Ice Cleats 101: What You Need to Know Before You Buy!

Winter officially started on December 21st.

Now is typically the time of year when safety professionals attention turns to winter safety hazards and preparation. Winter storms are right around the corner and reducing winter slips and falls is sure to be a concern on your mind.

Have you started your search for the perfect ice cleat or traction aid yet? Your first tough choice likely will be choosing between permanent spikes and replaceable spikes.

If you’re confused by all the ice cleats you see online looking similar (or the same), the remainder of this post could help you answer some key questions.

Replaceable spikes in ice cleats is a cost-saving option. For just a few dollars more it allows you to reuse pre-existing ice cleats. It's a nice savings "IF" your employees will take the time to replace them as needed.

So, what's the downside of replaceable spikes?

All replacement spikes (from ALL manufacturers) will eventually fall out. Please re-read and think about that last sentence for a minute.

After all, you can pop the spikes in and out by hand.

So a foot that drags on the ground outside can easily dislodge a spike and you loose a spike (or multiple). Loosing spikes now puts your employees at a heightened risk of slips and falls on ice and snow because your employees have "less spikes" (aka traction).

To make matters worse often the employee has no idea a spike (or several) has even fallen out.

This can create a false sense of security and it defeats the purpose of providing the ice cleats in the first place.

If you choose replaceable spikes, it’s important to educate yourself first AND than your employees about the potential for damaged and/or missing spikes.

Also, you need to reinforce the importance of how/why to replace missing or damaged spikes as needed to your staff so you get any of the perceived costs savings.

So before choosing replaceable spikes ask yourself "will my employees really change/replace spikes when needed"?

I hear from safety managers all to often telling me the replaceable spikes fell out and the employee, unaware that the spikes were replaceable, threw out the entire pair of ice cleats. Then, they replace them with a brand new pair.

This actually doubles your costs per cleat, PER EMPLOYEE AND your company’s ice cleats budget skyrockets!

When you use permanent spikes you can dramatically increase the likelihood that your employees will be safer.

Permanent spikes are engineered not to fail or fall out in the field. Permanent spikes can even save you money vs. replaceable spikes. Here's how:

• Permanent spikes are made of more durable materials designed to last two or more winter seasons before needing to be replaced.
• Employees won’t throw away the ice cleats as they may with replacement spikes.
• Permanent spikes are where they should be 100% of the time, and all of the time.
• This gives ALL your employees peace of mind knowing they have the traction under foot they think they do to keep them safe and productive.

If you’re debating the pros and cons of replaceable spikes vs. permanent spikes, it’s a discussion worth having.

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Thank you for reading.Bill Coyne is the VP of Sales for Winter Walking. He has been helping organizations across a wide variety of business sectors eliminate workplace slips and falls incidents in ice and snow for over 16 years. Email Bill bill@winterwalking.com or visit www.winterwalking.com for more helpful information and resources.