Floor slip resistance testing

The Pendulum slip resistance tester

Pendulum floor slip resistance tester

The ASTM E303-93^[1] (United States) and BS EN 13036-4:2011^[2] (United Kingdom) slip resistance test standards and AS 4663:2013 - Slip resistance of existing pedestrian surfaces and AS 4586:2013 - Slip resistance classification of new pedestrian surface materials (Australia), define the pendulum tester that is now a national standard for pedestrian slip resistance in 49 nations^[2] on five continents and has been endorsed by Ceramic Tile Institute of America since 2001.^[3][4] It is the most widely used pedestrian slip resistance test method worldwide. It has passed the ASTM F2508 in published studies^[5][6] (see BOT-3000 section for more information on F2508). The pendulum uses a standardized piece of rubber (FourS rubber also known as Slider 96), which is set up to travel across the flooring sample for 123-125mm, mounted onto the pendulum foot. When the arm of the pendulum is set up to miss the flooring completely, the arm swings up to parallel from where it started, and the pointer (brought along by the arm holding the rubber slider) reads zero. Slippery flooring produces readings close to zero, and flooring which show higher resistance to slipping give results further from zero—high numbers (such as those 36 and above) indicating suitable slip resistant flooring.

The United Kingdom has since 1971 had well-established slip resistance standards based on the pendulum. This test was developed for pedestrian traction by the U.S. National Bureau of Standards in the 1940s and further refined in the UK.^[7] It was validated for pedestrian traction in 1971, together with its safety standards, in the UK over a period of 25 years by 3500 real-world public walking area tests and site accident records.^[8][9] The test is an ASTM standard (E 303), slightly modified for pedestrian traction. The usual safety standard for a level floor is a minimum Pendulum Test Value (PTV) of 36. The pendulum is also the instrument used in the Sustainable Slip Resistance test method, which measures the possible impact of years of use on a potential flooring's slip resistance. The pendulum is also used in the U.S. and elsewhere for determining the slipperiness of roads and airport runways.

Standards Australia HB 197:1999^[10] as well as Standards Australia HB 198:2014 give detailed recommendations/guidelines of minimum wet Pendulum Test Slip Resistance Values for many different situations: e.g. external ramps, 54; external walkways and pedestrian crossings, 45; shopping center food courts, 35; and elevator lobbies above external entry level may be 25 or less. There are also barefoot area recommendations based on pendulum tests with a soft rubber slider (TRL rubber also known as Slider 55). The Australian recommendations are presently the world’s most detailed standards for pedestrian wet slip resistance.

Tortus digital tribometer

Tortus floor slip resistance tester

The Tortus digital tribometer slip resistance test method is based on a proprietary or patented device, which makes it ineligible to become an ASTM standard. It is produced in the U.K., and is in a category of slip resistance tester devices known as "drag-sled meters", which means that it travels across flooring under its own power at a constant speed with a piece of standardized rubber dragging on the flooring. The amount of friction created by this piece of rubber as it is dragged across the flooring (dry or wet) is recorded and calculated by the machine as it travels a predetermined path length. An average number of dynamic coefficient of friction (DCOF) is calculated by the machine after its run across the flooring has been completed. This is recorded as the "DCOF", or the amount of friction necessary to drag (dynamic meaning "in motion") the standardized rubber across the flooring. High numbers (e.g. above 0.50) indicate that it is difficult for the machine to drag the rubber across the flooring because it is anti-slip, and low numbers (e.g. below 0.50) means that the rubber easily slides across the flooring and is therefore slippery.

The Tortus is now the primary instrument for assessing dry slip resistance in the latest Australian slip test standard - AS4586-2013.^[11] It has also been endorsed as a secondary standard by Ceramic Tile Institute of America (CTIOA) since 2001, with the pendulum being the primary standard. The advantage of the Tortus, compared to the pendulum, is that it can perform many slip tests in a short period of time, dry and wet, using both hard and soft rubbers. It is also difficult for the operator to influence the results of the test (unlike some tribometers) since an electronic button is pushed and then the test is run without any further help from the operator. This makes it a credible forensic science device. CTIOA has endorsed a minimum dynamic coefficient of friction for level floors of 0.50 using the Tortus slip resistance test method.^[12]

BOT-3000 slip tester

The BOT-3000 is a drag-sled meter, which means that it crawls along the floor under its own power at a constant speed measuring the resistance to slip of a standardized piece of rubber loaded into the bottom of the machine. The BOT-3000 performs a test without human input except for the pressing of a button, making it more difficult for the operator to manipulate the results of the test. The BOT-3000 is no longer being manufactured or serviced by the manufacturer. The BOT-3000E, a different model, takes photos of the floor in front of itself while running the test.

