It's that time of year again, the rain is here with a vengeance and the leaves are falling tenfold.
The weather that comes with this time of the year, whether it is the rain, snow, frost or falling leaves can all cause a slip hazard at the entrance to your premises.
It is the employers responsibility to ensure the health and safety of both staff and visitors when it comes to slip hazards in the work place. That’s why we have put together these handy 5 top tips to help you to prevent slip and fall accidents at the entrance to your premises.
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Use an outdoor scraper mat
One of the easiest ways to prevent slips at your entrance, is to reduce the amount of water, dirt and leaves that are brought inside your premises, by using an outdoor entrance mat.
An outdoor scraper mat will scrape heavy dirt from footwear before it has chance to enter your premises. A mat with flow-through holes will allow rain water and dirt to fall beneath the standing surface of the mat, to prevent slips. Mats with holes will also hold on to leaves!
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Use entrance matting with a non-slip backing
To prevent slips, trips and falls, it is important to make sure that your matting does not move or slip on the floor. Rubber has natural non-slip properties, so using matting which has a rubber backing will help stop the mat from creeping on the floor.
Alternatively, you can use a non-slip underlay underneath the matting, which will prevent mats from slipping on hard floors and creeping on carpets, to prevent slips and falls.
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Use entrance matting with a dam
In wet and rainy conditions, it is important that your entrance matting can hold on to as much water as possible. Using entrance matting with a dam system means that the water and dirt can be stored inside the mat, so that it doesn’t leak onto the surrounding floor and cause a slip hazard.
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Ensure your matting is weather resistant
Your entrance matting will be subjected to all kinds of weather conditions in the winter, especially if it placed outside. It is therefore important to ensure that the matting is weather resistant, so that it doesn’t crack or split in extremely cold temperatures.
To ensure your entrance mats can cope with extreme weather conditions, they should be made of rubber. Better still, Nitrile Rubber is an extremely tough material, built to cope with anything that the weather throws at it. Avoid mats made of PVC or Vinyl, as these are liable to crack, split or curl, which causes a hazard of its own.
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Clean your entrance mats regularly
To keep your entrance matting performing as effectively as possible, it is important to clean them regularly.
Read our article on how to clean your entrance mats here.
Need more help prevent slips and falls?
Call us on 0121 313 6743 or use our Live Chat facility during normal office hours. Alternatively, send us an email to sales@mats4u.co.uk and we will be more than happy to help you.
