3M Australia announces a new anti-slip floor coating formulated to meet wet slip resistance standards without impacting floor gloss and clarity.

Wet slip areas in commercial buildings present a safety and liability risk for Australian businesses, and are estimated to cost the economy billions of dollars in workers’ compensation, lost productivity and public liability insurance claims per annum.

3M’s new Safety-Walk anti-slip peelable coating 3500 has been developed by 3M Australia’s Commercial Solutions Division and patented globally. A completely Australian innovation, the new Safety-Walk is a breakthrough water-based coating for vinyl, ceramic, terrazzo and other hard floor surfaces, allowing contract cleaners and facility managers to improve floor safety in high-risk wet slip spaces such as entranceways, service corridors and bathroom wash basin areas.

Anti-slip properties in the Safety-Walk coating are achieved using innovative bead technology based on micronised organic polymer spheres, which create a unique non-abrasive micro-textured surface with optimum abrasion resistance, gloss control and aesthetics.

Junghan (JH) Lee, Managing Director, 3M Australia explains that the technology breakthrough behind Safety-Walk was achieved at a microscopic nano-level and has the potential to make a major impact on floor safety in Australia and around the world.

According to Roger Hancock, Operations Manager Risk Engineering, Zurich Financial Services Australia Ltd, slips, trips and falls have become the primary health and safety risks in the community, and one of the most expensive Occupational Health & Safety costs for business and industry. By minimising the occurrence of such incidents, potential injuries that can result in personnel downtime and interruption to business as well as worker’s compensation and general liability claims, can be reduced.

3M has also developed a range of companion products to support the new floor coating, including edge sealer, applicator tool, Doodlebug brush and floor pad brush.

Safety-Walk anti-slip peelable coating 3500 won the INCLEAN Innovation Award (Janitorial category) at AUSCLEAN 2014, capturing the attention of the Australasian commercial cleaning industry.