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https://www.hse.gov.uk/slips/costs.htm)
Don’t slip up on floorcare
Slips and falls can come at a high price for business owners, but so many people view them as inevitable. James White, Managing Director of Denis Rawlins Ltd, explains why a rapid response to floorcare problems can reduce accidents and save millions.
Whether it’s a wet entrance to a shopping centre, a spillage in a supermarket aisle, or a build-up of grease or oil in a factory, contaminated floors pose a real health hazard: both in the workplace and in public venues.
In fact, according to the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), UK workers suffer around 11,000 major injuries caused by slips every year, with almost 90% involving broken bones. These incidents aren’t cheap for anyone involved.
Employers are hit the hardest financially, shelling out over £500m per year in fines, healthcare, damage and production delay due to staff absence. The NHS come off pretty badly too, with the cost due to slips and falls estimated to be about £115m each year.
However, to the injured individual, the cost is incalculable. Aside from the obvious loss of income, there is the pain, worry and stress, which can significantly reduce their quality of life.
Despite the impact that these incidents have on so many parties, most businesses do not give floorcare the priority it needs. They view workplace mishaps as inevitable and often blame the individual’s human error.
In reality, most accidents of this nature are completely avoidable, and it is the legal and moral responsibility of the employer to create an environment and culture where slips and falls are preventable.
40 | FLOORCARE AND MAINTENANCE This is where rapid response floorcare comes in.
Chop the mop All too often when a spillage occurs, we see the cleaner wheel out the mop and bucket in an attempt to remove the risk, but this outdated, ineffective method is pretty much useless. All a string mop is good for is spreading the problem around. It doesn’t actually remove the soil and leaves another, usually larger wet surface in its wake. It’s a short-sighted response to a serious hazard.
Just think about it: the water in the bucket that is used to clean the mop after use, is the very same water that is returned to the floor to clean with. So, the problem is very much still there.
In fact, scientific research has shown that mopped areas are instantly re-infected as the mop head picks up soils in the bucket’s contaminated water and circulates them across floor. Even microfibre mopping only cut bacteria levels by 51% at best, before dragging bacteria back into clean areas, resulting in an overall effectiveness of 24%.
Investing in innovation
The best way to treat a spillage is through high-flow fluid extraction. This process uses fresh water and cleaning chemicals, uncontaminated by previous use, dispensed on the surface. It is then agitated if necessary to loosen soils,
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