Providing clean, safe walkways in public facilities is essential for preventing costly slip, trip and fall (ST&F) accidents. Falls on the same level were the second leading cause of all workplace injuries in 2013 at 16.4 percent of all workplace injuries and resulted in $10.1 billion in direct costs (Liberty Mutual, 2016).1
ST&F events can be caused by several factors, but the floor condition is the easiest to test to assess whether a walking surface is at risk of causing an ST&F event. It’s important to understand the science of ST&F events and the limitations of commonly used devices, called portable tribometers, in assessing floor safety.