Selecting slip resistant winter footwear for personal support workers

BACKGROUND: Falls are among the leading causes of occupational injuries for workers exposed to outdoor winter conditions such as Personal Support Workers (PSWs). Slip resistant footwear is known to reduce the risk of falls, however, it is difficult to predict how well a particular boot will perform prior to purchasing them. Our recently developed Maximum Achievable Angle (MAA) test can be used to rate footwear objectively to address this gap. OBJECTIVE: To rate the slip resistance of a selection of winter footwear that meets the needs and preferences of PSWs. METHODS: We selected 40 representative types of footwear based on survey results from 677 PSWs and applied our MAA test to rate slip resistance. RESULTS: Comfort and slip resistance were rated the most important features for selecting winter footwear. Of the 40 types of footwear tested, six were found to have a good slip resistance on ice. CONCLUSION: The vast majority of winter footwear that meet the needs and preferences of PSWs, perform poorly on ice. Therefore, PSWs should consult our website (ratemytreads.com) for selecting appropriate footwear that will keep them safe in the winter.

[1]  Z. Bagheri,et al.  Slip resistance and wearability of safety footwear used on icy surfaces for outdoor municipal workers , 2019, Work.

[2]  Z. Bagheri,et al.  Improving Slip Resistance on Ice: Surface-Textured Composite Materials for Slip-Resistant Footwear , 2018, Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing.

[3]  M. Denton,et al.  Health and safety matters! Associations between organizational practices and personal support workers’ life and work stress in Ontario, Canada , 2017, BMC Health Services Research.

[4]  Peter M. Smith.  Workplace climate, employee actions, work injury and structural equation modelling , 2015, Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

[5]  Wen-Ruey Chang,et al.  A structural equation modelling approach examining the pathways between safety climate, behaviour performance and workplace slipping , 2015, Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

[6]  Harlan Amandus,et al.  The Epidemiology of Slips, Trips, and Falls in a Helicopter Manufacturing Plant , 2012, Hum. Factors.

[7]  Theodore K Courtney,et al.  A prospective study of floor surface, shoes, floor cleaning and slipping in US limited-service restaurant workers , 2010, Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

[8]  Shicheng Yu,et al.  Occupational and environmental risk factors for falls among workers in the healthcare sector , 2010, Ergonomics.

[9]  Wen-Ruey Chang,et al.  Evaluation of a comprehensive slip, trip and fall prevention programme for hospital employees , 2008, Ergonomics.

[10]  Gunvor Gard,et al.  Assessment of anti-slip devices from healthy individuals in different ages walking on slippery surfaces. , 2006, Applied ergonomics.

[11]  Chuansi Gao,et al.  A systems perspective of slip and fall accidents on icy and snowy surfaces , 2004, Ergonomics.

[12]  T A Bentley,et al.  Slip, trip and fall accidents occurring during the delivery of mail. , 1998, Ergonomics.

[13]  K. Kemmlert,et al.  Slips, trips and falls in different work groups--with reference to age and from a preventive perspective. , 1998, Applied ergonomics.

[14]  Raoul Grönqvist,et al.  Slipperiness of footwear and mechanisms of walking friction on icy surfaces , 1995 .

[15]  J. Evans.  Straightforward Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences , 1995 .

[16]  J Shaughnessy,et al.  Preventing Slips, Trips, and Falls in the Workplace , 1993, AAOHN journal : official journal of the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses.

[17]  F. P. Bowden,et al.  The mechanism of sliding on ice and snow , 1939 .

[18]  D. Strategies.  Accessibility Law: Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) , 2019 .

[19]  Z. Bagheri,et al.  Evolution of the Coefficient of Friction with Surface Wear for Advanced Surface Textured Composites , 2017 .

[20]  Kai Way Li,et al.  Perceived floor slipperiness and floor roughness in a gait experiment. , 2015, Work.

[21]  James Flynn,et al.  The development of a universal approach to testing of walkway slip resistance in the U.S. , 2012, Work.

[22]  S. W. Zhang.  State-of-the-art of polymer tribology , 1998 .