Posted By Booney
Hi All,

question says it all - we have been tasked with reducing STF's in a retail environment; previous campaigns have been less than successful and I was hoping that some of you out there may have info/ideas that might help?

What have you done in your organisations that have been effective please?

Kind Regards

Booney

Posted By Adrian Watson
Dear Booney,

I will state the obvious; ask how, when and where do STFs occur; then take appropriate action based on the evidence.

The general reason why STFs occur are:

(1) Unsuitable surfaces; especially for wet or icy conditions.

(2) Changes in surface conditions; changes in level or surface type; especially with poor lighting.

(3) Poor housekeeping resulting in wet or cluttered floor surfaces; especially where there is poor lighting. Poor housekeeping may be exacerbated by poor inspection regimes and poor supervision.

(4) Poor inadequate cleaning or maintenance.

(5) Inappropriate cleaning for the surface.

None of these will be helped by a poster campaign. In fact a poster campaign can increase the risk of STFs if the person is reading them rather than watching the floor surface.

General advice is to:

Specify problem;
Collect and evaluate evidence;
Identify, implement and evaluate solutions.

Regards Adrian