One important fact I didn’t mention in my article, is that the ADA can even view slip prevention treatments as “barrier removal” in areas where disabled persons may be walking. This qualifies the cost of treating that area to be taken as a tax credit.

I too enjoyed your article and feel that proper long-term care makes all the difference in the world. My company manufactures Safe Solution, one of the micro-etching products you referenced. While a highly effective product on its own (we share similar 90% + results that Bob mentioned above) without the commitment from the restaurant owners and management for a truly long-term program for safety results can degrade over time. Our solution for this is to take an active role in their employee education and floor measurements ourselves as part of what we call our Floor Safety Maintenance Program. This is something we instituted about a decade ago and is now becoming an industry standard.

We have found that over time, even with proper planning regarding safety at the time of the initial floor treatment that dynamics can change. Floor traffic patterns change as the interior design may be modified, menus in a restaurant may change which cause grease levels and other food and beverage substances to cause coefficient of friction changes. Also, neighborhood demographics change resulting in a change in the type of patron with differing floor stability requirements as you noted above.

From our experience, the absolute most critical step comes down to on-going planning and communications between all parties involved in floor safety and maintenance, including one that is often overlooked, the employees working and cleaning the floors on a daily basis.