We were instructed to investigate the cause of a pupil slipping on a main corridor in a large school. Although the incident thankfully didn’t result in serious injuries, it was sufficiently serious to warrant a hospital visit. Unfortunately, there were no witnesses to the incident, but a number of other pupils and staff mentioned similar but much less serious slips in the same area.

Months prior to the slip incidents the school had changed the cleaning arrangements for the main corridor. Previously the floor was cleaned three times a week using a scrubber drier and a dedicated floor cleaning detergent (low foam). For unknown reasons the school ordered the cleaning of the floor to stop during term time and only spot clean where necessary.

The results indicated that, while the floor is swept and spot cleaned, residual oily soiling on the floor surface combined with liquids from drinks, alcohol hand gels (due to covid policy) and weather resulted in highly slippery patches. These patches are virtually invisible during normal observation.

In this case, the lack of effective cleaning to address the risk was a major contributor to the slip incidences.