Effects of Shoe Wear on Slipping – Implications for Shoe Replacement Threshold

• Published in: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting 2017-09, Vol.61 (1), p.1424-1428
• Main Authors: Hemler, Sarah L., Charbonneau, Danielle N., Beschorner, Kurt E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1541-9312; 1071-1813; 2169-5067
• DOI: 10.1177/1541931213601839

In the workplace, slips and falls account for a large portion of injuries. Although past research has identified relationships between shoe wear and shoe-floor-contaminant dynamics (coefficient of friction (COF) and fluid pressures), the relationship between wear and COF has not been well characterized. The purpose of this study is to track COF and under-shoe fluid pressure changes as shoes are worn over time. Wear was simulated for two different shoes via an abrasion protocol. COF and fluid pressure measurements were conducted using a robotic slip tester. For each shoe, the COF initially increased from the baseline value followed by a steady decrease. Fluid pressure data suggests that the risk of slipping increases drastically when the area of the completely worn region of a shoe reaches a threshold of 740 mm2. These results suggest that the size of the wear patch is a better indicator for replacing shoes than tread depth.