Slips, trips and falls are the most common type of injuries that are sustained by customers and staff in retail outlets.
As a result, health and safety legislation tries to mitigate this problem and will penalise retailers who fail to adhere to current regulations.
It’s imperative for retailers to protect customers and staff from any hazards by ensuring appropriate flooring is in place. However, it can be a challenge to find the best flooring solution.
Fortunately, there’s an extensive selection of safety and non-slip flooring that’s been specially designed to meet health and safety regulations.
HSE guidance and regulations
HSE (the Health and Safety Executive) offers guidance and information on health and safety in the workplace.
With regard to flooring, the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 stipulates that the floor in a workplace must be suitable for the type of work activity taking place on it.
As a retailer, your flooring should be appropriate for the environment. It must be kept in good condition and free from obstructions.
The surface must be safe to walk on without the risk of slipping, which means the type of floorcovering you use must be suitable for all activities that take place on it.
Is your flooring appropriate for your retail outlet?
In a retail space, it’s important that the flooring should be stylish and hardwearing as it’s going to be subject to heavy footfall. However, it also needs to be hygienic and have non-slip properties.
The materials you choose will depend on the type of retailer you are. Non-slip vinyl or carpet tiles are often a good solution for many outlets.
However, if you’re operating in an environment that’s sometimes wet, or has grease spillages, you’ll need to look at more targeted floor coverings.
Specialist safety flooring is a priority
If you run a retail operation where spillages are a common occurrence, you’ll need a flooring product designed to tackle this problem.
Fortunately, there’s now a range of safety flooring that’s been designed using the latest technology to create a texture that can repel workplace contaminants. That includes both water-based and oil spillages.
Plus, the latest techniques in manufacture have resulted in flooring products that come with a slip resistance guarantee. Not only will they help you to adhere to health and safety regulations, they’re also extremely hardwearing and stain-resistant as they’ve been developed to withstand a high amount of wear and tear and extreme temperatures.
Does your retail outlet need new flooring?
If you’re worried about your flooring, check for any potential risks.
For example, worn underlay can make the floor uneven. Cracked or broken ceramic floor tiles, frayed carpets, splits in vinyl flooring and loose carpet tiles can cause trip hazards.
In retail premises with heavy footfalls, these problems must be remedied immediately before an incident occurs. If an accident does happen, you run the risk of being penalised by failing to adhere to health and safety regulations – and you run the risk of being sued for damages.
Find the right floorcovering for your retail environment
FineLine Flooring specialises in the supply and installation of commercial safety vinyl flooring and non-slip flooring to commercial and industrial sectors. We work with leading brands including Altro, Forbo, Gerflor, Polyflor, and Tarkett
We can advise on the most suitable type of flooring for your retail environment, recommending products that have been designed to prevent slips and trips in the workplace.
We’re experts in supplying flooring solutions to retailers
FineLine Flooring specialises in the supply and installation of flooring solutions for commercial and public sectors.
Our flooring installers are all CSCS registered and monitored to the highest standards. We meet all health and safety guidelines and are fully covered for commercial and employer’s liability insurance.
For any questions, or to receive a quote, please contact us on 01256 701569 or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.