[Histonet] SLIPPING ON LAB FLOOR

[Tim Wheelock]

Hi Everyone:

A problem.
My boss, who wears dress shoes with half-size high heels (the heels have 
a broad base to them, not the "stiletto" type), has been having problems 
slipping on my laboratory's floor. I am really afraid that she is going 
to actually fall and injure herself.

I myself have no problem in the lab, since the soles of my shoes are 
rubber or plastic polymer. Sneakers work fine as well.
I manage a neuropathology laboratory which means I use paraffin embedding.
Although, I keep the floor clean, I think that the residual wax near the 
embedding and sectioning stations may get spread around the rest of the 
lab by my shoes.

So far, I have put a "CAUTION" sign up on my laboratory door advising 
people to excercise caution when entering the lab, especially when 
wearing dress shoes, in order to at least increase awareness.

Perhaps, I should put the laboratory floor on a regular "preventative 
maintenance" schedule of cleaning and waxing to minimize the amount of 
wax on the floor.
Then again, maybe I should ask the maintenance people not to put any wax 
on the floor after they clean it. Perhaps it is this wax that is part of 
the problem.

Has anyone ever had this problem? How did you solve it?

I would appreciate any advice anyone may have.

Tim Wheelock
Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center
McLean Hospital
617-855-3592