Statistics show that the majority (60 percent) of falls happen on the same level resulting from slips and trips.

Slips

Slips happen where there is too little friction or traction between the footwear and the walking surface. Common causes of slips are:

• wet or oily surfaces
• occasional spills
• weather hazards
• loose, unanchored rugs or mats
• flooring or other walking surfaces that do not have same degree of traction in all areas

Trips

Trips happen when your foot collides (strikes, hits) an object causing you to lose your balance and, eventually fall. Common causes of tripping are:

• obstructed view
• poor lighting
• wrinkled carpeting
• uncovered cables
• uneven (steps, thresholds) walking surfaces

Both slips and trips result from some kind of unintended or unexpected change in the contact between the feet and the ground or walking surface. This shows the need for good housekeeping practices in place and the quality of walking surfaces, flooring / parking lot, should be in good order.

Parking lots have only a few of these hazards.

Picture your properties.

• Are there any pot holes that would cause someone to trip?  These holes are a double edged sword.  In winter they fill with water, freeze and now create a slip hazard.
• Is your lot clean of debris?  Small stones or deteriorating asphalt will cause trip hazards.
• Are your catch basins and the immediate area in good repair?  Elevated catch basins will cause trip hazards. Areas around catch basins can also cause trip and slip hazards if they are below the grade of the catch basin.
• Are transitions from asphalt to concrete and concrete to concrete at an acceptable height variance?  Shopping carts should have no issue manoeuvring a ¼” height difference.  This would also hold true as a good height variance for people not to trip.

A short walk of your property looking for pot holes, larger stones, deteriorating asphalt, catch basins and material transitions should give you a good overview of your possible slips, trips and falls.

Your local asphalt maintenance company should be able to participate in helping you prove due diligence.

Let Addaline help you to keep your customers moving 365 days a year.

In our last newsletter we talked about what dangers might be unseen inside a catch basin.

Now let us look at something about catch basins that we can see.

Catch basin must have 2 important features.

• They should be lower that the surrounding areas to allow drainage.
• The metal assembly must be level with the asphalt immediately surrounding the catch basin (not protruding).
• Asphalt should be sloped leading to a low point.  This low point is exactly where the catch basin should be located.  If the catch basin is not the low point this means that water not drain properly leading to ponding. This ponding is a nuisance in the summer and can be a skating rink in the winter. In most cases a catch basin can be lowered and asphalt properly sloped to eliminate this problem.
• If the slope to catch basin is too great the water will drain properly, however the great drop can be a hazard to both pedestrians and vehicles alike.  Cars can bottom out and pedestrians could possibly misstep. Catch basins can be raised and the asphalt gently sloped to eliminate this problem.
• Over time the asphalt around the catch basin can sink or settle.  When this gap becomes about an inch or more some immediate action should be taken.  This raised assembly can result in the following problems:
• Trip hazard for pedestrians
• Can possibly damage tires on vehicles.
• Will be hit by snow plows in winter resulting in broken assembly and a much greater cost to repair in the spring

The asphalt should be repaired and sloped properly to the catch basin to eliminate the hazard. Careful attention should be paid to the interior of the catch basin to determine why the asphalt has settled prior to repair to ensure the root of the cause eliminated.

Being proactive will save money and headaches.

Water shut off

Check to make sure all water shut off caps are even or below the surface of your asphalt. When caught by a snow plow not only will you damage the cap but often the stem as well.

Stem replacement is very labour intensive and costly. When proactive a quick asphalt repair can avoid this and gives you peace of mind throughout the winter.

Take a picture, send it to us, if your photo wins receive a free  lunch for four at Moxies. Take a friend, better yet take a few co-workers that are also trying to avoid that crater.

Our spring winner is Franco DeMarco from TCG asphalt.

Traditional asphalt repairs can be completed as long as the asphalt plants stay open. Late in the year I am always asked when they will close. My response is “tell me when it is going to snow and when the snow will stay and I will give you an answer.”

The truth is no one knows, the plants themselves take a few different things into consideration.

• Is there much demand for asphalt?
• How much energy is required to batch?

Cold material, wet material, both require more heat (energy) in order to remove moisture and heat the aggregates and asphalt cement.

• What is the immediate or near future forecast?
• Are the large paving jobs in the area completed?
• When will the cold and snow settle in?

Lots of questions and only one real answer, nobody really knows.

The best defense is a strong offence. Get your last minute maintenance issues dealt with prior to the end of October and certainly by the middle of November. All asphalt maintenance and paving companies are their busiest in late fall, and everyone will be scrambling in order to satisfy customers needs prior to the winter setting in.

Be sure to have a good look at high traffic areas (both vehicle and pedestrian traffic), elevations of catch basins, and water meters, ponding areas. At Addaline we have a tough time getting to any repairs booked after  the second week of November. I believe this holds true no matter which asphalt company is doing work for you.