grocery and retail stores, just as in other types of facilities, has changed quite a bit in the past decade. Mainly, this is due to the type of floor cov-erings now readily available and commonly installed. At one time, vinyl tile was the flooring of choice in grocery stores; today, it is not uncommon to see floors comprised of ter-razzo, ceramic tile, stained concrete, hard-wood or manmade wood in a grocery store. While there are similarities as to how these floors are maintained, there can also be major differences. Because of this, a prudent cleaning con-tractor should make sure he or she knows how the floor covering manufacturer sug-gests the floor be cared for and follow those guidelines to the best of their abilities. Cleanup In Aisle Three No matter what type is installed, a key con-cern when caring for the floors in grocery and large retail stores is to be aware of the importance of floor safety. The vast majority of accidents in grocery stores — those potentially posing physical harm to shoppers or staffs — are of the slip-and-fall nature. It is estimated that slip-and-fall accidents amount to as much as $200 million annually per grocery store chain — sometimes more. Many slip-and-fall accidents in grocery stores are actually caused by shoppers and employees during the course of the shop-ping day. Often, food or produce is dropped, liq-uids are spilled, refrigeration cases leak and a host of other substances wind up on the floor. If these hazards are not cleaned up as soon as possible, they become a slip-and-fall accident just waiting to happen. For this reason, BSCs are encouraged to have their clients conduct floor inspections throughout the day. Inspections should be documented as to when they were conducted, which areas of the store and by whom. It is not uncommon to find that many floor hazards involve the same floor areas, and some hazards may even materialize around the same times each day. For instance, vegetable and produce kiosks are frequent problem areas to the point that many grocery stores now install matting sys-tems in these spaces to help promote safety and reduce necessary cleaning loads. Interestingly, not only are more floor haz-ards likely in the early evening when people are leaving work and running errands, but an increase may also be noted shortly after school lets out and students rush to the store to buy drinks and snacks. I mentioned earlier that there are now many types of floors installed in grocery stores; for anything less. The small rider scrubber that increases productivity. The new compact and maneuverable Focus ® II MicroRider lets you scrub significantly more square footage with a lot less operator fatigue. Available in 26" disc scrub deck or 28" BOOST ® deck models for dual-function scrubbing and chemical-free floor finish removal. Call 1-800-253-0367 or visit clarkeus.com/microrider Trusted. Reliable. Efficient. A Nilfisk-Advance Brand ©2013 Nilfisk-Advance www.clarkeus.com Product Information no. 217 on page 24 www.cmmonline.com 21
CMM – Archives Apr 2013: 21
