Altro Safety Flooring KR12-30 Skyline commercial flooring

Safety flooring is usually only considered as merely complying with Australian Standards, or as a way of covering obligations in case a workplace mishap results in litigation. However, a recent assessment at the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee (QE2) Hospital in Brisbane revealed something else - a broad range of other benefits that can give a positive result to the business's bottom line.

In 2007, a series of slip incidents in the kitchen at QE2 caused the filing of numerous Work Cover claims by hospital staff. The floor tiles were originally non-slip but, as will happen with ceramics, they had worn smooth.

This meant they were treacherous when wet, were difficult to clean and the grout was an absorbent refuge for germs and bacteria - an abhorrent thought for any healthcare environment.

In addition, trolley transport across the tile corrugations caused muscle fatigue, was loud and triggered the items to fall off, further compounding the cleaning and maintenance problems.

Consequently, the decision was made to replace the tiled floor. The hospital's flooring contractor was aware that Altro's KR12-30 Safety Vinyl was commonly used in hospital kitchens throughout the world due to its R12 slip rating and hygienic properties. Supported by Altro's specification, 700 M2 of KR12-30 Skyline colour was duly installed.

Fast forward 2 years - "The outcomes are remarkable!" stated Kevin Davidson, OH&S Unit Manager QE2.
"Staff immediately reported that they now moved with confidence on the new floor. They also acknowledged that cleaning times were greatly reduced and so were the levels of stress and fatigue attributed to the previously tiled floor."

As the business world knows, measuring both the direct and indirect costs associated with Work Cover premiums, staffing disruptions and workplace rehabilitation becomes accumulative against your operating budget but for the kitchen area of the QE2 Hospital there has been a complete recovery.

"The single greatest measurement of this floor's performance over the last two years is that we have not had a single Work Cover claim, incident report or even a 'near miss' reported in the Kitchen area since the installation. This has effectively eliminated the kitchen as source of slips or falls," Kevin Davidson, OH&S Unit Manager QE2 Hospital, Queensland, Australia.