The safety of workers across Australia’s construction, hospitality and healthcare sectors is set to improve significantly with the arrival of timber specialist Big River’s Anti-Slip Plywood, a new plywood product featuring a highly slip resistant coating designed to protect against injury on both indoor and outdoor workplace platforms, ramps, walkways and floors.
This innovative Australian-made solution was created to significantly improve the safety of both temporary and permanent flooring and ramps. It features a textured paint finish with crushed glass for maximum wear and slip resistance. The reverse side of the panel has a phenolic film for moisture protection in damp, wet and external areas.
Big River’s Anti-Slip Plywood has been tested for slip resistance in both wet and dry scenarios. The wet test results should always be used to assess the real risk of slip. Both wet and dry testing delivered results at the highest slip resistance classification.
It has been specifically designed for use in construction sites or building areas, permanent ramps and flooring in hospitality (kitchen) or age care facilities, hospitals and medical environments.
According to a report released by Safe Work Australia the economic cost of work related injury and illness in Australia is estimated to be costing AUD $60 billion a year in lost productivity or just under 5% of Gross Domestic Production (GDP). Both small and big businesses across these sectors are proactively looking at new and groundbreaking ways to reduce injuries and make the workplace a safer environment.
In the construction industry, Lend Lease, one of the world’s leading project management and construction companies is using Big River’s Anti-Slip Plywood on the AUD$6 Billion Barangaroo urban transformation project on the western edge of the Sydney CBD.
In the hospitality sector, namely kitchens and food preparation facilities, slips are the most common cause of injury and also the easiest to prevent according to WorkSafe Victoria. In the café and restaurant industry, floors with oil or water spills are the greatest cause of slip, trip and fall injuries. Anti-Slip Plywood is ideal for high-risk areas including cool rooms/freezers, dishwashing areas, cooking areas and doors leading to and from the kitchen where changes in floor surfaces occur.
The product is also making a significant difference in the healthcare sector where Perth based manufacturer of safety products, Grafton General Products, has seen an enthusiastic uptake by their clients for both commercial and domestic applications. Grafton General Products supplies wheelchair ramps and various home modification products to hospitals, the Department of Housing and the Department of Veteran Affairs, all where safety is paramount. Joe Galipo, Director, Grafton General Products says, “We are delighted to be one of the first to embrace this brand new product from Big River, it is far superior to anything else on the market, and we are not seeing any slippage even in wet conditions.
