Safer Surfaces to Walk on - Reducing the Risk of Slipping

Slipping accidents cause many thousands of occupational major injuries each year, over 90 per cent of which involve broken bones, and much pain, suffering and financial loss for society. Yet the perception by the public, the workforce and those who design or manage floors in buildings, is that these accidents are inevitable. This CIRIA good practice guide has been produced as part of the Health and Safety Commission's programme to reduce the number of slips and trips accidents in the UK. It is an attempt to give practical guidance to those who design, procure and manage flooring in buildings and is based upon many research projects undertaken, primarily by the Health and Safety Laboratory. The CIRIA guide is based upon this research and in particular the Slip potential model, and is designed to provide designers, procurers and managers of floors with good practice guidance that, if followed, should significantly reduce the number of accidents on existing and new floors. This research will be used to update and extend the guide to become the authoritative guide to slips and trips.

Table of Contents:
Contents; Foreword 3; Acknowledgements 4; List of figures 9; List of tables 12; Executive summary 13; Key issues 15; Glossary 19; Abbreviations 20; 1 Introduction 21; 1.1 General 21; 1.2 Background statistics 22; 1.3 Specifying a walking surface: a holistic approach 23; 1.4 Drivers 25; 1.5 Walking surfaces considered in this guidance 27; 1.6 Background data 27; 1.7 Purpose and scope of guidance 28; 2 Setting the scene 29; 2.1 The physiology of walking 29; 2.2 Slip Potential Model 30; 2.3 Slips Assessment Tool 31; 2.4 Manufacturers' data 32; 3 Testing of walking surfaces 33; 3.1 Assessment instruments and techniques: walking surface properties 33; 3.2 Pendulum test 34; 3.3 Surface roughness measurement 37; 3.4 HSL ramp test 39; 3.5 Application of preferred tests 40; 3.6 Other techniques 41; 4 Selection and management of walking surfaces 43; 4.1 Introduction 43; 4.2 The selection process 44; 4.3 Management of walking surfaces 53; 4.4 Design and management summary 54; 4.5 Using the Slips Assessment Tool 55; 4.6 Specification of requirements 55; 5 Contamination 57; 5.1 Introduction 57; 5.2 Statutory aspects of contamination 58; 5.3 Research 59; 5.4 Hydrodynamic squeeze film theory 59; 5.5 Real workplace contamination 60; 5.6 Dry contaminants 62; 5.7 Contamination on stairs 63; 5.8 Profiled floors 64; 5.9 Macro-rough floor surfaces 65; 5.10 Drainage 65; 5.11 Cleaning 65; 5.12 Management of contamination 65; 5.13 Summary 66; 6 Cleaning 67; 6.1 Introduction 67; 6.2 Cleaning methods 70; 6.3 Cleaning different floor materials 75; 6.4 Effectiveness 79; 6.5 Cleaning and drying 80; 6.6 A cleaning environment 82; 6.7 How clean is "clean" 84; 6.8 Use of the Slips Assessment Tool 87; 7 Footwear 89; 7.1 General 90; 7.2 Slips Assessment Tool 90; 7.3 Guidance for employers 90; 7.4 Contact area of shoe with floor 91; 7.5 Overshoes 92; 7.6 Sole pattern 92; 7.7 Sole material 93; 7.8 Wear and fit of shoes 95; 7.9 Slip testing of occupational footwear 96; 8 Environment 97; 8.1 Introduction 97; 8.2 Lighting 97; 8.3 Noise 99; 8.4 Visual and other distractions 100; 8.5 Condensation 101; 9 Human factors 103; 9.1 Introduction 103; 9.2 Elderly 106; 9.3 Pushing, pulling, carrying 107; 9.4 Pedestrian gait 108; 9.5 Cognitive senses 110; 9.6 Perception 111; 9.7 Additional behavioural research 112; 9.8 Others 112; 9.9 Organisational 113; 10 Generic flooring 121; 10.1 Introduction 122; 10.2 Floor substrate 122; 10.3 Change in slip resistance with time 123; 10.4 Profiled surfaces 125; 10.5 Generic floor types 126; 10.6 Flexible floor coverings 133; 10.7 Rigid flooring 139; 10.8 Accessories 151; 10.9 Surface alteration techniques 154; 10.10 Data on walking surface materials slip resistance 157; 11 Building elements 165; 11.1 Introduction 165; 11.2 Entrances 166; 11.3 Thresholds and doors 166. 11.4 Entrance matting 167; 11.5 General circulation space 169; 11.6 Stairs 171; 11.7 Vertical access ladders 177; 11.8 Ramps and slopes 178; 11.9 External pedestrian area 180; 11.10 Footbridges 182; 11.11 Railways 182; 11.12 Gratings 185; 12 Case studies 187; 12.1 General 187; 12.2 HSE case studies 188; 12.3 HSL investigations 205; Appendices 211; A1 Standards on testing 213; A2 Legislation 215; A3 Statistics 221; A4 Trips 229; A5 Other techniques of surface measurement 235; A6 References 239.