Variation of friction coefficient of floors under five liquid contamination conditions for prevention of slip & fall injuries in restaurants

Slip and fall is one of the main occupational health and safety problems. If the floor is contaminated with fluids, its slip resistance would be reduced. In the working environment and in our daily life, the floors in kitchens of restaurants are commonly contaminated by various liquids and are often slippery. This research examined the effects of five commonly encountered liquids in kitchens on the coefficient of friction on the floor. The Brungraber Mark II friction measurement device was used. The Brookfield DVI-PRIME viscometer was used to measure the viscosities of the tested liquids. The research results show footwear sample, liquid and their interactions all had significant effects on the coefficient of friction. The higher the viscosity of the liquid, the lower the coefficient of friction was. Treaded Neolite had higher coefficient of friction than flat Neolite under all liquid contaminated conditions.