The hidden costs of inappropriate floor covering specification

by Kevan Brassington
NBS Technical Author

Statistics published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) show that in Great Britain one serious workplace slip accident occurs every three minutes, and 90% of the 35,000 annual accidents result in broken bones and cost industry over £500 million. No mention is made of the subsequent cost to the NHS, but it must be considerable. The cost to the person can be life changing.

The HSE use the example of a young lady occupational therapist, named Alison, who suffered two workplace slip accidents. The first was on concrete steps covered in rotting leaves which should have been cleared each day; three months afterwards she needed surgery to help reduce pain. Six years later Alison slipped again, this time on wet vinyl flooring which had been mopped, but not dried, and for which no warning signs had been deployed. She injured her right ankle. Over the following few years she needed 31 operations as a result of the two accidents. Alison's 32nd operation was to amputate her leg at the knee. From being an active 21 year old, who enjoyed dancing, aerobics and jogging, Alison now spends much of her time in a wheelchair. Alison has received compensation, but she has lost her job and will never work again because of ongoing problems.

Specifiers can help reduce slip accidents by ensuring that selected floor coverings have sufficient slip resistance and surface roughness to counter any known likely contamination. In update U09-1.1 NBS work section M50 (resilient floor coverings) joins M40 (ceramic tiles and other hard floor coverings) in including within the floor covering clauses an item for slip potential which allows the specification of minimum requirements for slip resistance value (SRV) and surface roughness. The inclusion of a clause for a post installation test to determine compliance with the specified slip potential is planned for a future update.

NBS work section M40 contains guidance on specifying floor coverings and information on appropriate slip resistance values and surface roughness.

References

Health and Safety Executive, Preventing slips and trips in the workplace: www.hse.gov.uk/slips/

Related NBS information:

Articles:

• Slip resistance – an update
• Specifying new floors – crucial roles of the manufacturer and supplier
• Pendulum, Ramp and Tortus slip resistance test methods – are you confused?

Selected links:

• Floors, floorings, ceilings
• Health and safety on site

Written March 2009

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