raising standards Explaining The New Standard E Each year thousands of people are injured as a result of a slip and fall when entering a building entrance, and the first line of defense that most building owners employ is entrance carpet matting. Although entranceway matting can play a significant role in pre-venting accidental slips by removing moisture from pedestrian foot-wear, they often contribute to trips and falls when buckled, curled or flipped over. Floor Mat By: Russell Kendzior What cleaning and maintenance professionals need to know regarding the use, selection and maintenance of entrance mats. under the procedures of the American National Standards Institute with the NFSI as the ANSI Accredited Standards Developer and in-cluded representatives from major floor mat manufacturers. As the number of floor mat related trip-and-fall lawsuits continue, this groundbreaking new standard has set forth the industry stan-dard of care for the proper use, maintenance and inspections of en-tranceway floor matting and will dramatically affect the way building owners now must maintain, inspect and select entranceway floor mats. Walkway Safety Standards In 2012, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) B101 committee on slip, trip and fall prevention released the latest in its line of walkway safety standards — The ANSI/NFSI B101.6-2012 Standard Guide For Commercial Entrance Matting In Reducing Slips, Trips And Falls. This standard provides criteria for the selection, installation, in-spection, care and maintenance of entrance mats and runners in commercial facilities in reducing slips, trips and falls and is directed to eliminating slip, trip and fall hazards such as soil, moisture, con-taminants, edge treatments as well as the improper use of floor mats and runners. The development of the ANSI/NFSI B101.6 standard is a direct result of the mission of the National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI) an-swering a need for consumer education to ameliorate the effects of falls, and it seeks to answer the perceived need for this standard to stem the growing number of slips and falls related to insufficient knowledge in the use of mats and runners in commercial establish-ments. Robert J. Moran, chairman of the ANSI B101.6 sub-committee and chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Ludlow Compos-ites, a manufacturer of commercial floor matting, states, “This stan-dard not only covers where and how mats should be deployed, but also identifies the hazards associated with improper mat placement and use. We also believe that the standard will soon be adopted by the insurance industry and will serve as an important tool in pre-venting their insured’s growing mat related trip-and-fall problem.” This standard was developed by a subcommittee of the NFSI B101 Main Standards Committee, national in scope, functioning What’s In The Standard? The scope and application of the ANSI/NFSI B101.6-2012 estab-lishes “the criteria for the selection, installation, inspection, care and maintenance of entrance mats and runners in commercial facilities in reducing slips, trips and falls and pertains to the safe usage and applications, design, construction and quality criteria of floor mats and runners.” Key sections of the standard include terms related to entrance-way floor mats such as buckling, curling, ripping that are all defined as they apply to entrance matting as well as the different types of mats including wiper mats, wiper-scrapper mats, scraper mats, recessed well mats and lesser known types of mats such as foot grilles and tire tiles. Section 3 Section 3 of the standard addresses the mat backings and their ability to prevent movement while placed on the floor. It is recommended that mats have a “High-traction Backing” which references the NFSI 101-C Test Method for Measuring Dry TCOF of Floor Mat Backing Materials which currently is the only na-tionally recognized standard by which to measure the slip resistant qualities of a floor mat’s backing. Mats that do not have a high-traction backing are more prone to movement, which, in-turn, can increase the risk of migration, buck-ling and curling which can contribute to a slip, trip and fall event. A growing number of entrance mat manufacturers have submit-ted their products to the NFSI for certification. 42 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® • September 2013
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