Fifty-five percent of all slips, trips and falls are caused directly by the floor, according to the National Floor Safety Institute. The improper use of chemicals — including use of the wrong cleaners and coatings for floor types and not following instructions for use — is a major contributor to these slip-and-fall accidents.

Therefore, using the most slip-resistant chemicals, and using them correctly, can greatly reduce accidents and liabilities. Most floor coatings meet the slip resistance standards outlined in ASTM D-2047, which determines a coated walkway’s slip resistance.

The American National Standards Institute, or ANSI, B101.1 floor safety standard measures slip-and-fall risk, by identifying test methods for measuring traction on hard floor types. These methods determine the risk of slipping when starting to walk from a dead stop on a wet floor, also known as the wet static coefficient of friction. Floors with high traction in those conditions result in up to 90 percent fewer slips and falls