Coefficient of Friction Test
The coefficient of friction is defined as H/V, where H and V and the Horizontal and vertical forces acting when your shoe heel contacts the floor.
Coeffecient of Friction and rubber or plastic
Co-efficient of friction tests often fail to accurately reflect the slip risk for pedestrians because of hydrodynamic film theory and the effect of a barrier of water or other viscous material between your shoe heel and the floor surface.
Hydrodynamic film theory
The uplift provided by the hydrodynamic squeeze film is dependant on…
One way to test this is to use SlipAlert alongside a trundle-type slip test. SlipAlert accurately accounts for teh hydrodnamic film effect, so a wet floor will often be much slippier than the same frloor when it is clean and dry. Trundle tests do not have the weight or speed to create the hydrodynamic effect that lifts a pedestrian shoe heel. Trundle tests will often report that wet floors are safer than the same dry floor... clearly wrong.
Slips and trips are responsible for nearly 40% of all serious accidents.
There are 40 minor slips for every serious slip accident.
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Some UK swimming pools report having had as many as 8 slip accidents per day.
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Every three minutes, in the UK alone, there is a serious injury caused by a slip.
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Most slip accidents are preventable.
Talk to SlipAlert today
HSE beleive that at least 50% of all slip accidents could be prevented. Slips mostly occur on floors that are wet or have other contamination or a combination of contmination and water.
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Mopping up spills can make the floor more prone to slips.
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40% of industrial accidents start with a slip.
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When people walk fast or turn, they are more likely to slip.
Talk to your H&S Adviser today.
As an employer, you have a "Duty of Care" to ensure your floors are safe for employees and customers.
The Employers Duty of Care:
“Your employer has a 'duty of care' to ensure, as far as possible, your health, safety and welfare while you're at work.” www.directgov.co.uk
HSE recomend regular monitoring of floors will reduce slip accidents.
Many things can change the slip resistance of your floor including:
"SlipAlert should be regarded as a good indication of available friction, lending itself to risk assessment, monitoring of floor surfaces and evaluating & monitoring cleaning regimes"
UK HSE
A SlipAlert Test Value STV of less than 136 means there is less than 1 in a million chance of somebody slipping on your floor.
People mostly stand with 2 feet on the ground. When we walk we usually have one floor on the ground. When we run we will at times have no feet on the ground. You can improve floor safety by changing the way people move on high risk floors.
Employers Duty of Care
“Your employer has a 'duty of care' to ensure, as far as possible, your health, safety and welfare while you're at work.”
www.directgov.co.uk
Many floors last for 20 year or more. during that time, parts of the floor may become accident black spots if a spill has not been cleaned properly.
When pushing a trolley you require greater traction. That is why it is often difficult to get a grip on the floor when pushing a heavily laden supermarket trolley.
Contact SlipAlert
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