COBA Guest Blog: Anti-Slip Solutions for Walkways and Staircases
This informative Guest Blog offers expert advice, brought to you by the good people at COBA Europe Limited.
A practical, long-term approach to slip prevention in commercial and industrial environments
Slips, trips and falls remain one of the most common causes of workplace accidents across the UK, making effective slip risk management essential in high-traffic environments. From busy industrial sites and warehouses to public buildings and access routes, walkways and staircases are high-risk areas that demand robust, reliable slip prevention.
At COBA, we believe effective safety solutions should go beyond short-term fixes. For manufacturers like COBA, anti-slip systems must be durable, compliant, low maintenance and designed to perform consistently in real-world conditions. In this guest blog, we explore why engineered anti-slip solutions offer a superior, long-term alternative to tapes and paints, particularly for walkways and staircases where safety cannot be compromised.
Why Walkways and Staircases Are High-Risk Areas
If you’re an installer, facilities manager, Health & Safety officer or part of the wider operations team, you know how walkways and stairs experience constant foot traffic and are often exposed to contaminants such as water, oil, dust or debris. Changes in weather, temperature and lighting can further increase risk, particularly on external access routes or in transitional areas.
While temporary measures such as anti-slip tapes or painted coatings are often used as a quick fix, they frequently fail to deliver consistent performance over time. As these solutions degrade, peel or wear smooth, slip resistance is reduced, sometimes without being immediately visible. This creates avoidable risk in areas where safe footing is critical.
Longevity – Engineered Anti-Slip vs Tapes and Paints
One of the most significant advantages of engineered anti-slip solutions is longevity.
Anti-slip tapes are prone to lifting at the edges, especially in high-traffic or wet environments. Once compromised, they not only lose effectiveness but can create a new trip hazard. Anti-slip paints, while initially effective, tend to wear unevenly and can quickly lose their slip-resistant properties under heavy use.
In contrast, solid anti-slip products, such as GRP (glass reinforced plastic) stair treads, nosing and walkway panels, are engineered for durability. Designed to withstand repeated footfall, environmental exposure and cleaning regimes, they provide consistent performance over many years, significantly reducing the need for replacement.
From a whole-life cost perspective, longer-lasting solutions often deliver far greater value than repeatedly reapplying tapes or coatings.
Higher Slip Resistance You Can Rely On
Slip resistance is not just about initial grip, it’s about maintaining performance over time.
Many engineered anti-slip systems incorporate embedded aggregates bonded within a solid substrate. This construction provides a consistently high level of slip resistance, even in wet or contaminated conditions, and avoids the rapid wear associated with surface-applied products.
Compared to paints, which rely on surface texture that can quickly polish smooth, or tapes that wear unevenly, engineered anti-slip solutions maintain their grip across the full walking surface. This consistency is particularly important on staircases and elevated walkways, where loss of traction can have serious consequences.
Tested, Certified and Compliant
For manufacturers like COBA, compliance and performance are non-negotiable when developing anti-slip solutions for commercial and industrial environments.
Reputable anti-slip solutions are independently tested to recognised standards, such as Pendulum Test Values (PTV), providing measurable evidence of slip resistance. This is especially important for organisations with health and safety responsibilities, where demonstrating due diligence is essential.
Unlike some paints or tapes, which may offer limited or inconsistent test data, engineered systems are designed with certification in mind, giving specifiers and safety managers confidence that products will perform as expected throughout their service life.
Maintenance-Free Safety for Demanding Environments
Maintenance is often overlooked when selecting slip prevention solutions.
Anti-slip paints may require regular inspection, touch-ups or complete reapplication. Tapes often need replacing once edges lift or wear becomes visible. This not only increases ongoing costs but also introduces disruption to operations.
Engineered anti-slip walkways and stair solutions are inherently low maintenance. Routine cleaning is typically all that’s required to keep them performing effectively, making GRP-based systems particularly well suited to demanding, industrial environments.
A Smarter, Long-Term Safety Investment
When considering slip prevention for walkways and staircases, the question should not be “What is the quickest fix?” but “What will perform reliably over time in real working conditions?”
Engineered anti-slip solutions offer:
- Longer service life
- Consistently higher slip resistance
- Independent test certification
- Minimal maintenance requirements
- Improved whole-life value
At COBA, we work closely with safety specialists, including partners such as the Fire and Safety Centre, to help specify solutions that are practical, proven and built to last, supporting safer environments without compromise.
COBA is a UK-based manufacturer of specialist matting, flooring and anti-slip solutions, supporting safety, performance and compliance across industrial, commercial and public-sector environments.