Mack has launched an all new innovative range of slip resistant occupational footwear that exceeds the Australian standard by 159% (AS/NZS 2210.5). Workplace slips are a major cost to businesses and in Queensland accounted for 256,000 lost work days and over $60 million1. In the USA 25% of all injury claims are due to workplace slips (www.osha.gov). In the hospitality industry 11% of grease burns are precipitated by a slip (Hyaes-Lundy et al., 1991) and up to 2.5 slips occur for every 40 hours worked (Verma et al., 2012). Slip resistant footwear can reduce these incidents by 54% and is the most cost effective intervention to reducing slips in the hospitality industry (Verma et al., 2012). In addition to this for every 0.1 increase in the friction coefficient slips are further reduced by 21%.
Dr Caleb Wegener, head of Footwear Research and Innovation, stated that the Traction Control Range is designed on the movement of the foot while walking to maximise ground contact area through each phase of the gait cycle. The tread pattern also has a unique design based on foot loading patterns and hydrodynamics to optimise fluid dispersion from the shoe-ground interface, which is paramount to reducing slips. These engineering features result in the range outperforming the market leading brand in the UK and USA on the critical heel-slip test component of the standard.
The new Mack Traction Control range consists of five styles of safety and non-safety footwear for the breadth of applications in the industrial, cleaning, hospitality and healthcare markets.
1Queensland Employee Injury Database as at August 2007, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland.