Building services solutions sought for use in battle against slips and trips

The most common of occurrences recorded in workplace accident books, the slip or trip, justifies the continued search for any small advances in knowledge which, if acted upon, could possibly make these events less likely.
It is already known that the risk of slipping on a flooring surface is greatly increased if the surface is wet. Floor surfaces typically become wet because of either contamination from spillages or water brought in from the exterior on the soles of shoes or condensation. Condensation will form on a surface if its temperature is less than the dew point temperature of the air in contact with it. A floor surface may become wet due to direct condensation or by means of dripping from a ceiling or runoff from walls and glazing.

Microclimates
The existence of microclimates in buildings and their effects is an area deemed by HSE to be worthy of further research, and with greater knowledge of this phenomenon may lie the discovery of building services solutions to reduce risk, permitting the preparation of guidance and training/educational material for those managing existing buildings and constructing new buildings.
With this course in mind, HSE commissioned BSRIA Limited to conduct a literature review, a report on which has now been published, A literature review of the effects of environment microclimatic conditions on the slip potential for flooring.
Researchers concluded that current HSE and CIRIA guidance does not adequately address the role played by microclimatic influences and building services, and that designers, clients and building owners/operators require practical guidance on how building services can be used to adequately control microclimatic conditions to minimise the risk of slipping.