Case Studies
Slip in a Lift
Workers used a lift shortly after cleaners had carried out daily cleaning work. The lift had been mopped, however, cleaning was not followed up by a dry mop to dry the lift floor. In addition, the cleaners did not put out any cautionary signs to suggest that the lift floor might be wet. On entering the lift, one of the workers slipped and sustained injuries.
Cadogans was asked to prepare an independent report addressing following issues.
- Suitability/non-slip quality of the floor.
- Does the floor become slippery when wet?
- Systems in place for mopping the floor.
- Should the detergent be rinsed off the floor?
- Should the floor be left wet?
- WORK CA
A site visit was carried out together with slip resistance tests to investigate the suitability of the lift floor. Pendulum and micro-roughness tests were carried out in accordance with the relevant BS standards and UKSRG guidelines to determine the slip resistance of the floor. The photograph shows the equipment used.
The profiled surface of the lift floor was found to be slip resistant in the dry condition. However, when wet, the same floor exhibited very low slip resistance with the likelihood of a slip taking place on such a floor being higher than 1 in 2.
On application of water to the lift floor for testing, a soapy residue was observed on the surface indicating that the surface had not been rinsed thoroughly. It was also found that there was a potential for the creation of water puddles in the buttoned profile of the lift surface, if the spilled or excess water was not thoroughly removed. There was no system in place to dry the floor with a dry mop at the end of wet mopping process.
It was also observed that, following the accident, a cautionary sign was kept in the lift at all times. HSE guidelines suggest that such inappropriately placed signs are more often ignored.
It was concluded that the lift floor material offered very little slip resistance in the wet condition. The profiled surface did not offer any added benefits to the slip resistance of the floor. It was also opined that the floor cleaning process at the healthcare centre was ineffective and inefficient. It was recommended that access to the lift should be completely restricted in the wet condition.
