SportsTurf

April 2012

SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.

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Facility&Operations what are termed risk factors or indoor haz- ards can trigger an accident. Some of the most common factors and hazards include: • Wet or oily floor surfaces • Inappropriate footwear • Loose, unanchored carpets, rugs, mats, or floor tiles • Obstructed views • Poor lighting • Clutter on the floor • Wrinkled carpeting • Cables or cords laid across walkways Gym managers should be aware of these risk hazards and regularly take the time to walk through their gym and see if any of these exist in their facilities. Corrective measures now can help prevent a serious ac- cident later. One of the best ways any facility, includ- ing a gym, can take to prevent a slip, trip, or fall is to install high-performing matting systems. An effective matting system is de- signed to trap and hold moisture, soil, grease, dirt, and other contaminants before these are walked in the door. According to Christopher Tricozzi, vice president of sales and marketing for Crown Mats and Matting, stopping moisture and soil before it enters the door is key. "Many managers will place matting systems inside doorways, but they should actually start out- doors by installing what are termed 'scraper' mats at all building entries," he says. Tricozzi says that the scraper mat should be followed by a wiper/scraper mat, directly inside a building. "Often, this is the entry vestibule area between two sets of doors. And, this is followed by a wiper mat, de- signed to capture and hold any remaining moisture and soil off shoe bottoms." Sandee Smith and Harrison Hill ROLE REVERSAL: when children should talk to parents about money S BABY BOOMERS GROW OLDER and presumably wiser about economic matters, more are finding them- selves in a position of caretaker for elderly parents. Rais- ing the topic of money with parents can be difficult. But with the A 34 SportsTurf | April 2012 right choice of words, timing, and tone, you can open the door to a meaningful conversation. Select a Representative. An initial conversation about finances should be done one-on-one. Involving too many people can be www.sportsturfonline.com "Gym managers need about 15 feet of matting outside and inside the building," he adds. "We really can't depend on people to properly wipe their feet so the 15 feet of mat- ting [helps] ensure that as much as 80 per- cent of the moisture and contaminants are prevented from being walked in the gym." Also, as referenced earlier, Tricozzi adds that managers should select what are termed high-performance mats. These are mats that facilities typically purchase, rather than rent. Not only are these mats engi- neered to be more effective, they last much longer than a rental mat. "A high-perfor- mance mat may last two years or more, whereas a rental mat may only last a few months and end up in a landfill [shortly thereafter]." FLOOR CARE AND MAINTENANCE Next to eliminating risk factors and in- stalling high-performance matting, proper floor care and maintenance is essential. Gym managers are advised to incorporate regularly scheduled strip, scrub, and refinish programs to keep floors as clean as possible. This should definitely include locker room and shower areas, where tile and grout floors are often installed. These cleaning regimens will help remove bacteria that may be developing in grout areas, which can cause a slip or fall. Very often, the type of floor equipment used in floor care can help promote floor safety, says Daniel Frimml, a technical serv- ice representative with Tornado Industries, a manufacturer of floor care equipment. "Many facilities use rotary floor machines. While these can do an excellent job, for tile and grout floors, a different technology, cylindrical floor machines, may prove to be more effective." Cylindrical floor machines use counter- rotating brushes and not pads, which are found on conventional machines. Rotating at more than 1,000 rotations per minute, the brushes penetrate the porous surfaces of a floor. These machines reach deep into grout areas to help remove embedded bac- teria and soil, which also helps maintain the floor's slip resistance. "Also, because the ma- chine does a lot more of the work, less water and chemical are usually called for, making this technology Greener and more sustainable," adds Frimml. Additionally, as to daily care, Frimml ad- vises that gym floors should be dust- mopped or vacuumed and damp-mopped daily and sometimes several times during the day. The mop heads and cleaning solu- tion should be changed frequently in the cleaning process to help prevent the spread of germs and bacteria which have the po- tential of causing floors to be slippery. And, Frimml has one final recommenda- tion. All gyms should have in stock and use warning and safety cones. "Whenever and wherever floors are being cleaned or there is a suspected problem that could lead to an injury, use these [safety devices]. At the very least, it can limit your liability should there be an accident and at its best, the warning and safety cones can prevent [an incident] from happening at all." ■ Dawn Shoemaker is a writer for the profes- sional cleaning, building, hotel, and hospitali- ties industries. She may be reached at info@alturasolutions.com By

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