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Universal design: Specifying slip resistance
Universal design is the design of buildings, products, and environments to make them accessible and usable to all people of different ages and abilities over time, without the need for adaptation or specialised design. Building design considerations that implement universal design can minimise hazards that would otherwise pose significant risks.
Slips occur when a person's foot loses traction with the ground surface. This can be due to inappropriate footwear, surface contaminants such as water or grease, the flooring product's finish, or its innate slip resistance rating. Environmental factors such as poor lighting or poorly maintained walkways can also play a role.
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Slips commonly result in falls and further injuries, particularly fractures to the hip and leg. Slips, trips, and falls are the leading cause of serious injuries related to building design and construction, and they disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, especially elderly people, people with illnesses or disabilities, and children. People aged 65 years and over account for almost 75 per cent of all hospital separations nationally due to falls occurring in buildings.
Structural and design components of buildings can increase the likelihood of slips, as well as affect their severity. According to a 2008 report by Monash University Accident Research Centre, hazardous building features include the non-attenuating and nonabsorptive nature of many residential and institutional flooring surfaces, insufficient lighting in stairways, and the lack of handrails in many domestic stairways.
The most common location for falls resulting from slips or trips is the home. Residential design is hugely important to quality of life and a person's ability to live independently. The principles of universal design can be applied to residential projects to reduce the risk of slips, trips and falls to the greatest extent possible. Existing flooring can be treated to improve its slip-resistant qualities, for example by grinding or sanding the flooring product. In some areas, such as kitchens, bathrooms and laundries, slips are a foreseeable risk. Slip-resistant surfaces are most useful here.
In universal design, flooring should accommodate all users regardless of age, condition, pace, or footwear. This is not limited to the floor surface itself. Entrances, for instance, should have adequate weather protection (such as drainage, sufficient awning depth, and an entry floor mat), and the installation of handrails on both sides of a staircase can be very effective in reducing the risk of slips. Ensuring adequate lighting is another simple way to effectively incorporate universal design.
Although adaptations and modifications can be made at a later stage, universal design can be specified in documentation from the very beginning of the design process to ensure the suitability of a home for all residents at every point in their lives. Universal design considerations can come at minimal or no extra cost to the client if introduced from the initial design stage of the project.
These considerations require appropriate documentation, such as NATSPEC specifications. The ABCB has recognised under-specifying as a problem in the past when it comes to slip resistance. Incorporating universal design by stipulating the exact requirements for a product, material, treatment, or finish reduces the risk of slips and injuries.
With the October 2020 update to the National Building Specification, NATSPEC released three new TECHnotes highlighting the effectiveness of universal design and ways in which universal design principles can be applied to different projects. The TECHnote DES 039 Universal Design: Slip Resistance focuses on how universal design can prevent slips and provides further information about standards and universal design. Like other NATSPEC TECHnotes, which cover a variety of topics relevant to building professionals, this document provides helpful considerations for specifiers. The majority of people will benefit from universal design during at least one period in their lives. It should not be an afterthought added on at the end of the design process, or not at all. Specifications are an indispensable tool for building professionals, complementing the drawings, and allowing the final construction to reflect the design as accurately as possible.
Including stipulations to improve slip resistance is one way to make the home and the built environment safer for everyone.
NATSPEC is a not-for-profit organisation owned by Government and industry. It maintains the National Building Specification and has been a valued part of the Australian construction industry for over 45 years.
For more information, visit www.natspec.com.au.
Although adaptations and modifications can be made at a later stage, universal design can be specified in documentation from the very beginning of the design process to ensure the suitability of a home for all residents at every point in their lives. Universal design considerations can come at minimal or no extra cost to the client if introduced from the initial design stage of the project.
