How to Deal with Wet Floors in Warehouses

Did you know that slips and falls are the most significant cause of non-fatal injuries in UK workplaces? And what’s most frustrating is that most of those accidents are entirely avoidable. So, if you're looking to protect staff and revenue, you need to know how to deal with wet floors in your workplace.

Slips and falls accounted for 33% of the 441,000 self-reported workplace injuries in 2020/21. Take into account that a further 25% of those injuries resulted in illness absence of over seven days, and it becomes clear that warehouses, factories and offices with high foot traffic need to develop strategies to keep their floors dry and clean.

While many factors contribute to wet, dirty and slippery floors, adopting a safety-first approach with appropriate matting and cleaning equipment can help maintain workforce safety.

This article explores how to deal with wet floors in warehouses, factories and offices, helping protect your workforce and your company’s productivity.

Identifying Slip Hazards in the Workplace

You may have trained your staff in appropriate health and safety activities and displayed safety signage around your workplace.

However, there are many sources of wet floors, including:

• Weather conditions outside
• Sweating Slab Syndrome
• Fall-off from manufacture
• Spillage

Winter can be a particularly challenging time in warehouses, not just because of rain, but also because of hazards caused by ice. Even though there are several ways to thaw frost and ice on warehouse floors, they can leave potentially slippery water on the floor that needs to be managed.

Some factors are innate and beyond reasonable mitigation, but it is possible to minimise the potential for slips and falls in these environments with appropriate matting and flooring.

Self-Draining Anti-Fatigue Matting

Accidents often happen when employees are tired from spending long periods on their feet. Anti-fatigue mats minimise muscle fatigue in the feet and legs by softening the floor’s texture, which can improve blood flow while boosting energy and focus.

Choose the most suitable matting for your warehouse or factory and gain a durable, self-draining floor surface that helps boost productivity while maintaining maximum safety for your workforce.

Choosing Your Anti-Fatigue Matting

According to podiatric specialist Nina L. Coletta, anti-fatigue matting can positively impact foot pain by relieving stress and discomfort in environments likely to demand repetitive actions, such as warehouses and factory floors.

However, Coletta acknowledges that there is no one-size-fits-all fix for anti-fatigue matting, explaining that floor covering should be selected based on the specific needs of your operation.

They recommend finding matting that is:

• Neither too soft nor too hard – If the matting is too hard, it offers little impact protection. At the same time, a surface that is too soft causes the body to overwork, increasing fatigue and causing physical imbalance that can lead to poor posture.
• Responsive – Premium-quality anti-fatigue matting should retain its shape as soon as the user moves. If the mat is too slow to respond, it may not provide a stable standing surface.
• Optimal depth – If your anti-fatigue matting is too thin, it will act like a mat that is too firm, reducing the mat’s benefits for your workforce.

Ultimately, you need a mat that maintains its shape under stress, remains in place and offers optimal under-mat drainage to help prevent slipping.

Overcoming Sweating Slab Syndrome

Sweating Slab Syndrome, or SSS, occurs when moisture develops over the surface of interior concrete flooring, causing slipperiness even if the environment is otherwise dry and seemingly safe.

SSS can pose a risk to both employees and machinery.

According to Concrete Construction, loaded forklift trucks are particularly hazardous in environments suffering from SSS. They reported one occasion where a loaded forklift truck slid from a loading dock and into the path of an incoming trailer, causing damage to stock and creating a potentially severe threat to floor staff.

Sweating Slab Syndrome can be overcome with additional ventilation, preventing humidity build-up, but this is not practical in some warehouse settings. In these cases, heavy-duty forklift truck mats can help prevent wheel slippage, protecting both operational staff and stored products.

Additionally, forklift truck mats help prevent the spread of dirt and water from outside, improving warehouse cleanliness and safety. The waffle mat pattern helps scrub moisture and dirt from wheels, helping keep warehouse floors clean and dry.

Install Barrier Mats at Your Building’s Entrance

One of the most significant causes of wet floors inside your building is mud and rainwater caught in the grips of workers’ shoes. Waffle mats help by trapping dirt, water and debris, keeping work floors clean and dry.

Placing barrier mats at building entrances helps remove dust, dirt and grime from footwear before it is trodden onto your workplace floors.

Extra-large matting is even more effective at removing debris from outdoor shoes. If your matting is stepped on with both feet, it is more likely to keep your floors clean and dry.

Conduct Walkway Audits

Some floor surfaces wear out over time, and worn surfaces can become slippery even when dry. Hire a tribometer to assess the friction and wear of your walkways and identify the potential for slips and falls.

Stairways are particularly prone to wear and tear. Reduce the risk of accidents with anti-slip GRP nosing, stair treads, floor sheets and high-grip tapes for high-traffic floors and surfaces.

These durable anti-slip surfaces can help minimise the risk of slipping on high-traffic floors.

Find Out More About How to Deal with Wet Floors in Warehouses

Thinking about minimising the impact of wet floors in your workspaces? First Mats can help.

Based in the Midlands and with a 5-star rating on Trustpilot, our friendly experts can help you make the right decisions for your specific workplace needs.