When it comes to reducing the risk of injuries, there are many signs available that help keep employees and guests safe in a facility. Misuse of these signs can lessen their impact, however. When facility maintenance professionals abuse signs by leaving them out when they are no longer needed or place them improperly, guests and employees become desensitized to the seriousness of their nature.
A commonly misused sign is the wet floor sign. This sign should protect guests from harmful slip-and-fall accidents by warning them of a wet surface ahead. Many times, however, the sign is left out after the floor has dried or is not placed on the wet area itself.
To decrease the risk of accidents, signs should be placed on an area that requires cleaning early enough to give advance notice of the hazard, but not so far that it carries no meaning. Assuming a wet floor sign is properly used, there are still risks associated with wet-mopping hard surface floors. Property owners and managers could still leave themselves open to costly slip-and-fall accident litigation.
Those who are injured from a slip and fall may join the rising multibillion dollar industry of slip-and-fall lawsuits in the United States. According to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), slip, trip and fall accidents assume responsibility for 15 percent of all accidental deaths, second only to car accidents. Data from the National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI) estimates workers compensation claims from slip-and-fall accidents can amount to around $4,000 while the average liability awarded to customers or a third party injured in a slip-and-fall accident can range from $60,000 to $100,000 per claim.
Rather than follow stricter safety guidelines, some large companies quickly settle claims because the cost to do so is built into their budgets. This is a major mistake because the indirect cost comes in the form of increased insurance premiums. These costs may trickle down to tenants, guests and consumers.
Some small businesses and properties simply cannot accept raised insurance premiums as they may put their business at risk.
The solution to avoid costly slip-and-fall accidents is to change your method of floor cleaning. The MotoMop™ by Betco® is a small area cleaning machine designed to effectively clean hard surface floors while simultaneously leaving them dry.
The MotoMop cleans four times faster than a mop and bucket and is 38 times more effective in picking up soils when measured with an ATP meter that detects organic compounds.
The MotoMop is perfect for schools, hospitals, grocery stores and any other facility where wet floors may put guests at an increased risk of injury.
For more information visit www.betco.com.
