Nearly 120 facility managers participated in the survey. While the majority of respondents understood that mats prevent slips and falls in the workplace, most underestimated the frequency of these injuries.
According to Christopher R. Tricozzi of Crown Mats, most respondents calculated that nationwide, 1,000 people are hospitalized each day as a result of slips and falls. The actual number, Tricozzi explains, is closer to 10,000. He adds that effective matting systems could prevent many of those incidents.
More than 90 percent of participants were aware that high-performance matting systems play a key role in green cleaning. By capturing dirt carried into the building, mats can prevent other methods of cleaning that involve chemicals.
The survey also showed that 80 percent of respondents own, rather than rent, their mats, a decision Tricozzi says may have safety implications. “Typically, mats purchased by a facility are of higher quality and more effective than rented mats,” he explained. “This tells us that these facility managers know how valuable a high-performance matting system can be to the health of a facility.”
Other survey questions further demonstrated the respondents’ extent of matting system knowledge:
- Seventy percent understood that a “wiper mat” is placed inside a facility to remove remaining soils, contaminants and moisture from shoes.
- Approximately half of the respondents correctly estimated it would cost about $500 to remove one pound of soil from a building.
- Two-thirds of the respondents acknowledged that a high-performance matting system often has a longer warranty and is more effective at capturing and trapping soil.
- Half of the survey participants were familiar with the “Rule of 15s,” which calls for three 5-foot-long mats – a scraper, a wiper/scraper and a wiper – placed at all building entries.
“Overall, we were impressed with the answers to the survey,” Tricozzi said. “It is probably because of green cleaning that so many people now know how valuable high-performance matting systems are to occupant health.”