Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
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Beaver Floorcare makes sure Wolverhampton Civic Hall doesn't slip up!
Click the image to watch the video
Click the image to watch the video
Statistics from the Health & Safety Executive reveal that 35,000 serious slip accidents occur in workplaces across Great Britain every year. Ensuring floor surfaces meet health & safety standards for slip resistance can be a big concern for both private and public businesses.
Until recently the wooden floors at Wolverhampton Civic Hall had been maintained with a regular scrub and dry, followed by an application of wax. Floors such as this without a proprietary slip-resisting finish are prone to very low levels of slip resistance.
Beaver Floorcare was asked to assess the problem floors and offered a complete service to produce the most slip resistant floor surface. Tom Campton of Beaver Floorcare explains: "The previous floor surface was shown to have a high slip potential after testing. To create the best surface that would minimise the slip hazard, we tested the slip resistance of five different specialised finishes at the venue using the HSE approved pendulum test."
The pendulum coefficient of friction test uses a pendulum to simulate the action of a shoe on both a wet and dry floor covering. The slip resistance is then measured on the pendulum's scale. Any floor covering with a pendulum test value of 36 or higher is considered a low slip potential by the HSE.
The tests were conducted along the boards, against the boards and diagonally in each room to be refinished, to create an accurate set of results.
Whereas the previous floor finish gave an average pendulum test value of 29 dry and 11 wet, the values increased considerably once Granwax Clearsafe finish had been applied. The finish achieved an average test value of 64 dry and 51 wet, demonstrating that the floor would be considered a low slip potential in both wet and dry conditions by the HSE.
Pendulum test value
High slip potential 0-24
Moderate slip potential 25-35
Low slip potential 36+
Granwax Clearsafe 51-64
Due to the previous build up of wax and to prevent rejection of the subsequent finishes, Granwax Barrier Seal was applied to the floor after sanding. The floor was then coated in two coats of Granwax Masterfinish, followed by a final coat of Granwax Clearsafe. The clear, fast drying finish is very hard wearing and easily maintained with a simple maintenance routine.
Beaver Floorcare was able to sand and refinish a total of 1,812 square metres across seven floors in the venue using Granwax Clearsafe, as well as carrying out repairs to over 70 damaged wooden boards. The team completed the work ahead of schedule, causing minimum disruption to the venue's activities.
Mark Blackstock, General Manager Wolverhampton Civic Hall was very impressed with the end result: "The Civic Halls floors collectively look fantastic and appear to clean very well," he enthuses. "As to the restoration company Beaver Floorcare - the service and care were and are of the highest level!"
Beaver Floorcare will monitor the performance of the floor quarterly to ensure that it meets health & safety regulations and to assess its overall performance. Tom explains:
"The initial inspection after a club night in one of the halls was exceptional. Whereas the previously waxed floor allowed liquid to seep into the flooring and created slip hazards, the newly finished floors allow liquid to sit on top of the surface and be cleaned off quickly and easily as though nothing had been on it".
A video of Tom performing the Pendulum test on the floors at Wolverhampton Civic Hall, after Granwax Clearsafe has been applied is available at: www.youtube.com or by clicking the image at the top of the page.
T: 01564 785 111
E: [email protected]
W: www.beaverfloorcare.co.uk
30th June 2011