Case Studies

Housatonic Community College is a popular and successful school with a large commuter presence. The stairs in their main parking garage had fallen on hard times and where an issue on some trips and falls for their students. Pouring new steps would be costly and inconvenient project but the stairs needed to be addressed.

Valvoline (Ashland Inc.) operates many quick lube/oil change locations across the nation. Each shop is equipped with pits below ground that allow the technicians easy access to the customers vehicles without having to put them up in the air on a lift. The downside to this otherwise brilliant design, is that the technicians are required to use a small flight of metal steps to get into the pits. Over the course of time, even with a stringent cleaning routine, the steps become extremely slippery due to the presence of the waste vehicle fluids.

Located in the beautiful Copper Mountains of Colorado. Carbonate Realty owns various rental and time share properties popular with people who enjoy outdoor activities year round. Built along the mountains their properties have stairs everywhere some new and some old. They are different sizes and depths, and they needed to be kept safe in all four seasons of Colorado weather.

Engineering staff at UC Irvine faced a problem where the stairs leading to the main entrance of a dormitory had begun to show signs of deterioration. Every year, students, family and friends would use the entrance to bring belongings in and out of the building and the front edges of the steps were starting to crack. Should they let them deteriorate to the point of removing and building new ones or find a solution that would protect the front of each step and provide non-slip protection. They needed them to be one piece and cover 128 inches. Eventually they found Amstep Products.

Cross Sound Ferry has a fleet of 11 vessels it needs to keep safe for its hundreds of thousands of passengers each year. With numerous stair configurations on its vessels, docks and walkways, they need a fix for multiple sizes in length and depth. Some of their vessels date back 50 years or more. The ability to order custom made non-slip stair treads has led to a long term relationship between Amstep Products and Cross Sound Ferry.

Washington State Ferries commissioned three new vessels for its fleet and needed to ensure the customers had safe footing during passage from port to port. The architects and ship builders needed something customizable and durable that was easy to clean and could stand up to marine conditions and heavy foot traffic.

The Stamford Ct. train station is a very popular stop on the Metro-North railroad. The station had some issues with slips and falls over the course of several years and the property manager turned to Amstep Products for help. The entire tread needed to be covered and the product needed to stand up to heavy foot traffic on a daily basis.

A large commercial baking facility for breads with many staircases with worn stairs. Any solution had to be easily cleaned. Any baking ingredients left on the stairs could allow flour and yeast to lead to contamination issues for the baked goods. The surface would have to be nonporous

Family owned and operated since 1969, Old Spaghetti Factory has over 40 locations in 13 states as well as 2 in Japan. The original location in Portland OR, used a unique feature of an old trolley car installed inside the restaurant for a special dining experience. This feature has continued in all the subsequent restaurants along with the unique decorations and design. This attention to detail and decorations also presents its own challenges. The trolley requires that customers step up into the car to get to their table. These steps were a cause of concern for trip and falls. The director of facilities reached out to Amstep Products for a solution.

MBTA is responsible for the transportation and safety of millions of riders in the greater Boston area. The foot traffic wears down the stairs in and out of the train stations and leading to more slips and falls. How to provide non-slip protection to these stairs in a cost-effective manner with minimal downtime for busy commuters.

Multiple flights of stairs serving the Agganis Arena were having issues with slips and falls. This was most common in the winter months with more usage and attendees bringing with them the more inclement weather from outside. Staff had tried several approaches but with limited success.