Walkway auditors test the flooring surfaces in businesses for the appropriate levels of friction. With enough friction present, employees and customers are less likely to have slip and fall accidents. If the flooring surface is too slippery, the result could be an injury and a lawsuit for negligence. Walkway auditors have plenty of good advice for business owners about how to reduce the risk of slip and fall injuries at work.

Here are 10 tips that walkway auditors recommend for business owners when it comes to minimizing slip and fall injuries:

1. Ask all employees to wear slip-resistant footwear. Even the best flooring surfaces won’t be very helpful if the foot traffic is not wearing appropriate footwear
2. Set up a maintenance plan to take care of spills immediately and train employees how to implement the plan as soon as moisture is noticed.
3. Make plenty of “Wet Floor” and “Watch Your Step” signs available in easy-to-reach areas so employees can get them set up within minutes of wet or dry spills.
4. Never run electrical cords across a walkway. If there is no other way, make sure you tape them down with a product that will hold well but won’t leave sticky residue behind
5. Repair any uneven floor surfaces and make sure transitions between different types of flooring is not a tripping hazard.
6. Ensure that any floor drains are clear and open, and protected with the appropriate covering.
7. Flooring near entrances to the building should receive extra attention when conditions are wet or snowy.
8. Verify that the cleaning products being used are not increasing the floor’s slipperiness, such as by covering the flooring with a slippery sealant or wax, or filling up the grooves in the rough surface of the flooring.
9. Check that all walkways are well-lit so that employees and customers can see well enough to negotiate the walkway ahead of them. This is especially important on stairways, ramps and where flooring transitions from one type to the other.
10. Use the services of a walkway auditor to help you develop a comprehensive floor maintenance plan and eliminate risky areas at your workplace.

If you implement all these strategies, your company will be much less likely to be the site of a slip and fall accident with an employee or a customer. It’s never too early to begin implementing the tips and advice of a walkway auditor, so contact one today and set up an appointment.