Having been importers and specialist suppliers of high quality wood products ranging from hardwood to decking and worktops, Wood and Beyond has gathered significant health and safety experience when dealing with accident prevention measures. Because first and foremost our responsibility to the customer revolves around providing information and advice while always taking into account safety and the prevention of accidents, whether at the work place or home, our experience and the questions we often hear from customers brings me to write this article, and put some of our health and safety accident prevention tips on paper. If you are reading this article chances are you are considering buying wooden floors or in the initial stage of your market research, hopefully you will find our tips useful and reduce the possibility of accidents in your area of life.
3 Tips to Preventing Hardwood Floor Related Accidents
1. Is hardwood flooring really for you? Perhaps it does not sound like an accident prevention tip, however if you are running an industrial operation such as workstations or assembly areas for example, and the ground needs to cope with extreme heavy loads, hardwood might not be the right material for the floor. Other materials such as tile PVC flooring with anti-slip technology will prove extremely hard wearing and easy to maintain floor making it a more sensible choice. When choosing the right floor for your home or work place, ask yourself which material is the safest for your needs.
2. Avoid costly slips - A few types of hardwood floor finishes might be more receptive to becoming a slippery surface leading to unsafe environment, especially when poor maintenance is applied. In addition, use of low grade cleaning chemicals and those with oily residue properties might make the floor slippery. To prevent this unfortunate situation, ensure that the right cleaning chemicals are used, the cleaned area is clearly sign posted and if possible clean after hours when your staff, customers or family members are away. In case you have recognised sections which have a high likelihood of becoming slippery, consider using anti slip add-ons such as self adhesive safety tapes for peace of mind.
3. Always consider hygienic safety - Hygienic safety is often mentioned with relation to health and safety, however because the outcome is similar to an accident, I feel it should be addressed as an accident prevention matter. Protect your staff, customers and family members by ensuring your hardwood floors are clean and hygienic with the use of dedicated cleaning products with anti-bacterial properties. Ideally when hygienic safety is mentioned, we tend to normally think of the kitchen area and sometimes other catering areas such as medical rooms, however by ensuring that every area is hygienically clean (simply hovering the floor and using a dedicated cleaner) you will also increase the longevity of the entire floor together with preventing hygienic accidents.
The ultimate combination between great looking decor and accident prevention is choosing the right floor for your particular circumstances, using quality cleaning products and if
hardwood floors are the right floor for you, make sure to use solid wood floors which are made from one piece of hardwood timber and are therefore more durable.
