Investigation of Fall Hazards from Ablution Floors of Mosques in the UAE: Assessments of Traction and Texture Features and Their Effects on Slipperiness

Abstract

The number of mosques has been continuously increased around the world due to the popularity of the Islamic religion. Mosques and praying areas also have been grown rapidly. Unlike other building works, constructing mosques and the praying area is an inspiring defy. Amongst the confronts faced, slip and fall hazards are significant concerning issue to the worshipers. Since noticeable amounts of pollutants are often found at the ablution spaces due to the prayers' body cleaning practices, the floorings are coped with slick situations. In spite of such important safety problem, researches on ablution floors' fall incidents and related prevention strategies are hard to find in the literature. This paper reports on the further detections for the care stance of ablution spaces from arbitrarily invited mosques in the Dubai and Sharjah Emirates. Twenty mosques were randomly invited to measure their safety conditions from a viewpoint of traction behaviours and surface finishes of ablution floors. The present study outcomes recognize that the ablution floorings are not currently protected against falls, especially under the lubricated conditions. Thus, this study suggests two crucial issues to take immediate actions: 1) managers of the mosques should be fully aware of the current safety conditions of their ablution floors and find solutions to prevent fall risks and 2) prayers also should pay extra cares on their ablution floors to avoid any falls during the preparation of their ablution process.