MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As businesses across North America face the onslaught of the winter season, the inclement weather can increase safety concerns, especially the potential for slips, trips and falls in the workplace. The National Safety Council estimates that over nine million slip-and-fall incidents occur in the United States each year. These accidents most often occur on wet and dirty surfaces. Floor mat programs provide an effective solution for businesses to eliminate these hazards by trapping excess water and dirt before it enters their building.
G&K Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: GK), a leader in uniforms and facility services, has five tips to consider for using floor mats to promote winter safety in your business:
- Identify the high traffic areas in your building where employees and customers are likely to track in the most moisture and dirt. Ensure that each space is adequately covered with mats to promote safety and a clean appearance. For many businesses, the front and back entrances are the highest traffic areas.
- Scraper mats at the entrance of a building help trap water and reduce slippery spots. The molded surface on these mats offers superior slip and skid resistance, which can effectively scrape tough dirt and grime off of shoes.
- A carpeted mat helps trap dirt as people enter the building and holds its weight in soil, helping keep your facilities clean. Entrance matting should cover 15 to 18 feet of an entrance, preventing 80-90 percent of dirt from entering your facility.
- Look for floor mats that are certified as “high traction” by the National Floor Safety Institute. These mats have been evaluated by an independent third-party to ensure slip resistance.
- Review the American National Standards Institute Standard Guide for Commercial Entrance Matting in Reducing Slips, Trips and Falls, ANSI/NFSI B101.6-2012. This standard provides criteria for the selection, installation, inspection, care and maintenance of entrance mats and runners in commercial facilities.
G&K Services offers a full range of floor mat solutions. G&K’s floor mat rental programs are designed to keep your employees and customers safe and enhance your workplace. G&K Services will pick-up your soiled mats and deliver professionally laundered clean mats. To learn more and see G&K’s floor mat offerings please visit http://www.gkservices.com/floor-mat-rentals.
About G&K Services, Inc.
G&K Services, Inc. is a
service-focused market leader of branded uniform and facility services
programs in the United States, and is the largest such provider in
Canada. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, G&K Services has nearly
7,800 employees serving approximately 170,000 customers from 165
facilities in North America. G&K Services is a publicly held company
traded over the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol GK and is a
component of the Standard & Poor’s SmallCap 600 Index. For more
information visit www.gkservices.com.
