Business profile
The Dorset Woolliscroft collection is a comprehensive range of quality, hard wearing, fully vitrified porcelain slip-resistant floor tiles for internal and external use
S
afety is a prime concern for all involved in the design and specification of rail and other transport areas. There is a duty of care upon manufacturers and those who specify floor surfaces to ensure that they are fit for purpose, eliminating risks to safety wherever possible. Products should be tested for slip resistance and other properties using a range of methods, so technical product specifications should be consulted.
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE): ‘Slips and trips account for around one in three non-fatal major injuries, and for more than one in five over three-day injuries in workplace areas throughout Great Britain, a total of at least 35,000 injuries per annum (one serious slip accident every three minutes).’ Currently, there are a number of different standards to deal with the issue of slip resistance for floor surfaces in the UK. However, the HSE outlines the responsibilities for preventing slips and trips at workplaces and public areas for flooring manufacturers, architects and designers, employers, workers and footwear manufacturers. With slips and trips posing such a common health risk in most buildings, architects, specifiers and clients need to specify floors which are suitably slip resistant for their intended use – not only for immediate usage but also for the longer-term. In transport zones the safety of the public at large is also a major consideration.
The HSE has published comprehensive guidance of how and why slips and trips occur and how to prevent them. The current preference is for the use of the pendulum or ramp based test methods for assessment of pedestrian floor surfaces or flooring materials, with additional information from surface roughness measurement where applicable.
Anti-slip a crucial quality
Anti-slip qualities are absolutely crucial to all areas, including platforms, ticket offices, foot bridges and more, in order to ensure the safety of passengers and staff alike. Those who work within the industry will know that testing methods
November 2013 Page 113
are more rigorous than ever to ensure that only products of the highest quality are installed.
Anti-slip flooring technology has progressed, with companies like Dorset Woolliscroft developing ceramic tiles with specific areas of usage in mind: wet and dry areas with heavy foot fall, wheeled traffic areas, weather exposed situations, access areas such as ramps – in fact, wherever slip resistance qualities are essential.
All types of flooring are subjected
to rigorous tests to determine the slip resistance of the tile. Assessments like the Pendulum Test, recognised as an industry standard, determine the ‘R’ rating of flooring. The higher the rating, the better the slip resistant qualities of the material. All Dorset Woolliscroft tiles feature R ratings of R10 – R12, so they meet or exceed the required standard. Dorset Woolliscroft believes independent testing is vital alongside internal assessments, to guarantee quality, as well as to provide peace of mind to
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140