Car Park at large Retail Chain Case Study
Problem
A large Retailer contacted us as they were receiving many reports of people slipping on their newly laid Car Park surface and they were concerned they were going to have to have the whole surface re-laid at great cost. Management had noticed that numbers of slip incidents and reported near misses were steadily increasing. This, in addition to having received a claim for personal injury, made it clear that the issues had to be addressed to protect the business from further future claims and costs.
Solution
SlipTest attended the site and identified several locations in which they recommended testing be carried out. The initial area of concern was found to be highly contaminated with diesel, grease, grit and dirt and was not performing at a level that would be expected for that type of surface, the wet results were especially concerning. It was recommended an immediate deep clean with a scrubber dryer or jet wash, using just water, was carried out. A regular cleaning regime also needed implementing to ensure the contamination didn’t build up again – the contamination build up reduces friction and increases slip risk. It was also recommended that the surface would benefit from shot blasting. Secondly it was identified that the paint for the yellow lines recorded a heightened risk of slip and therefore it was advised that this paint should be replaced with a textured paint to increase friction and reduce slip risk. It was identified that the floor was especially worn for its age and so it was important to monitor this degradation over time. In addition, the internal lift lobby areas were found to be recording a high risk of slip due to the level of water and dirt finding its way onto the surface. Amends to the cleaning regime were recommended to ensure this water was mopped up more regularly, especially on wetter days and warning signage was needed to notify the public of likely wet floors so they take extra care.
Result
On return, it was notable that all areas showed a significant improvement in results, recording low risk of slip in wet and dry conditions. This resulted in a much cheaper option than the original plan to replace the entire surface and reported slip incidents also reduced drastically.