hallways where water and contaminants may be prevalent.

Of course accidents can occur under the best of situations but you can be sure that if your company takes the time to follow and implement a viable floor safety program the results should show in lower incidents and lower insurance premiums.

2. Identify training needs. As already mentioned, different categories of employees will require different kinds of ergonomics instruction.

Remember, due diligence is the opposite of negligence and having documentation may work well for your defense if litigation occurs. For further information on walkway auditing and floor safety programs please visit www.walkwaysafety.com  or www.floortesting.com