All posts by Bill Coyne

It’s true – the ice cleat and winter traction aid market is overwhelming. For over 40 years, we’ve done the research necessary to assist safety professionals in reducing winter slip and fall incidents. Here are some tips to help you simplify the options you have available in the marketplace. First, let’s review the two most important types of traction aids: 1. TRANSITIONAL TRACTION® - Can be worn both inside and outside without being removed.

Who doesn’t love winter?  With the snow falling, it’s simply a beautiful time of year. Some people, however, are far from excited. Why? With winter usually comes slips and falls. Not good news for the safety professionals out there. Now, some safety professionals hear the word “winter” and, all of the sudden, the mood in the room changes. Because they know their job is about to become even tougher.  Seasonal weather-related headaches are about to begin.  The challenge? Trying to find the easiest and safest ways to protect their employees who work in the ice and snow.

I once had a conversation with a safety director from a large international company. He told me about how they used to have a lot of slip and falls due to ice and snow. And when they investigated ways to reduce winter slip and fall accidents, they concluded it was time to invest in ice cleats. He went on to describe how they did their research, testing, due diligence, etc. and ended up buying what they believed was the best ice cleat at the time. (Full disclosure: This isn’t an ice cleat my company manufactures.)

Sometimes you think you've heard it all, and we have when it comes to excuses why people don't want to wear ice cleats. Time for a top 6 list... Too expensive. My employees won’t wear them. Can’t wear indoors. Can’t drive with them on. Employees won’t take care of them. We've tried everything and nothing works in my environment. Reality of buying the right ice traction for shoes or ice cleats from the right manufacturer. Ice cleats are far less expensive than the resulting costs associated with a slip and fall. Have you ever given your employees the chance to try them? If you did and they prov[…]

The process of buying ice cleats is a lot like the search for any new product. Sometimes it’s smooth sailing, and other times you run into frustration and confusion, and end up spending a lot more time than you’d like to find the ice cleats you need. And it’s a situation where you need to take your time to make sure you’ve found the best and safest traction solution for your employees working outdoors in cold, slippery conditions. In this blog post, we’ll look at some of the questions you should ask yourself when shopping for ice cleats to take some of the stress out of the process and keep yo[…]

The sun may still be shining, but we both know winter hazards are right around the corner. For those of you who admit reluctantly that you should start planning, the next 60 days are critical to your employees’ safety. And your company’s safety record. If you plan on buying industrial ice cleats or other winter traction aids for your employees to prevent slips and falls on ice and snow, ask yourself: