Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: How do I stop slipping on my concession floors

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Posted by Chris Medley (Member # 2145) on 04-25-2004, 02:49 AM:

Forgive my ignorance oh might film gods [Big Grin]

But I was wondering if anyone had any secret trick for keeping the concession floors un-slippery during rushes???

And the first person that says "well what about those black rubber mats" should be thrown out in the street and shot...becasue they do not work...all they do is get butter and oil on them...and then you have a moving mat..

so...any help here would be nice..also, i was told that there is a product that you can paint on the bottom of your shoes for grip..anyone know what that product is called??

thanks [thumbsup]

Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 04-25-2004, 03:06 AM:

I found that Safe-T-Step shoes from PayLess worked very well for gripping wet surfaces behind concessions.

Also, be sure that your concessionists are scooping ice from the bin using ice scoopers, and not just scooping the cup thrugh the ice bin. Not only is that a health violation in most areas, but it will also cause ice to fall out of the bin and onto the floor, making it slippery.

Posted by Mike Williams (Member # 1140) on 04-25-2004, 09:22 AM:

I know this may sound wasteful, but it will work if you are in the middle of a rush and the employees keep slipping... dump some salt on the floor. It can always be swept up later and it absorbs moisture and adds traction.

Posted by Joshua Lott (Member # 240) on 04-25-2004, 11:59 AM:

For a more permanent solution you should have the floor coated with that stuff that goes in the back of pick up beds.

Xtreme Grip

Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 04-25-2004, 12:42 PM:

What kind of surface is the floor in your concession stand? It amazes me the many ones I've seen with that shiny bathroom tile on the floor. The slightest bit of moisture and you're ice-skating on those!

The best thing would be a painted floor with that "gripper" stuff added in the paint, like they use for driveways and stairs in sports stadiums. It's basically paint with sand in it, but the traction is unbeatable.

Side note: The picture at left of the XtremeGrip looks like it would make a cool auditorium! Looking from the screen, just picture seats where the grip stuff is on the "floor" with your entrance in the back. Nice choice of decorative colour, too! [Smile]

=TMP=

Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 04-25-2004, 01:02 PM:

In our concession stand we had new "Safety Vinyl" installed over our old vinyl. Any flooring company carries it. It is heavy-duty vinyl and it has silica chips imbedded in to the surface like sandpaper to enhance grip. It is not cheap. But the surface area of our stand wasn't that much.

It's not nearly as much fun as it used to be. [Big Grin]

Posted by John Hegel (Member # 628) on 04-25-2004, 02:05 PM:

I can't think of the name of the product at the moment, but there is a solution you can add to your mop water that gives added traction.

A restaurant I worked at used it in the kitchen and it worked well. I think most food service equipment dealers carry it, so you might want to give your local dealer a call.

Posted by Jeremy Fuentes (Member # 2135) on 04-25-2004, 03:17 PM:

What we have in our concession is one long roll out mat. It does not have holes in it, like the black ones at the Cinemark I used to work at, so oil spills will not reach the floor, causing the mat to move around. We do not have a problem with the mat moving around as much as the black ones do.

Posted by Adam Wilbert (Member # 1184) on 04-25-2004, 04:02 PM:

Why not use the slippery floor to your advantage? By reducing the number of steps you take, and sliding from one area to another you'll increase productivity.

Posted by Travis Hubrig (Member # 1745) on 04-25-2004, 04:43 PM:

It may be a little bit off from the other replies,

Is the floor getting clean or is it always slippery...
A good dish soap really worked great for us to cut the oil and greases.
But if your having a problem just during sets then that won't help.

Posted by Gerard S. Cohen (Member # 994) on 04-25-2004, 08:14 PM:

Have you tried sprinkling sawdust? I don't know where butcher shops get it, but it might be free for the asking at lumber yards.

Not all rubber mats are alike. I had a catalog of industrial mats with scores of models for various safety conditions. Most were perforated or of open-weave construction, impervious to solvents and grease, and conformed to OSSA standards. [So shoot me!] You might try a WWW search.

