“Slips and falls happen because of a change,” Sargent says. “When you're walking on a surface that's got good traction and then you step on [a surface that's like] ice, your brain doesn't process those changes quickly enough. A fall happens, and often serious injury occurs because of it.” 

Sargent says adhesive and sealant plants contain several areas where those changes commonly occur, including mixing operations, blending stations, filling lines, packaging areas and washdown zones. End-user manufacturers face similar hazards around adhesive dispensing stations, assembly cells, curing areas and equipment-cleaning operations, where overspray, spills and routine maintenance can quickly alter walking conditions.

Loading docks also present significant hazards because employees and forklifts regularly transition between concrete, metal dock plates and trailer surfaces that may become wet from weather or routine operations.

"Those changes in the environment lead to slips and falls, and they also lead to a lack of productivity.” 

While many facilities rely on diamond plate, grip strut, anti-slip tape or textured coatings, Sargent cautions that those products don't always perform as expected under demanding process-manufacturing conditions.

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“Diamond plate was never designed for a wet traction surface,” he says. “In fact, it's slipperier when it has water or some sort of liquid on it because you have less contact points.” 

Temporary anti-slip products can help address immediate concerns following an incident, but Sargent says they often become part of a recurring maintenance cycle as tapes peel, coatings wear and surfaces gradually lose their effectiveness.

“One of the issues is nothing's worse than a problem you thought you took care of — and you didn't because it wore out,” he says. “A permanent solution... gives you peace of mind.” 

Beyond preventing injuries, Sargent argues that slip prevention also affects production efficiency. When employees feel confident walking through a facility, they're able to move more efficiently, while permanent solutions reduce maintenance time spent replacing worn temporary materials.

“[One of the biggest areas] people don't take into account when they're doing a calculus on ROI is production and uptime,” Sargent says. “If you're comfortable and you're confident, you're going to be working much more efficiently.” 

He also encourages manufacturers to address walking surfaces during facility design rather than waiting until someone gets hurt.

Increasingly, Sargent says, plant operations, engineering teams and safety professionals are collaborating earlier in new projects to evaluate walking surfaces before production begins.

“The facilities that perform best are usually the ones that design safety in from day one,” he says. “Designing it up front to be a permanent solution or to be a highly durable solution is really the key.”