Safety in Fast-Food Restaurants: Factors That Influence Employee Perceptions of Floor Slipperiness

Slip, trip and fall (STF) injuries are a serious problem and impose a significant burden on society. According to the Liberty Mutual Safety Index [Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety (LMRIS), 2009], costs for disabling work-place injuries in 2007 due to falls on the same level were approximately $7.7 billion or 14.6%: of costs, and falls to a lower level were $6.2 billion or 11.7% of costs. Bodily reaction, which includes slips or trips without a fall, accounted for $5.4 billion or 10.2% of costs for the same period.

Data published by LMRIS (2009) show that falls on the same level and falls to a lower level increased 36.7% and 33.5%, respectively, between 1998 and 2007 after adjusting for inflation, while the overall costs of disabling workplace injuries increased only 5.8% during the same period. Statistics also show that most falls in the U.S. and European countries occur on the same level, with roughly 40% to 50% attributable to slipping (Courtney, Sorock, Manning, et al., 2001).

Slips and falls can occur on contaminated surfaces and at transitions in floor types, such as from the carpet in the dining area to the ceramic tile in the kitchen area. Slippery floors are common in restaurant kitchens (Chang, Cotnam & Matz, 2003) and are a critical factor in falls on the same level (Chang, Grönqvist, Leclercq, et al., 2001). Common causes of slippery floors include dishwashing overspray or run-off, leaking equipment or pipes, food debris, and spillage from transport of open containers such as those holding fryer grease and food wastes (Filiaggi & Courtney, 2003).