What Non-Slip Solution is Best for Your Business?

Choosing the correct type of non-slip flooring product for your business or facility is an important factor when it comes to the safety of your workers, patrons, students, patients or guests. It is something people might overlook when updating a building or even in new construction, but consider these alarming statistics:

• In 2017 alone a reported 227,760 non-fatal injury cases were reported due to falls, slips, and trips in the private industry.
• According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), floors and flooring materials are directly involved in more than two million fall injuries each year.

You need to take into account different factors when it comes to choosing your flooring solution. What does your building specialize in, where are people walking, what is the environment? While nothing can assure you no-one will ever slip and fall 100% of the time, choosing a non-slip flooring product can help minimize the risk. We will review some of the best non-slip flooring options for industries to consider and examine the differences.

Manufacturing
Manufacturing and industrial factories are upheld to numerous standards and regulations in both the construction and everyday operations. Depending on the type of facility, they may have to contend with additional scrutiny because of their operations (e.g. food processing facilities). The floors of these buildings are especially prone to slips and fall because of the machines that may be running across them or various liquids from the plant operations. In order to meet additional safety requirements and reduce slip, trip and fall incidents in manufacturing facilities, you should consider using non-slip tapes and stair treads for the plant floors and grit tape on ramps and docks for added coverage.

Transportation
Consider most people using transportation—they are generally in a hurry, not always paying attention, and oftentimes have their hands full. These are less than ideal conditions if you are trying to prevent a slip or fall. Thankfully, the transportation industry has an assortment of non-slip flooring materials to choose from to offer safe solutions for those traveling via water, road, rail or air.

• Air travel:
  Traveling by plane is usually safer than traveling by road or water, but slip and fall accidents can still occur. Consider using non-slip stair treads for guests boarding and unboarding and also place grit tape on the floors of the bathroom or where sinks are located. Cargo bays also pose a concern for workers, so make sure a heavy duty grit tape is placed on the floors to prevent slip and fall accidents. Jetways are also a common concern because passengers or workers may be carrying numerous pieces of luggage and not looking where they are going. Consider making sure everyone is safe with non-slip treads and handrails placed throughout.
  
  
• Road and Rail travel:
  Road travel can mean trains, cars, trucks, and buses. Depending on the type of vehicle, the non-slip flooring options may vary in strength and location.
  
  For example:
  
  
  • Semi-Trucks:
    Consider using a grit tape on ladders outside or inside the cab to withstand all elements.
    
    
  • Train:
    Make sure non-slip adhesive is applied to the flooring to allow passengers to travel safely. Also, to be in compliance with the ADA, a passenger train must provide universal elements to be accessible to all passengers. This could mean the addition of ramps, which in conjunction with a fast moving train and potentially wet surfaces, is a slipping hazard for all train passengers and should be treated with anti-slip tape or treads. Consider using Glo Brite® egress marking tape to clearly mark steps and hallways. This material glows-in-the-dark and illuminates the path when a light source is not available.
    
    
  • Bus and Subway:
    Besides being a place to prevent slips and falls, you might also consider these spaces prime advertising space. Buses and subways have been known to utilize graphics media products that double as non-slip adhesives. Consider using a product like Asphalt Art®, TexWalk® or SportWalk® which are non-slip, but also offers advertising or wayfinding. The adhesive coated non-slip media can be printed and installed on stair treads, aisles, bus shelters, subway stations/platforms, or bus terminals where you would want to prevent a slip or fall.
    
    
  • Water travel:
    

    The element of water always makes slipping a more likely occurrence. By adding non-slip films or adhesives you will be able to prevent a potential fall near the water. Consider cruise ships, naval carriers or even submarines. Utilizing grit tape, stair treads and other commercial grade non-slip flooring options are an important part of the safety of those aboard. Making sure the non-slip flooring option you choose can withstand extreme conditions is important. For example, Safety Track® Military Grade 3810/3820 anti-slip peel-and-stick has been tested and approved to meet and exceed MIL-PRF-24667C and is listed on NAVSEA QPL. Engineered to perform in extreme environments, Military Grade delivers greater traction and durability than industrial nonskid tapes. The extra-large grit particles provide additional slip-resistance for marine and harsh operational conditions.
    

Healthcare
Flooring in healthcare facilities can quickly become slippery when liquid spills happen from medicines, chemicals or beverages. With the environment becoming quickly hectic and busy, the last thing you need to have your employees or patients worrying about is a slip and fall within your own facility. Choosing a flooring solution that is slip-resistant, durable, and easy to maintain is key. Beyond choosing a flooring material that meets those criteria, consider adding non-slip adhesive or tapes in areas that are more prone to water. Entrances of the building, water stations, food/beverage areas, bathrooms and anywhere a sink is located are top places to prioritize when assessing your building.

Hospitality
Guest safety is a top priority when it comes to resorts and hotels across the world. Slips and falls are unfortunately the number one cause of accidents in hotels, with 70% of them actually happening on a flat or level surface. By assessing your facility and updating a few locations with inexpensive non-slip flooring options, falls can be easily prevented. Consider the following locations in your hotel:

• Entrance/Exits:
  With these floors getting a lot of traffic and potentially poor weather conditions, it is important to have a non-slip solution on the floor. Rugs can often create a tripping hazard, but Asphalt Art ® or TexWalk® can offer a non-slip ground with graphics media of the hotels choice on the floor.
  
  
• Bathrooms:
  Simple additions to the bathrooms can help prevent what could become large legal trouble for hotels. Consider adding Flex Track® bath mats and strips in baths and showers. Also include handrails on the wall of the shower or tub and regular maintenance or replacement of slip-resistant products is key to ensure guest safety and reduced hotel liability in slips and falls.
  
  

• Stairs:
  Taking the stairs has become increasingly popular with people working on their fitness. Ensure you have stair treads and proper lighting in stairwells to reduce the danger of a trip or fall. Also, use emergency exit signs and hotel safety signs where needed in the stairwells.
  
  

• Fitness Center and Spa:
  An easy addition is Safety Track® non-slip tapes and treads in fitness centers and gyms. They can be used as a treadmill non-slip tape and non-skid fitness equipment tape so you can prevent guest injury substantially. If your location has a steam room or spa, consider grit tape or non-slip adhesive on the floors that consistently have moisture on them.

Education, Corporate & Retail

When considering non-slip flooring options for educational buildings, corporate offices or retail spaces, you want to gear it towards safety and durability due to the amount of foot traffic these spaces see overtime. Graphics media non-slip options have become increasingly popular for these environments because they can offer anti-slip properties and also be used for a means of wayfinding, decor, advertising, or themes. Graphics media can offer a versatile, repositionable adhesive that generally leaves no residue. It can also be used on carpet fabrics, wood tiles and many other substrates making it easy and inexpensive to implement in any type of building. Non-slip materials for floors can be customized for each project, so it is really up to the building manager or owner’s imagination and requirements.

The type of non-slip flooring you choose will largely depend on your day to day business operations, where you want to apply it and what the environment is like where it needs to be applied. With so many options on the market today, from grit tapes and treads used in commercial and military applications to resilient rubberized textured PVC tapes and treads and even vinyl, non-abrasive embossed PVC tape strips, shower mats, and bathtub treads designed for wet and dry environments, you will want to make sure whatever option you choose at minimum meets the requirements of friction set up by OSHA, ADA and the National Floor and Safety Institute. Discuss with a Jessup Manufacturing team member your specific requirements and to learn about the different options available when it comes to offering non-slip flooring in your business.