Tips to mitigate slippery floors and improve safety?

Hi all, 

 

We are a small but growing dessert manufacturer, and as we have grown have been dealing with more and more slip-and-fall issues among our employees. 

 

Does anyone have any tips that have worked well in your facilities to help mitigate slippery floors and improve safety? 

 

More info about our situation: 

• epoxy covered (there is a little grit in the epoxy to provide some traction)
• the oil residue we use for our process settles on the floor during the shift, creating a very slippery floor in certain areas
• during clean-up at shift's end, the water mixes with the oil and is an additional hazard

We require all production employees to wear nonslip, waterproof boots. We have researched and discussed with our chemical company any options that may exist (my dream chemical is something we could put down on the floors during the shift to absorb the oil, and would be approved for use in a food manufacturing facility... but apparently this does not exist). We have discussed floor mats, but really do not want to go this route, as we would need a LOT of them, and the daily cleaning/sanitation would be a big job. 

 

Surely other food manufacturers have had to deal with this issue and have come up with some solutions... My fingers are crossed that if you are reading this, you are among them and might be willing to share your ideas. 

 

Kindly,

Rebecca

Hi rebecca,

 

It is unclear to me (a) whether yr floor cleaning procedure is intrinsically inefficient to remove oil ? and (b) why yr process is causing a substantial volume of oil to exist on the floor (process layout defect/drainage?).

 

(a) requires expertise if unsatisfactory.

(b) may require more frequent cleaning assuming (a) is satisfactory or perhaps a process modification to control the oil falling on the floor if such is possible.

 

IMEX rubber boots are inherently more slippery than plastic. And cheap boots are more slippery than the opposite.

Thank you both for your feedback.

 

Regarding footwear: These are the boots we currently use: https://www.bunzlpd....=990005&page=4 

We have experimented with several different kinds of boots - both more expensive options and more mid-grade options. These seem to do the trick just as well as the more expensive ones, and our employees find them to be comfortable enough. If you have a recommendation for a particular boot manufacturer we should consider, I'd love to know so we can consider them. 

 

Regarding sanitation: Our sanitation program works very well to remove the oil from the floors. In terms of frequency, we do not have the resources at this point to undergo floor cleaning throughout a shift; only at the end of a shift.

 

Regarding process: Our process has actually improved significantly recently with the addition of a new piece of equipment that automatically oils the pans we use, keeping all of the oil contained within the machine (we used to hand spray the pans, which caused significant oil to settle on the floor). Outside of that, much of our process is still manual, and it is at that point that ancillary ingredients fall on the floor as employees hand scale and hand press over the line. Gross debris is cleaned from the floor throughout the day, but that does not address the oils that transfer to the floor. 

 

I appreciate any additional insight or ideas anyone might have! 

 

Rebecca

Hi Rebecca,

Thanks for process details. It sounds like an extremely challenging environment.

If you are now satisfied with yr boots I guess no problem. If otherwise, the suggestion from SQF Consultant would be my own next step, ie seek professional help.

PS - the linked product looked quite nice but, perhaps not surprisingly, makes no claim regarding oil.

Hello Rebecca,

 

Have you tried a heavy duty non skid strips for floors? or Anti slip safety strips? We used this at works and it works really well. 

 

Bests,

JanethPitz

Hi Rebecca,

 

Sounds like most of the oil comes from when employees spray the pans with the oil.. Correct? Could the pans only be sprayed in a certain area and then transported to their destination? Or is there an oil that could be rubbed on instead of sprayed so it does not go anywhere other than the pan? I am imagining someone holding a can of Pam and spraying a baking sheet and the aerosol settling down on surfaces-is that kind of how the process works?

 

Is there a way to turn down the amount of oil that is able to be sprayed at a time? Like not so much pressure so it does not come out very fast and go everywhere?

 

The strips sounds like a great option as well and may be the best option at this point if you can not change the process of how it is applied to the pans.

 

Nicole

You could use absorbent, disposable pads in that area and change them frequently enough where they do not pose a microbial hazard.  We use these all over our areas when maintenance is working on equipment to contain and absorb any oils or greases that drip down.  They are very effective, but of course, they need frequent changing.

 

I'm also inclined to suggest a different process of pan oiling altogether. Nicole had a couple good suggestions with applying oil by hand versus spray and designated a specific area for hand oil application only.

 

Good luck, it sounds like a difficult problem to solve.