Mechanical floor scrubber-dryer in shopping mall

The Problem

A contract floor cleaning company were using rider operated scrubber-dryers to clean a large shopping mall after it had closed for the day. Unfortunately a pedestrian slipped over an unattended pool of water that had been left by the scrubber dryer. The pedestrian suffered head injuries and spent time recovering in hospital.

On investigation it was found that when the scrubber-dryer turned around to begin another run down the mall, the operator raised the blade at the rear of the unit which deposited water and debris onto the floor.

Rather than cleaning up this water it was left unattended. It is important to note that the floor surface was typical of that found in many shopping centre being a polished terrazzo tile which when dry provides adequate slip resistance, but is often very slippery when wet.

The Solution

New barriers were purchased so that the deposited water was totally enclosed until the floor was dry. The operator had to dismount the scrubber-dryer and set up the barriers, this meant that his cleaning took a little longer. However there have been no more slipping accidents as a result of this improvement.