Slip and trips - are you compliant?

Test Slip Australia provides details on some of the latest changes related to slip-resistant flooring standards.

Falls that result from a slip or trip result in thousands of injuries every year, the most common are musculoskeletal injuries, cuts, bruises, fractures and dislocations but more serious injuries can also occur, says Safe Work Australia (SWA).

Persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCUBs) must manage the health and safety risks associated with slips and trips by eliminating the risk so far as is reasonably practicable, and if that is not reasonably practicable, minimising the risk so far as is reasonably practicable.

According to the hierarchy of control (available from SWA), there are various ways to control the risk of slips and trips. In order of their effectiveness, they include:

1. eliminate the hazard;
2. substitute the flooring with a more slip-resistant surface;
3. isolate the high-risk area;
4. implement engineering controls such as floor treatments, lighting, drainage, etc;
5. implement administrative controls such as signage, good housekeeping practices, etc; and
6. wear personal protective equipment (PPE) such as slip-resistant footwear.

Slip-resistant flooring

Common slip hazards include: slippery surface; fluid, spills and contaminants on surface; sudden changes in surfaces, downward slope; moss on an exterior surface; and inappropriate footwear.

Floor treatments that improve slip resistance are those which increase the surface roughness of the flooring. The main floor treatments include sand blasting or grinding, chemical etching, coating with resins and using floor mats or adhesive anti-slip strips.

PCUBs have a duty of care to ensure floor surfaces in the workplace are fit for purpose, meet a minimum level of slip resistance and do not pose a safety risk, explains Clark Ahearn from Test Slip Australia. He says its important for PCUBs such as property owners, architects, facility managers, floor suppliers, etc, to keep track of their floor safety obligations. Detailed below, he has provided an update on some of the latest changes related to slip-resistant flooring standards.

Changes to Slip Resistance Australian Standards - 2013

The Australian Standards for slip resistance of pedestrian surfaces have recently been under revision by Standards Australia Committee BD-094. New revisions of these Standards were published on 28 June 2013 and include:

• AS 4586 - 2013 Slip resistance classification of new pedestrian surface materials, now supersedes AS/NZS 4586 - 2004.
• AS 4663 - 2013 Slip Resistance measurement of existing pedestrian surfaces, now supersedes AS/NZS 4663 - 2004.

A number of minor changes have been made throughout both the AS 4586 - 2013 and AS 4663 - 2013 standards, however, according to Test Slip Australia, the wet pendulum slip resistance test method has had the most significant change of all the test methods.

The 2013 revision of these two standards incorporates an additional requirement in the wet pendulum slip resistance test method for preparing rubber slider test feet with 3 micron lapping film. Research has shown that when a rubber slider is prepared this way, it is a closer representation of a worn and polished heel and may best reflect the lower slip-resistance attributable to the contact of two smoother surfaces under water-wet conditions. Adoption of the lapping film preparation to condition the slider enables more sensitive differentiation between potentially slippery surfaces than was previously the case and, as such, will cause some pedestrian surfaces to provide a lower slip resistance test result than what would have been obtained if tested according to the 2004 version of AS/NZS 4586 or AS/NZS 4663. This is likely to have the biggest impact on smooth flooring materials such as glazed/polished tiles, sealed terrazzo, sealed/polished natural stone, polished timber, vinyl, etc.

Pendulum test

As the changes to the new wet pendulum test method will potentially change the classifications of some flooring products, a new classification system has been introduced to clearly identify which revision of the Standard it was tested to, ie, AS/NZS 4586 - 2004 or AS 4586 - 2013. The 2004 version used V, W, X, Y or Z Classifications which are no longer being used. The 2013 version of AS 4586 uses the following classification system:

Classification of pedestrian surface materials according to the AS 4586 wet pendulum test

Classification of pedestrian surface materials according to the dry floor friction test

The dry floor friction test method classifications have also changed in AS 4586 - 2013. The 2004 version used F or G Classifications which are no longer being used. The 2013 version of AS 4586 uses the following classification system:

Tortus dry floor friction tester

Further information

Partner of NATA-accredited independent slip testing authority ATTAR, Test Slip Australia provides floor safety health checks and independent assessments associated with floor-safety obligations. For further information, visit www.testslip.com.

Further details on slips and trips at the workplace are available as a fact sheet download from Safe Work Australia