Traction performance across the life of slip-resistant footwear

Slips, trips, and falls are a major cause of injury in the workplace. Footwear is an important factor in preventing slips. Furthermore, traction performance (friction and under-shoe fluid drainage) are believed to change throughout the life of footwear. However, a paucity of data is available for how traction performance changes for naturally worn, slip-resistant footwear. Participants wore slip-resistant footwear while their distance walked was monitored. Friction and under-shoe fluid pressures were measured using a robotic slip tester under a diluted glycerol contaminant condition after each month of wear for the left and right shoes. The wear volume and the size of the worn region was also measured. Prior to wearing shoes at work, participants completed dry walking trials during which ground reaction forces were recorded across different types of shoes. The peak normal force, shear force, and required coefficient of friction (RCOF) were calculated. Friction initially increased and th...