Keeping your feet on the ground

SLIPS AND trips happen for a reason. Sometimes they can be down to pure clumsiness or people not looking where they are going, but more often than not they happen because an area is slippery, wet, damaged, or there are obstructions around. 

Often the risks can be mitigated through common sense and good housekeeping practices. For example, mopping up spills, using a degreaser to break up and remove an oil spillage or other contaminant, or simply making sure that packaging is removed from a walkway.  

The trickier problem is identifying the less noticeable risks presented by damage or defects on a concrete floor or stairway. If left untreated, what could originally have been a minor slip or trip hazard, could become a serious issue.

What are the hazards underfoot?

General wear and tear from MHE, loads being moved around, heavy racking systems and regular foot traffic can all have an adverse effect on concrete floors and stairs. 

Understanding what the common problems are and how to treat them quickly, will help employers to provide a safe environment and reduce the potential for slips and trips in your warehouse, for example:

• Cracks: Concrete floors can crack as a result of movement from restraint or shrinkage, from heavy traffic or simply because something has been dropped on the floor.  Always repair cracks as soon as they appear to avoid them deteriorating further over time, particularly as MHE passes over them. When carried out early on, repairs are often straightforward. Dirt and loose materials simply need to be removed and then the crack can be easily filled with a suitable filler, such as an epoxy resin mix or a sand and cement filler.
• Holes: A hole can be caused by surface impact and can become bigger as the aggregate pops out when wheels from equipment such as pallet trucks pass over.  Holes may seem insignificant, but even a relatively small one can cause someone to lose their footing or turn an ankle. Holes can easily be repaired by sweeping away dirt and debris and then filling with an epoxy resin mortar.
• Joints: All concrete floors have joints in them. They’re either designed to prevent cracks caused by movement during changes in temperature, or, are naturally created when concrete is poured over several days. Unfortunately, joints are weak points and once exposed, further damage to the arris edges can be caused as traffic bumps over them. Depending on the size of the area, sealants, epoxy or flexible polyurethane mortars can be used to repair the joints.
• Step damage: Tread nosings are prone to damage on concrete stairs. This can be down to general wear and tear from years of pedestrian use, or because the tread has taken the impact from something being dragged down the steps. The best method of repair is to select an epoxy resin mortar that will ‘feather edge’ to nothing and sticks to the step while it is trowelled smooth.

Reducing the risks of an incident

Damaged or slippery floors and steps can be hazardous in any facility, but in busy industrial environments such as warehouses, they can present a greater risk of injury.  

Prevention is the best approach. Carrying out regular checks on concrete floors and stairways means that problems can be spotted early on, and repair work can be carried out, allowing the area back to be back in use quickly and safely before it becomes a major and costly problem.

Michael Cross is senior technical service manager at Watco UK

For more information: 

www.watco.co.uk

Tel: 01483 418418