Shock-absorbing flooring is one potential solution to prevent fall-related injuries. No standards exist to characterise shock-absorbing healthcare flooring. This study explores two mechanical tests for impact force reduction and horizontal force required to move wheeled objects. An appropriately designed rubber underlay can reduce peak impact by 25% compared to 1% with standard vinyl.

This is a repository copy of Understanding the friction measured by standardised test methodologies used to assess shoe-surface slip risk.

Stairs present significant potential for harm to their users. A fall on stairs, particularly in descent, often leads to serious injury or even death. The authors have been involved in the investigation of many workplace stair accidents. Proper forensic investigation into the cause of a stair accident has often found the incident to be wholly or partly caused by poor stair design. In order to establish the relationship between the stair design and a given fall, an onsite survey has to be conducted, determining the rises and goings along with other key dimensions. The Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL), Buxton, UK, regularly undertake this type of survey using a digital inclinometer, a steel rule and a tape measure. Laser scanning is an emerging technique that is now accessible to the surveyor to complement or replace traditional approaches. The laser scanner and associated software produces a dense point survey in 3D, allowing dimensional analysis of the features. The authors used both traditional and laser scanning techniques to study the scenes of two fatal stair falls. The analysis presented allows the suitability of laser scanning for stair-fall investigation to be considered. Identification and classification of errors are needed in order to consider if the error is acceptable or can be mitigated. Laser scanners are impressive instruments providing data from which can be used to create a virtual 3D environment that can be used to reconstruct and explain an event and contributing factors. The use of both survey methods currently provides the investigator with complimentary data that allows accurate measurements to be presented in the context of the three-dimensional environment.

A critical appraisal of Shoe Slip Tester by The University of Sheffield in collaboration with Health and Safety Laboratories UK is shown in this paper. The Shoe Slip Tester has been designed as a portable and more practical alternative to the Ramp tester which is currently considered the Gold Standard in Shoe/Floor slip resistance testing. Test on identical safety shoe samples were carried out using the Shoe Slip Tester and RAMP in parallel and the data yielded compared between the two test devices. Raw data showed that the Shoe Slip Tester yielded higher coefficients of friction compared to the ramp. However, controlling the data for force applied at shoe impact between the two rigs showed good correlation between the two test devices. A series of recommendations have been made to the design of the Shoe Slip Tester based on tests reported in this paper. These recommendations will improve the correlation between the two test devices. The Shoe Slip Tester can therefore be said to be a suitable alternative to the RAMP tester.

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