Performing a slip test in several areas of a restaurant is very important. Slips occur mainly in two distinct locations in restaurants: the publicly accessible dining area, and the staff kitchen. Each require different approaches to effectively mitigate the risk of slipping, but both will rely on an accurate measure of slip resistance in order to inform risk management.
Restaurant dining areas typically need to be attractive and easy to clean, and so will often feature a smooth floor which is slippery when contaminated. Even timber surfaces which may present a rough profile from the factory are often subject to sealing/polishing which removes any anti-slip features. It will be crucial here to understand how the floor performs in contaminated conditions (something a slip test will tell you) and what controls can be practicably implemented to reduce the risk of contamination. Ultimately responsible parties will need to decide whether to manage the slip risk either through maintenance of an anti-slip flooring finish, or through effective and reliable contamination controls. An expert independent slip risk assessment can help with either approach, providing documented evidence that the surface is safe (or flagging it for improvement works) or guiding the contamination controls strategy.
Pendulum Slip Testing in Restaurants
Commercial kitchens require effective anti-slip flooring. There is no practicable way to prevent a contaminated floor surface in a kitchen environment, so the floor must provide safe grip in contaminated conditions if slips are to be prevented. As the area is back-of-house there are a few additional approaches in the responsible party’s arsenal here; the flooring doesn’t have to be aesthetically pleasing, and both footwear and behaviour is more easily controlled. Slip testing to monitor the performance of the floor surface is essential if a safe grip level is to be maintained in the long term. Anti-slip flooring will wear over time and accumulate dirt within the profile if not cleaned perfectly. Regular testing will alert responsible parties to problems with floor and/or cleaning so that action can be taken to prevent slips before they occur.
Munro’s extensive experience in conducting slip risk assessment to exacting standards in a wide range of environments makes us an excellent ally in your efforts to reduce slip accidents in a restaurant setting. Our risk assessment slip tests are conducted to the same standard as those we produce for the court in slip and fall legal claims, we don’t benefit from any anti-slip products or solutions, and all works are conducted in accordance with the Health and Safety Executive’s preferred method the BS 7976-2 Pendulum to UKSRG Guidelines.
