What's the ongoing solution to your slippery when wet ceramic flooring conditions?

Some floor safety precautions such as floor mats, tile grooving, stick-on tapes, sand blasting, various floor coatings, etc. are taken because of misinformation, lack of information, or out of expedience. Most are ineffective and some are damaging.

Although inexperienced with floor safety issues, many unsafe commercial floor conditions have caused a business owner to take precautions that they feel are necessary, but may only create secondary hazards.

As the manufacturer, we have focused our efforts on a limited range of targeted products, specifically designed to solve the greatest potential hazard and fill the highest demand.
What is needed is a proven anti-slip ceramic flooring program that ensures your hard mineral floor maintains an ongoing acceptable slip-resistance.
 

Ceramic tile has specific longevity, durability, and ease of maintenance characteristics that make it the most suitable material for areas posing the greatest slip-fall hazard - i.e. highest traffic, highest maintenance, highest incident, and highest risk. Ceramic tile should provide a sustainable slip-resistant surface, when understood, maintained, and periodically rejuvenated to retain this necessary slip-fall prevention attribute; however, they seem to be very misunderstood by the general commercial and residential consumer. Proper floor-care demands proven products. Products that promote floor safety and an ongoing maintenance package that keep it that way. Don't accept that tiles will always maintain the necessary slip-resistance and don't accept that floor treatments will last. All tiles subjected to regular cleaning and heavier traffic conditions will require an anti-slip treatment application during their service-span. No tiles are permanently slip-resistant, under a commercial cleaning regimen and traffic conditions.   All ceramic tiles should periodically be inspected to determine if they need a follow-up cleaning and maintenance rejuvenation of the surface.   To maximize the ongoing performance and expand the anti-slip longevity, ceramic tile should be cleaned and maintained with a superior cleaner and degreaser, as part of regular cleaning activities. The real problem comes down to understanding the cleaning and maintenance requirements of ceramic tile. The first thing to recognize is, that it's usually not the anti-slip treatment of the floor that is the problem. After treatment, the primary reasons for any floor being dirty or slippery are either the cleaner being used or the cleaning methods.

If you are using a cleaner that does not efficiently clean the floor, it should be replaced with a cleaner that can.

If using a cleaning method that does not efficiently clean the floor, it should be replaced with a cleaning method that can.

If a floor begins to create a hazardous slippery condition for staff or patrons, it must be promptly rectified.

It's obvious that there are slippery floors; otherwise, there wouldn't even be a controversy over what is acceptable slip-resistance and the several methods of  'coefficient of friction' (COF)  standards testing.

It's also obvious, from the statistics, that there are a lot of slippery floors out there, and unless you are following a preventative maintenance program, most commercial ceramic floors will become slippery when wet. With our monitoring system, this problem is corrected immediately.

As you are aware, floors require daily cleaning -- this is a common maintenance procedure that is accepted when the floor surface is first installed. When an Anti-Slip treatment is applied to those surfaces -- it too requires maintenance. Experience tells us that routine daily cleaning does not stop the eventual buildup of contaminants on your treated surface. Once this occurs, your treated floors will again not be operating at maximum effectiveness. Traction will be diminished.

For this reason, you must consider an ongoing maintenance and inspection program, something that works in tandem with your janitorial activities - i.e. floor safety experts that can periodically inspect your floors and recommend methods that ensure your floor retains safe conditions.

At the same time, you will want to receive a written report, detailing the overall condition of your floor and any potential problems. This will prove that you have taken steps to provide a safer flooring environment. If an accident ever does happen, you will be prepared to show that, as a business, you have taken reasonable care and precautions.

To know more about our Floor Safety Maintenance Program (FSMP) – please  contact Global Safe.