Effectiveness of Slip Resistant Footwear in Dairy Industry

NCT07280988 | Active Not Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 20235100802
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 22
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

In the dairy industry, same-level falls are a major problem and a well-known challenge. At Arla's dairy in Taulov, where this RCT study is being carried out, reports of risk observations, near incidents, and workplace accidents have increased over the past five years. Accident statistics further show that same-level falls are the most common incidents, with slippery floors and surfaces being by far the main cause of both near incidents and risk observations. Because of this, it is necessary to test different types of safety footwear that, based on laboratory studies, are considered particularly suitable for the working environment in a dairy. it is hypothesized that employees, through subjective questionnaires, will rate one shoe as less slippery than the other. At the same time, it is hypothesized that employees will also subjectively find one shoe more comfortable than the other.

Conditions

Slips; Falls Prevention; Perceived Slipperiness

Keywords

occupational slips; sllips trips and falls; footwear; friction; ergonomics

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Self-reported feel of slipperines

  Self-rated feel of slipperiness. "To what extent did you feel the need to walk carefully today?" Rated on a continuous VAS scale (not slippey to the right and slippery to the left). Less slippery towards right and most slippery towards left. Hence, towards right is better. These are obtained with daily questionaries.

  Through study completion, an average of 20 working days

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Spatiotemporal gait characteristics

  Through study completion, an average of 20 working days

• Slipping without falling

  Through study completion, an average of 20 working days

• Slipping and falling

  Through study completion, an average of 20 working days

Other Outcomes (5)

• Working hours

  through study completion, an average of 20 working days

• Division of work

  Through study completion, an average of 20 working days.

• Floor type

  Through study completion, an average of 20 working days.

Study Arms (2)

Sika shoe

EXPERIMENTAL

Device: Environment specific safety footwear

Airtox shoe

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Device: Environment specific safety footwear

Interventions

Environment specific safety footwear DEVICE

The participants will wear two different safety shoes (SIKA Highline and AIRTOX FW44) in the test periode (20 working days). 10 working days in each safety shoes.

Airtox shoe; Sika shoe

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 65 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Full-time employed at Arla Taulov dairy facility.
• No major injuries affecting their daily work.
• No plans of retiring before the end of the study period.

You may not qualify if:

• Surgery in the feet and under extremity within the last three months. Pregnancy.
• Part-time workers.
• Neurological disorders affecting gait.
• Can read and understand Danish

Sponsors & Collaborators

• billigarbejdstøoj.dk: collaborator
• Arla Foods: collaborator
• Aalborg University: lead
• Herning Hospital: collaborator
• Sika footwear: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Arla Foods AMBA

Taulov, 7000, Denmark

Location

Related Publications (9)

• Redfern MS, Cham R, Gielo-Perczak K, Gronqvist R, Hirvonen M, Lanshammar H, Marpet M, Pai CY, Powers C. Biomechanics of slips. Ergonomics. 2001 Oct 20;44(13):1138-66. doi: 10.1080/00140130110085547.

  PMID: 11794762 BACKGROUND

• Chang WR, Gronqvist R, Leclercq S, Myung R, Makkonen L, Strandberg L, Brungraber RJ, Mattke U, Thorpe SC. The role of friction in the measurement of slipperiness, Part 1: friction mechanisms and definition of test conditions. Ergonomics. 2001 Oct 20;44(13):1217-32. doi: 10.1080/00140130110085574.

  PMID: 11794765 BACKGROUND

• ASTM International, "Standard Specification for Performance Requirements when Evaluating Slip Resistance of Protective (Safety) Footwear using ASTM F2913 Whole Shoe Test Method.

  BACKGROUND

• L. Strandberg and H. Lanshammar, "The dynamics of slipping accidents," J. Occup. Accid., vol. 3, pp. 153-162, 1981,

  BACKGROUND

• Hanson JP, Redfern MS, Mazumdar M. Predicting slips and falls considering required and available friction. Ergonomics. 1999 Dec;42(12):1619-33. doi: 10.1080/001401399184712.

  PMID: 10643404 BACKGROUND

• Gronqvist R, Chang WR, Courtney TK, Leamon TB, Redfern MS, Strandberg L. Measurement of slipperiness: fundamental concepts and definitions. Ergonomics. 2001 Oct 20;44(13):1102-17. doi: 10.1080/00140130110085529.

  PMID: 11794760 BACKGROUND

• GBD 2021 Causes of Death Collaborators. Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990-2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Lancet. 2024 May 18;403(10440):2100-2132. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(24)00367-2. Epub 2024 Apr 3.

  PMID: 38582094 BACKGROUND

• Sundhedsstyrelsen, "Sygdomsbyrden i Danmark, Ulykker, Selvskade og Selvmord 2016," Copenhagen S, 2016.

  BACKGROUND

• Beskæftigelsesministeriet, "Et nyt og forbedret arbejdsmiljø - Bilagsrapport, Bind 1," 2018.

  BACKGROUND

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Masking Details: Participants are not made aware of which shoe pair range the best in the laboratory studies. However, no masking of the shoes visual appearance are made.
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Model Details: All participants will complete two test sessions: 1) 10 working days in one pair of safety shoes followed by 2) 10 working days in another pair of safety shoes. Participants are randomized to start with one pair or the other. Participants will be instructed to resume their normal working routine throughout the study period. All participants will fill out questionnaires every day for the 20 days of testing

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 29, 2025
• First Posted: December 15, 2025
• Study Start: September 1, 2025
• Primary Completion: December 10, 2025
• Study Completion: December 10, 2025
• Last Updated: December 15, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-08

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

DK (1)