Reducing Slips and Falls
“I took one step off a saturated walk-off mat the other day and slipped — but thankfully did not fall. I laughed because I had just started writing this blog post on avoiding slips and falls!”
— Abby Reinhard, President and CEO, GP Flooring Solutions
When it comes to reducing risks in your facilities, slips and falls are a big concern. The good news is there’s an easy and effective way to increase the coefficient of friction on your floors — micron coatings.
These durable and cost-effective coatings not only increase the safety of your floors but also add a sacrificial wear layer that reduces the likelihood of scratches or other damage to your flooring.
These coatings enhance the finished look or sheen of your hard surface floor coverings and increase cleanability. Micron Coatings never have to be chemically removed. They can be cleaned and refreshed as needed to keep your facility looking great for years to come.
You’ll also never have to strip and wax floors again if you use micron coatings, which not only saves your team’s time and money but also is better for the environment and your floors.
Micron coatings are trusted and tested solutions marketed mainly to make your floors look nicer and reduce labor costs of stripping and waxing. However, the added slip resistance they offer is a significant benefit that we wanted to highlight, especially as the scrutiny around the safety of floors in facilities seems to be a greater concern lately for liability reasons.
The affordability of these high-performance coatings may surprise you, certainly in comparison to the cost of slips and falls as well as the cost of stripping and waxing over time.
If you are interested in learning more about adding micron coatings to your floors, reach out to our Maintenance Manager, Mike Maslyn at mike@gpflooringsolutions.com or 585-953-6030.
The more you know: The standard minimum Coefficient of Friction is .50 for vestibules, bathrooms, and areas where slips and falls are of particular concern. Micron coatings are helpful throughout facilities to not only protect from slips and falls but also to protect against damage to floors.