A proactive approach to slip testing is the best approach. It’s easy to think, “My business’ floors have been slip tested when laid or in the past few years, so why would I need to do it again?” But as the environment and conditions in your workplace change, so does your flooring’s performance. We will take you through when and why your flooring will need to be slip tested.
A Change In Flooring Materials
Most obviously, as soon as new flooring is laid it needs to be tested for maximum safety performance. A change in flooring needs to be matched to the needs of the business. This can depend on foot traffic, cleaning procedures and weather protection.
Flooring Damage or Deterioration
Flooring will inevitably deteriorate or become damaged over time due to contaminants. Over time, factors such as dirt, food and drinks, cleaning products etc can impact on the safety performance of flooring. So, it is recommended to regularly carry out slip testing. Around every 6 months is ideal in order to be proactive and detect any early signs of health and safety hazards.
High Risk Environments
Your duty of care to people using business flooring is paramount. To put off slip testing in any environment is a hazard, but the risks are even higher in certain environments. For example, if your work environment is a health place, or uses heavy, industrialised equipment, slip testing should be at the top of your health and safety assessment checklist.
Safety requirements are based on dry-floor results. However, a thorough understanding of how your flooring performs in both wet and dry conditions is important to know. If wet flooring poses a significant risk to safety, we can talk through how to fix the issue. It is best to prepare for all situations and risks in case of falls and accidents.
A Change in Flooring Use
If the use for your flooring has altered for any reason, it is vital to carry out a slip test. Different uses of flooring can pose significantly different hazards and risks. For example, if an area of flooring was mainly exposed to foot-fall but more recently heavy machinery will be passing through, it is a good idea to carry out a slip test. If an old office space will be converted to a staff gym area, then this new purpose for the space will require adequate slip resistance.
If There Has Been An Injury
If an accident or injury has taken place within your business, a slip test will validate whether the floors are still at an acceptable slip resistance since the last test. This will help to carry out ongoing investigation into an injury claim. Of course, the best way to keep everybody safe is to proactively test every six months. But in any case of this not happening, a slip test will be an asset in dealing with a current accident and ensuring that it doesn’t happen again.
If any of these situations apply to your business or a business that you know, please feel free to read our News sections which will guide you through more about how and why we slip test. Our friendly team are also happy to help you with any slip-testing queries, so please feel free to get in touch