Showing Safety, Proving Results Existing U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines say “the walkway surface shall be stable, clean and slip resistant,” according to Craig Ste-phenson, vice president and a walkway au-ditor specialist with American Slip Meter Inc. Updated OSHA guidelines based on the tables and testing requirements put together by the National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI) are due to be released soon, Stephenson re-veals, and they should include a requirement for trained personnel to perform testing and monitoring activities. Stephenson explains that current slip me-ters are sled meters meant to be drug across a floor to measure the static coefficient of friction (SCOF); this is the amount of force needed to initiate the movement of one hori-zontal body against another. The first step in increasing floor safety is learning the SCOF of an interior walkway, and this number can be obtained after a simple, quick test performed with this measurement device, Stephenson says. Stephenson states that, once purchased, internal programs using the meter can be set up with training and help from manufacturers. Companies can direct customers to lo-cate and purchase the safety standards that should be followed. Currently, if a floor’s SCOF reading falls below a high traction surface — 0.60 SCOF as called out in the ANSI/NFSI B101.1-2009 standard — a cleaner will know that attention is needed to increase the friction level. With a SCOF number, a professional can plan on deep cleaning, etching or reapplica-tion of a topcoat; without a SCOF number, the worker would be guessing how slippery the floor is and what steps are needed. “With test results, an individual or organi-zation can react properly,” Stephenson says. “If someone just automatically treats or etch-es every surface, every time this could be a waste of time and materials.” By providing an accurate assessment and following up with the proper cleaning and treatments in an efficient and economi-cal manner, a cleaning operation can see its reputation and business grow, Stephenson concludes. A Training com IAQ Training Institute LLC Cleaning Surfaces For surfaces, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) meters are used to gauge the level of sur-face contamination present before or after cleaning, according to Tom Morrison, vice president of marketing for Kaivac Inc. “[These meters] have been used quite a bit in food processing and in healthcare, but they’re relatively new to the cleaning world,” Morrison says. “We started using them about six or seven years ago.” These meters measure the amount of ATP biological matter on a surface; ATP, a univer-sal energy molecule, is typically invisible to the naked eye, Morrison notes. Hand-held ATP meters sold in the clean-ing industry include test swabs to rub on a surface. After swabbing a small area, an included capsule of fluid is cracked, the fluid interacts with the swab and a reaction with the matter captured by the swab begins. The swab is then placed into the meter, The Voice of the IAQ Industry FREE INFO: Reader Service 254 or CMMOnline.com/freeinfo 12 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® • September 2013
CMM – Archives September 2013: 12
