Prototype

 Materials: needle, thread, hinge, water resistant cloth, grater, scissor, glue, rubberball and shoes.

Deduction

From the 100 ideas we reduced it into 4 main ideas as solutions to stop the factors of slipping.

100 IDEAS

More sole materials.

Neoprene soles, made up of synthetic rubber, can be used on both wet and dry. However, it is not recommended on oily surface.

Crepe sole, rubber with a "crinkled" texture, suits the best on rough concrete and it does not matter whether the surface is wet or dry. Not recommended on tile, smooth concrete, or wood surfaces.

Leather soles are suitable on ceramic tile, wood, and concrete surfaces, on wet, dry and greasy conditions. It is not recommended on dry, smooth concrete or tile.

The current footwear category has slippers, athletic shoes, high heels, boots and so on. Since it is technologically advanced era, material source for shoes are not limited. It can either be processed into natural or processed material. To ensure patron have a safety pace, we need to focus on the design and materials of soles.

There are many types of sole materials such as PU (polyurethane), rubber, TPR which is a combination of PU and rubber, leather, plastic, sheet sole and et cetera.

Different materials have their own quality and function. PU is a very good material in durability, thus suitable for daily use. However, it does not have a long shelf-life so it is not suitable to those who are putting on occasionally because the sole might tear out.

There are two types of rubber; hard and soft. Soft rubber soles can be used safely when working on dry surface but not suggested on wet or greasy concrete. Hard rubber soles are just nice for greasy concrete and wood.

Personal experience on slipping

Being caught on a rainy day, i ran to the closest shelter to take cover from the rain. While running, I ended up slipping on the floor due to the wet slippery surface. It was due to her faulty worn down shoes as it didnt have enough grip to stabilize her running.

Case Study 3

Are shoes always slippery when raining? From this issue, there are some factors of "slip" which appears in shoes, weather and flooring. Putting on wrong shoes is one of the causes of undesirable falls.

According to an article taken  from The Straits Times, “More than half of the patients at Changi General Hospital’s (CGH) falls clinic are there because they were using footwear with an insufficient grip, said the hospital spokesman." A lot of people will make the mistakes that shoe has to be fit. In fact, in between the longest toes and the tip of shoes should be have one thumb width of space. According to a senior podiatrist, the reason of the need of the space is to reduce the chance of injury when the footwear is hit against a hard surface.

The head of medicine and also a geriatrician showed that 80 percent of the numbers of NUH patients falling by accident were due to the inappropriately footwear type, size and insufficient grip. Shoes being too big and loose are another reason for increase in risk of falling, particularly the elderly. As you age, especially the elderly, you will be prone to more falls. Therefore, age is also another factor which causes more falls.

Feet shoes

Not that popular in general, Feet shoes is worn by many sports men of all ages, it is not a popular shoe to the other social groups due to it's outlandish design therefore being frowned upon. These shoes are generally designed for grip. It's friction status on the soles are designed to increase friction on the surface on the floor to prevent slipping and increase speed. One great design to look upon.

Case study 2

The article I have chosen “When the Elderly Fall, Shoes May Be to Blame” discusses about elderly people blaming their shoes, even though it was their negligence or the watery floor. Similarly, the report revolves around our issue. Dr Frey, who conducted the survey among 185 men and women over age 65, stated that more than a half of the participants blamed their shoes. I feel that shoes that are slippery even on non-rainy days are dangerous but if it happened on rainy day, the consequences of the fall maybe even more severe.

Dr Frey also gave some tips on types of shoes that would help lessen the probability of slipping. One of his suggestions is not to put on shoes with plastic soles as they are prone to cause falls on smooth surfaces.

In my opinion, the study has clearly shown the real causes of falls and I think that there are many other factors on the shoe itself.

After reading an article online, I felt that it has a strong connection regarding our topic; shoes are always slippery when raining.

Parkour shoes

Parkour, a sport that consists of jumping from wall to wall with a goal of reaching a destination to the other by the fastest means. These shoes above are designed just for that. the soles holds well designed cuttings to provide the best friction to prevent slipping and falling. This is one great concept that could be looked up upon. 

