A field assessment of floor slipperiness in a student cafeteria

Abstract

Investigation of floor slipperiness is critical in studying the risk of slips and falls. This research conducted friction measurements and employee survey on floor slipperiness in a student cafeteria in a university in China in order to study the correlation between the two types of floor slipperiness measure. It was found that the fryer area in kitchen 1 and the meat defrost sink in kitchen 2 had significantly the lowest coefficient of friction (COF) values among all areas in the same kitchen. The results showed that the levels of friction on the floors in different areas in each kitchen were significantly different. Employee perceptions of floor slipperiness among areas were also significantly different. The level of friction and employee perception of floor slipperiness was highly correlated (ρ = 0.87). This implies a good agreement between the two measures. A linear regression model was established to describe the relationship between the perceived floor slipperiness and the measured COF. The model was significant at p < 0.0001 with an R ² of 0.59.

Keywords:

• slips and falls
• friction measurement
• subjective rating

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Bing Wang, a student with the Department of Industrial Engineering at Tsinghua University, for his assistance in the study. This research was completed in partially during Dr Li's tenure as a visiting professor with the Department of Industrial Engineering at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.