1. Smart Retailers Don’t Slip Up on Slip Injury Prevention
A customer walks into your store to make a purchase. Moments
later that person is lying flat on their back. At best this is an
embarrassment for them, at worst you have the problem of a
potential slip and fall bodily injury and a lawsuit. Slips and Falls
from the same level are the second highest cause of personal
injuries in North America.
There are provisions under the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) which set standards regarding minimum slip resistance
requirements for various walking surfaces using a co-efficient value.
These standards have recently been upgraded.
No retailer wants to see customers or employees get hurt by
avoidable situations with the consequential cost of lost goodwill,
potential law suits or increased workers compensation premiums.
The smart retailer is pro-active and will ensure that best methods
are being used to minimize this potential problem. There are key
zones that warrant proactive slip injury preventive measures. These
are entrance ways, staircases, ramps, and high traffic areas exposed
to water and grease. Also areas such as in food retail where water is
sprayed onto produce and the floors.
There are a large range of slip injury prevention products available
on the market to help minimize these problems. It is best to deal
with a supplier who carries the most complete rangeof surface
specific solutions as opposed to suppliers who limit themselves just
to a few options which they may recommend because they do not
have the proper product. Slip Injury prevention products fall into
the following categories.
Make sure that your supplier has the depth of knowledge to offer
recommendations not only on which product to use but also best

2. tools and method for application and long term maintenance.
All products used in a commercial environment such as retail
stores, warehouses, entranceways should be industrial quality and
have been third party tested and be compliant with O.S.H.A.
standards.
Anti-Slip Treatments. For use on natural stone such as ceramic,
porcelain, granite, concrete etc. Water base, easy to apply, no cure
time required and the floor can be put into use immediately.Long
wearing, typically up to three years per application.
Treatment does not peel like paint and imparts anti-slip without
creating a raised profile.
Anti-Slip Industrial Grade Safety Tapes. Grit, resilient, vinyl and
photoluminescent. For use on staircases, ramps, slippery metal,
fiber glass, synthetic materials, wood etc. where they have excellent
adhesion and where the floor can be put into use immediately.
Anti-Slip Industrial Grade Paint Coatings. Hard wearing, high solids.
For areas subject to pedestrian and vehicular traffic such as
warehouses, loading docks, concrete ramps etc. Can beapplied
indoors and outdoors on concrete, steel, and wood.
Anti-Slip Floor Care. For use on finer interior surfaces such as V.C.T.
resilient vinyl, wood. Available anti-slip with no profile and with fine
profile.
F.R.P. Panels. Epoxy coated glass fiber panels. For staircases ramps,
very high traffic services. Extremely durable for indoors and
outdoors. Can be applied outdoors in any weather.Removable if
desired.
Cleaning and Degreasing products. Ultra high
performance.Conventional cleaning products can be sold on price
only. There are many demanding situations where these may not
be suitable such as removal of black heel marks, hard caked on
grease accumulations, removal of hard water deposits.
Anti-Slip Loose Mats. These do a good job with the problem of not
being securely fixed to the surface and the possibility of corners

3. lifting and becoming trip hazards. Mats are difficult to keep clean
and need to be changed frequently.
Slip Meters. There are many models available and it is
recommended that the retailer keeps one on the premises to
monitor the slip resistance of the surface on a systematic basis and
keeps a record of the readings. Be careful which model is
purchased as not all are recognized by the courts. By documenting
regular readings a retailer can confirm its efforts in maintaining slip-
resistant standards should an injury occur. If on-going readings are
found to be non-compliant, the unsafe surface should be corrected
without delay.
For more information please refer to www.ada.gov. Also A.S.T.M.
slip injury standards.
Doug Frain
President
ACTION TIME USA
Doug.frain@actiontimeusa.com