Case study 1

The following case study was referred from ‘Identifying human factors associated with slip and fall accidents’ book published by HSE Books, London.

One of the accidents was reported to be occurred at the entrance of a shop. The shop was opened newly and several slip-over accidents were already been reported. Number of the flooring near the entrance of the shop was covered with the terrazzo floor tiles that is high in risk of slipping when wet.

It was established that the foyer has a structure that allows rainwater to go into the shop. This caused the mat, which was placed at the entrance, being soaked in water that decreases the friction between the mat and shoes. Furthermore, size of the mat was too small to be steeped compared to the amount of water ingresses.

As an urgent solution, the staffs increased the number of cleaning the entrance. To improve the efficiency of cleaning, they used a wet vacuum instead of mopping, which leaves the surface wet. Another solution that was made was to inspect the condition of the mat. They also changed the wet mat immediately. As a long-term solution, the company added another layer of canopies over the entrance to lessen the direct ingress of water.

It was reported that the cost of the wet vacuum and training staff about the cleaning was roughly £500. The cost of extra mats was approximately £20 each.

It was also reported that there had not been a serious case of slip-over accidents subsequently.

5 main factors of slipping

At first, we thought that the problem lies on shoes only. However, there are many others.

Following are the examples.

1. Carelessness

If the person is careless, he or she may slip Despite of perfect condition of shoes and floor,

2. Material of ground

Marble, tile and grass are good factors of slipping. Rough surfaces like concrete are better.

3. Gradient of slope

Watery slope would definitely double the probability.

4. Design and material of sole

Leather soles wear and tear easily. Also, it is more slippery than rubber soles. Metal soles do not wear easily but they are more slippery.

5. Type of footwear

Footwears like high heels and roller blades have higher possibility of slipping.

Why are shoes worn so easily?

A reason being that things are designed to last but they do not last forever. Shoe soles, similarly do not last long either due to wear and tear.

Some of the reasons that lead shoes to have short lifespan are pattern and depth of the sole , usage frequency and quality of shoes.

Firstly, one of the main reasons is the quality. If the quality is bad, it wears easily. 

Secondly, purpose of the shoe. If it is for indoor like office, it lasts long. But if the use is for sport activities, it would last shorter.

Not taking a good care of them can be a reason also. For example, we should dry our shoes under the shade after in contact with water. The reason why encouraged not to put them under the direct sunlight is because rubber and plastic soles will get harder after a couple of soaking.

Additionally, use on rough surfaces a lot. The surfaces which we always walk on are another reason that makes the shoes worn easily such as wearing inappropriate shoes on stone road.

Lastly, rubbing the soles on the floor continuously is another factor. Quite a lot of people drag their shoes unconsciously while walking. This is the matter of the person’s habit.

Mindmapping

We began the research by asking , who, why, where, when and what. By doing this exercise, we could have widen the range of possibilities on different factors. We have realized that the shoe is not the only reason of slipping but also the environment around us. For example, flooring, walking habits and mentality.

Moreover, slipperiness affect indoor floor conditions. For example, when we use public toilets on rainy days, the floor gets watery by our wet shoe soles. Thus, tile and marble flooring can be added under possible floor materials.

If we give a reason in a scientific term, shoes lose friction on surfaces with fast-moving molecules such as water, clay and jelly. Moving molecules means shapes do change, hence, not able to hold objects in contact.

Another term is the type of shoe. This applies mostly to women as they put on high heels that are not as stable as flat shoes. They even fall down on non-rainy days with high heels. When it comes to rainy days, it becomes worse. This is because of less area of soles in contact with floor.

Introduction.

Our topic, “Shoes are always slippery when raining”, which surfaces from the issue and solutions by solving it through the process of different perspectives.

It is terrible to navigate around during raining days, especially when the ground is slippery. Sometimes it is so slippery that causes people to slip and fall. Sometimes, footwear is not the only cause of fall. We have realized that there are many other factors that are affecting it.

Our aim is to find out the main factor of slipperiness on rainy days and to come up with an effective shoe design.