Avoid industrial slip and fall accidents

3 Ways to Reduce Industrial Slip and Fall Accidents

Avoid industrial slip and fall accidents

Slip and fall accidents are becoming huge liabilities for industrial facilities of all kinds. Spilled oils, lubricants, paints, and other messes are common culprits in slip and fall incidents. That’s why it’s so important to clean up spills as soon as they occur. But many facility managers do not realize the cleaning chemicals they use may be making the problem worse, not better.

Lack of friction is to blame for most slip and fall accidents. Clean floors often have enough friction with the soles of your employees’ shoes that it’s easy for workers to stay upright. But when floor cleaners leave behind a greasy residue (or oily messes are allowed to sit on the floor), floors of all types can become as slick as ice. Here’s how to treat spills and clean floors to reduce the number of slip and fall accidents at your facility.

  1. Spot-Treat Spills

Spot-treat greasy spills as soon as they occur to eliminate slick spots on your floor. Powder cleaners are very effective at removing oil and oil stains. Sprinkle the powder cleaner on the spill, scrub with a stiff bristle brush or broom, and let it sit for a few minutes. Then, hose the area down and use a squeegee to dry off the spot. Our favorite powder cleaner is PFC II, a heavy-duty detergent that won’t harm your concrete floor or your floor’s sealant. The only thing this low-residue cleaner leaves behind is a fresh pine scent.

  1. Scrub Floors Regularly

Spot-treating spills reduces the immediate risk for slip and fall accidents, but regular cleaning of your floors will prevent slip and falls long-term. Floor scrubbers are a great solution for general floor cleaning. Make sure you choose the appropriate detergent for your floor and mix the chemicals correctly. Then, add your solution to the floor scrubber and get cleaning. Our favorite general cleaner is Spraydet CW, a liquid soap that’s compatible with our defoamers for a sparkling clean that doesn’t leave a residue.

  1. Pressure Wash Floors as Needed

Even with regular cleaning, plant and facility floors periodically require a deep clean to keep them safe. Pressure washing is a great solution for deep cleaning industrial floors, driveways, and even heavy equipment. To avoid leaving a greasy residue, it’s important to get your mixture just right. We’ve found 6 to 8 ounces of detergent per gallon of water is ideal. Our favorite pressure washing cleaner is Total, a liquid product that won’t attack the sealant on your shop floor. It’s also non-hazardous, environmentally safe, and super concentrated.

BONUS: Educate Your Team, Rinse, Repeat

To reduce slip and fall accidents at your facility, choose the right chemicals for your floor and contaminants and mix them correctly. Then, educate your team on how to use them appropriately. You may even consider adding scraper mats to entryways to reduce the contaminants entering and leaving your shop.

For help finding the right cleaning chemistry for your floor, contact the experts at Seacole today.


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Meet Surface Finishing Account Manager Jim Mayer

Meet Jim Mayer, Seacole Surface Finishing Account Manager

Meet Surface Finishing Account Manager Jim MayerWe had a chance this month to catch up with surface finishing account manager Jim Mayer. Jim helps our customers understand their metal finishing and industrial cleaning challenges and find Seacole products that will be effective solutions. Take a moment to get to know Jim!

What is your role at Seacole?

I’m the surface finishing account manager and also help with industrial cleaning chemistries.

What surface finishing industry trends are you seeing this year?

As a whole, the surface finishing is robust. Though gun parts and ammunition are down, but everything else seems to be going strong.

What advice would you give people in your field?

Be persistent and don’t give up.

What is your favorite Seacole product?

Total. It is a great all-around cleaner for everything and is safe on all surfaces (except asphalt). It just does a great job of cleaning products. Total is one of my favorite products and has been for a long time.

What might someone be surprised to know about Seacole?

How diverse we are. People who I tour through our facility say “You guys do this?” and “You guys do that?” They’re impressed with the industries we serve and the number of products we offer.

What’s the first thing you do when you get to work?

Get in the car, look at my plan for the week, and go from there. Once I start calling on customers, it seems like something always comes up, but I get it all done!

Do you have a secret for staying productive?

I have to be persistent and never take no for an answer. That’s hard to do, but you have to keep at it. Eventually, things will come around.

Before starting your career, what was the most unusual or interesting job you’ve ever had?

I worked in a birdseed packing company in high school. I bagged 50 pound bags of birdseed every day. It wasn’t bad, and I got to work with all my friends.

What is something you can’t live without?

My family, my friends, and fishing.

Jim’s Motto:

Try to do the right thing all the time. Be honest and do the right thing. Can’t go wrong with that.


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Seacole and Hubbard-Hall

Our 5 Takeaways from the 2017 Sur/Fin Conference

Sur/Fin 2017

Gregg Elliott with Hubbard Hall representatives at Sur/Fin 2017.

Seacole is proud to be a member of the National Association of Surface Finishing (NASF), the trade association for the Surface Finishing Industry. The Seacole leadership team is back from the 2017 Sur/Fin conference in Atlanta! The team had a great time catching up with our industry partners and receiving important updates and training on the surface technology industry. We wanted to share a few of our big takeaways with you.

1. The surface finishing industry is healthy.

A survey conducted by NASF, which hosts the Sur/Fin conference, found nearly half of surface finishing suppliers across the country have reported good business conditions since 2015. Generally, southern suppliers report more optimism than Midwest and coastal suppliers, but suppliers generally agree that the future of the industry is positive.

2. Wastewater control technologies continue to improve.

This is great news for our industry, especially for Seacole and other companies that are committed to environmental sustainability. Improvements in wastewater quality will help the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decide how to approach future regulation of surface finishing effluents, which the agency is expected to consider this summer.

3. However, the Toxic Substances Control Act is expected to remain law.

While the EPA may loosen regulations on effluents, industry experts expect the federal government to continue to implement the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which identifies several high-priority chemicals for regulation. This includes metals, such as nickel, used in the surface finishing industry.

At the same time, some states, including California and Oregon, are expected to implement stricter air emissions regulations for the surface finishing industry.

4. We expect some changes to labor rules for the surface finishing industry.

With the recent leadership changes at the Department of Labor, surface finishing industry leaders believe changes to labor rules will likely shake up surface finishing workplaces. Look for changes to overtime rules and how companies are required to report injury and illness.

5. Surface finishing suppliers will continue to serve innovative industries.

Atlanta was picked as the site for the 2017 Sur/Fin conference because it’s a hub for all sorts of innovative industries. Many of the breakout sessions and vendors at the conferences focused on the needs of the aerospace, defense, and auto industries. We expect growth and innovation to continue in these industries, which impacts surface finishing chemistries and technologies.

Let us put our knowledge from Sur/Fin to work for you and your company. For more on the surface finishing industry or to place your surface finishing chemistries order, contact Seacole today.


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