TracScan

The TracScan is based on the proven technology of the German FSC2000/2011 and is similar to the original BOT-3000. The TracScan is the fifth generation of robotic tribometers originally engineered and manufactured in Germany since 1990. The TracScan will analyze the walkway's slip-resistance level and provides the quantitative values which are extremely valuable and are effectively used in slip-and-fall related lawsuits and floor safety monitoring programs. The TracScan utilizes the ANSI B101.1 and B101.3 safety standards. The device includes a USB port for PC connection and has a 3.5" display.

Variable-angle ramp

The Variable-Angle Ramp is a German-developed method for obtaining pedestrian slip resistance values. Flooring samples are mounted horizontally on the ramp tester and an operator clad in safety boots or bare feet performs a standardized walk up and down the sample while wearing a harness to stop the operator from being injured. The sample is slowly inclined until the operator slips on the surface. The angle at which the subject slips is then recorded. Two operators repeat this test three times and then an average is calculated.^[13] The repeatability of this test method was extensively documented.^[14] Tests can be performed dry, wet with soapy water, wet with oil, etc.

Over 150 safety criteria have been adopted in Germany and Australia for specific situations — swimming pool decks, commercial kitchens, restrooms, etc. based on the variable-angle ramp, but the ramp itself is not readily portable, so this instrument is only for lab testing and is therefore quite limited in its utility.^[3][15] In other words, you can't test your specific floor tiles using this method without ripping part of your floor up and putting it into the ramp tester. However, since it is measuring real human ambulation, it is considered by many to be the most realistic test method in existence, and the results of pendulum and drag-sled meter tests are sometimes compared with results from variable-angle ramp tests to see if the results have a strong correlation. A good correlation with ramp test results can help a slip resistance test device become more widely used and accepted.

SlipAlert slip tester

The SlipAlert Slip Tester about to make a run

SlipAlert is a matchbox car-like tribometer that is designed to mimic the readings of the pendulum. Manufactured in the United Kingdom, it is used for field testing, but is of limited use in a laboratory setting because it requires a long path length of flooring to conduct tests.^[16] As it is a proprietary device, it does not have an official American standard test method, but it does have an official test standard in the United Kingdom in BS 8204-6:2008.^[17]

The SlipAlert "car" has a rubber slider on its bottom, which slides across the flooring after running down a fixed ramp. If the SlipAlert stops short, then the flooring is slip resistant, but if it slides a long distance then the floor is considered slippery. There is a digital readout on the device that records the maximum distance the SlipAlert has traveled across the flooring, and a safety criterion graph which interprets the results. Tests can be done dry and wet, and extensive research by U.K. and Australian government agencies have resulted in several endorsements of this test device for in situ testing.

Safety Standards

ANSI specifies the walkway safety standards ANSI/NFSI B101.1 and ANSI/NFSI B101.3 to measure both the static (SCOF) and dynamic (DCOF) coefficient of friction. The ANSI/NFSI B101.1 is used for both laboratory and field testing to measure the wet static coefficient of friction (SCOF) of common hard-surface floor materials. This test method provides a measurement procedure setting forth SCOF traction ranges that facilitate remediation of walkway surfaces when warranted. The safety standard specifies for a level floor using the ANSI/NFSI B101.1 wet static test method that flooring having a minimum SCOF of .60 or greater as a "high traction" floor. If the SCOF of the flooring falls to .40 or below, the flooring is categorized as "low traction" floor. The ANSI/NFSI B101.3 wet dynamic test method is used for both laboratory and field testing to measure the wet dynamic coefficient of friction of common hard-surface flooring. This test method provides a measurement procedure setting forth DCOF ranges which facilitate remediation of walkway surfaces when warranted. The safety standard specifies for a level floor using the ANSI/NFSI B101.3 wet dynamic test method that flooring having a minimum dynamic coefficient of friction (DCOF) of 0.42 or above as "high traction”. If the DCOF falls to 0.30 or below, then the flooring is categorized as "low traction". ^[18] The standard also specifies a minimum DCOF of 0.46 for ramps. With an official test method and a safety criterion, this test is useful in determining the anti-slip properties of flooring, helping building owners and managers to avoid future slip and fall accidents (by taking remedial steps to remedy slippery flooring), or help avoid losing a lawsuit based on a fraudulent accident.