Posted by Blake Zaugg (Member # 1455) on 04-26-2004, 02:12 AM:

Every few weeks or so I'll pour some "Econo-Clean" on the floor add some water, and the buff it with the floor scrubber machine. We'll them mop up the excess water, and ta-da no more slippery floor....at least for a few more weeks.

I'll add the number where we get this stuff from later. It works really good on prety much everything. It diluted down pretty good too, so it lasts a long time.

Posted by Brandon Willis (Member # 2345) on 04-26-2004, 11:52 AM:

Some health departments prohibit the installation of a permanent rubber surface with treads on the floor of a food service area because it is not "easily cleanable." These places require the floor to be tiled. We use rubber mats that we can throw out when the floor is slippery and put away after we don't need them anymore. In a pinch, you can break down a cardboard box and throw it on the floor but that can present a cleanup issue if it gets soaked with butter and the 16 year olds behind the stand are grossed out by cleaning it up.

Posted by Rob Butler (Member # 2274) on 04-27-2004, 12:56 PM:

I used to work at a function hall that had a slippery kitchen floor, we just got a few buckets of paint, mixed a bunch of sand into it and painted the floor, it worked beautifully.

Posted by Gary Crawford (Member # 2038) on 04-28-2004, 01:57 PM:

You'll have to check around but there are floor tiles made that are "softer" than most, making them easier on the feet and ankles, and they also have a rougher surface for traction in slippery locations.

In a pinch use kitty litter / speedy dry on the spills, gives needed traction and easy cleanup later.

You can buy "grip strips", like you see at the edges of stairs, but I don't know how health departments will see them as far as sanitary cleanups, and the oil and butter might not let the adhesive stick like it's supposed to.

Not waxing the tiles might help. A good scrubbing will usually leave them with a non-shiny finish and this might be a way to add some needed traction.

Posted by Floyd Justin Newton (Member # 1316) on 04-29-2004, 09:36 AM:

Guys--
www.industrialsafety.com has just about every safety
device you could ever need. Also here's their phone number:
1-800-537-9721. They are quite helpful!!

fjn

local 294 Ret.

Posted by Chris Medley (Member # 2145) on 05-01-2004, 03:55 AM:

Thanks all,

our biggest problem is that it is a gray ceramic tile and it has had ten years of butter getting into it pores...I will look into all these options, and if you have any more let me know!! [thumbsup]

Posted by Brad Allen (Member # 470) on 05-05-2004, 05:15 PM:

Uh, train the employees to not be so sloppy and wasteful.

No excuse for the floor to become a mess, rush or no rush.

If your procedures are solid, you won't have the problem.

Like my local Kerasotes multiplex that use's the stooooooped popcorn bags, and they end up knee deep in popcorn behind the stand. Literally.

Posted by Chris Medley (Member # 2145) on 05-10-2004, 02:33 AM:

All due respect...my theater runs beyond capicity on many busy weekends, and my staff is trained to be fast. I have to push my staff because I have to protect my bottom line. My kids are really well trained on how to clean and keep things clean, but my stand is too small and my attendance to large to warrant an easy going pace

Posted by Ian Bailey (Member # 1752) on 05-10-2004, 05:33 AM:

The surface of ceramic tiles can be chemically treated to create a non-slip surface and the floor should be cleaned every night with a non-slip additive in the water.These products must be available in the U.S.-best to enquire with companies that sell cleaning chemicals.The chemical non-slip treatment is not cheap but it is a safe method to cover yourself for OH&S compliance.

Posted by Chris Medley (Member # 2145) on 05-10-2004, 09:08 AM:

yeah we looked into having a chemical simlilar to the one you describe put on our floors, it is suppoesed to make the cermaic tiles mroe pores and the major downside was that we had to buy thier chemical just to clean our concession floors and it wasn't reaslly cost effective