Tag Archives: safety

The Most Commonly Slipped-On Surfaces

It’s true…Americans slip and fall a lot. In fact, over one million Americans suffer a slip and fall injury every year. You’d almost wonder how we get so much done when we’re spending that much time letting gravity take us down. We slip both outside and inside on water, ice, grease spots, floor wax, your toddler’s apple sauce, and anything in between.

Well, let’s all fight back with a “not today, gravity” and identify some of the most commonly slipped on surfaces.

Interior Flooring Surfaces

When a floor is waxed or cleaned, a wet floor sign should obviously be put up. However, people don’t always do things that they’re supposed to do. So if you see the hardwood floor shining back up at you thanks to that fresh wax reflecting the ceiling lights, it’s probably in your best interest to proceed with caution.

Mopping can have the same effect, and in facilities like restaurants or grocery stores that are constantly being mopped, you must always be alert for any slick or slippery areas. The services, wholesale, and retail trade industries combined account for over 60% of injuries from same-level slip and fall incidents.

So if you work in one of these industries, stay alert at all times, watch where you’re walking (that means don’t have your head buried down in your phone), and if you do see a slick spot, throw that wet floor sign out there.

Hazardous Weather Conditions

Most outdoor slip and fall injuries are the result of hazardous weather conditions (thanks, Earth). Whether it’s rain, snow, or ice, we love to slip on it. The weather is unpredictable and can change at any time, so unless you plan on never venturing outside again, there’s not much that you can do about avoiding it. Just stay alert and walk slowly if the elements do turn nasty.

But even on a sunny day, the outdoors are the host of several hazards that can cause falls. Uneven sidewalks, driveways, and parking lots are just perfect for the unsuspecting person to trip on. There’s no better way to start your day than by tripping on a pothole and watching your coffee go flying through the air. So stay alert, and always watch where you walk.

Entrances and Exits

Oh, you thought that all of Earth’s wonderful weather was just going to stay outside? If only that were the case. When people walk inside on a rainy or snowy day, they track in all of the water from outside and leave it nicely placed in the entryway of the building.

Now hopefully this building has a doormat at all entrances and exits, but if they don’t, these areas transform from doorways to slip-n-slides. And trust us, slipping your way into a grocery store isn’t exactly the most graceful way to do it. So stay alert when entering any building on a rainy day.

Obviously, nothing can protect you from all of these surfaces, but if you find yourself working in slippery conditions more often than not, feel free to check out our slip resistant shoes at www.srmax.com.

Safety Tips for Any Industry

Restaurants, hospitals, and warehouses can be some of the most dangerous places to work when it comes to slips and falls. Liquid spills, oily floors, and even dust can pose a threat to your safety and well-being at work.

Check out our 12 Safety Tips and get inspired to help make your own work environments safer and more productive. Click the link below to download a pdf version for your employees and coworkers:

Click here for a print download.

Looking to learn more about our slip-resistant shoes? Check us out at www.srmax.com

A Restaurant Manager’s Take On Why Slip Resistant Shoes Matter

Ken Fording, floor manager at a popular North Carolina restaurant, has worked in the food industry since he was sixteen. He began his career as a dishwasher at a Roadside Inn and has since worked every job the industry from busboy to head chef, expediter to waiter. He notes that in the early days of his career, work safety shoes weren’t something workers and management paid attention to.

That’s no longer the case as Fording says he and his staff, “would be lost” without slip resistant shoes.

“Our wait staff regularly pull double shifts, which means they’re on their feet for twelve or thirteen hours at a stretch,” he says. “And our kitchen staff is working 8 hour shifts. Everyone who works in a restaurant nowadays recognizes you need two things in a shoe: comfort and safety.”

Although slip resistant shoes are not mandatory for staff, Fording notes almost every employee, front and back of the house, wears them. Aside from comfort, the shoes are essential for safety.

“People would be falling all over the place without them,” says Fording. “The back of the house would be like an ice-skating rink.”

He notes one employee just came back to work after being out over a year with a workers compensation claim related to a slip and fall accident. The employee was not wearing slip resistant shoes at the time of the accident.

“We can’t make people wear slip resistant shoes but we really don’t have to,” says Fording.

“If you’re working in this industry, you recognize that finding a solid slip resistant shoe that will bear up to long days is essential.”

When asked what features matter most to his employees in a slip resistant shoe, Fording responds that comfort and safety head the list. After that, solid construction and style come into play. “Most of the guys don’t care what they wear but I know some of the female staff pay more attention to their shoes,” he says. “And personally, I’m dressed up working the floor so I need a shoe that can transition from kitchen to front of the house and still look good.”

Fording’s company provides one pair of shoes a year for management but employees are responsible for purchasing their own slip resistant footwear. “It’s the first thing we bring up after they’re hired,” he says. “We tell them, ‘You’re going to want to get a pair of good shoes.’”

On a lighter note, Fording jokes that he wishes he could make restaurant guests wear slip resistant shoes. “We have a wood floor foyer, nothing unusual about it, and women often come in wearing these super high heels and if they slip, they blame it on the floor.”

He shakes his head and laughs. “There’s nothing wrong with the floor. They’re just wearing the wrong shoe.”