The ANSI A137.1 ^[19] test method for assessing floor friction is only referenced in the definition of porcelain tile in the 2012 International Building Code.^[20] The 2012 International Building Code does not strictly adopt ANSI A137.1 with respect to floor surface testing. Although this test method is loosely based on research that was done using the ANSI B101.3 test method discussed above, the ANSI A137.1 ^[21] test method is not based on a correlation to human traction tests or any justifiable level of slip risk. It is a manufacturing quality control pass/fail test method on uninstalled tile using only the BOT-3000. ANSI A326.3 ^[22] is nearly identical to A137.1 in its test method.

ASTM C1028-07 - static coefficient of friction testing

Safety criteria based solely on static coefficient of friction (SCOF), often used in the U.S. for assessing safety, are too often misleading where flooring gets wet or otherwise lubricated in use. That is why the ASTM C1028 test method was officially withdrawn with no replacement in 2014.^[23] In the USA, architects and designers generally look for a wet static coefficient of friction of 0.60 or higher by ASTM method C 1028 to assess potential safety for wet areas of level floors. This can give deceptive results, applying “safe” ratings to some flooring samples that are in fact very slippery when wet.^[24] The method is now acknowledged by ASTM,^[25] Ceramic Tile Institute of America,^[26] and Tile Council of North America^[27] to be inadequate for assessing slip safety.

See "external links" at the bottom of this page for more information on the inadequacies of the C1028 test. Suffering from stiction and the fact that the measurement taken is a measure of how slippery a surface is when someone is standing still on it (which is irrelevant to the measuring of the slip resistance to a person walking over the surface - where almost every accident occurs), methods such as C1028-07,^[28] the James Machine, and the ASM 725/825A have very limited use in assessing wet floor friction and should not be solely relied upon.^[3] These static test methods can be used to monitor changes in slip potential over time, but are not reliable tests for determining slip resistance of flooring. For example, static tests can be conducted before and after a fresh coat of wax is applied to a floor to make sure the SCOF has not changed dramatically with the new wax, or readings can be taken at various times during a business day to make sure that dirt and dust is not making the flooring slip situation worse throughout the day. Monitoring changes in dry SCOF can be a useful practice. However, SCOF tests should never be used to determine if a floor is slippery when wet. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has recommended an SCOF of 0.50 for workplace environments, but often flooring having a rating of 0.60 or greater (supposedly even more slip resistant than 0.50 flooring) is proven by reliable test devices (and multiple slip and fall accident victims) to be very, very slippery when wet using this test method. This ASTM test standard has expired, and there are no plans to renew it as it has caused more confusion than anything else.

English XL (VIT) and Brungraber Mark II (PIAST)

The former ASTM F1677 was the test method for the Brungraber Mark II (also known as Portable Inclinable Articulated Strut Tribometer or PIAST) device, and the former ASTM F1679 test method was written for the English XL Variable Incidence Tribometer (VIT). Shortly after being published in 2004, ASTM withdrew these standards in 2006, with no replacement. (They are still available for purchase from ASTM as a withdrawn or "historical" standard.) Regarding ASTM F1679, ASTM provides the following 'withdrawn rationale': "Formerly under the jurisdiction of Committee F13 on Pedestrian/Walkway Safety and Footwear, this test method was withdrawn as an active ASTM standard by action of the Committee of Standards (COS) on September 30, 2006 for failure to include an approved precision statement (violating Section A21 of the Form and Style for ASTM Standards), and for including reference to proprietary apparatus where alternatives exist (violating Section 15 of the Regulations Governing ASTM Technical Committees)."^[29] ASTM offers the following, similar 'withdrawn rationale' for F1677: "Formerly under the jurisdiction of Committee F13 on Pedestrian/Walkway Safety and Footwear, this test method was withdrawn as an active ASTM standard by action of the Committee of Standards (COS) on September 30, 2006 for failure to include an approved precision statement (violating Section A21 of the Form and Style for ASTM Standards), and for including reference to proprietary apparatus where alternatives exist (violating Section 15 of the Regulations Governing ASTM Technical Committees)." ^[30] Using these two instruments, different test labs got very different answers on identical tiles in interlaboratory studies, meaning these test methods (or devices) were unreliable and unable to provide "reasonable precision statements". Users of these instruments and also the Brungraber Mark IIIB have, in recent years, begun citing that their instruments are now able to pass ASTM F2508, claiming this makes their instrument "valid" for investigating slips and falls. But as noted earlier, an instrument must be able to pass ASTM F2508, but must also be able to provide a "reasonable precision statement" required from all standards publishing agencies. Instruments that are able to accomplish both of these requirements will have international acceptance and will have published standards in one or more countries. The pendulum and the BOT-3000E are two instruments that have active standards and have achieved international acceptance as valid slip testing devices.^[31]