Slip and Dynamic Testing
Global Village Construction works with several leading sub-contractors to provide Slip Resistance Testing of flooring surfaces to Property Owners and Managers. Contractors and building owners alike are at risk when they install flooring that can contribute to an accident in which someone slips and falls. These accidents account for thousands of deaths and far more injuries each year. To prevent them, government and industry have developed codes and guidelines designed to make floors safer to walk on. Slip/Fall incidents are one of the main causes cited in personal injury litigation. Slipping, tripping and falling accidents account for a significant proportion of the accidents that occur in public places. Accurate measurements of your pedestrian surfaces on a regular basis indicate when remedial action is needed to help reduce the likelihood of an accident.
In the interest of developing a scientific way to determine how slippery a surface is, measurements of slip resistance have been developed. In the United States, slip resistance is determined by measuring the static coefficient of friction (SCOF) of a surface. SCOF is defined as the force required to start relative motion between an object and the surface it is resting on. Europe and Australia have used measurements of the dynamic coefficient of friction — the force required to keep a sliding object in motion once sliding has begun — but these measurements have not gained acceptance in this country.
In the United States, the most widely accepted and best-known evaluator of slip resistance measurement methods is the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). The society publishes standards describing each instrument for determining SCOF, how it is to be used, and the results of scientific testing to determine its validity. ASTM has indicated that most methods can be used only for dry surfaces because liquid sandwiched between two resting surfaces interferes with accurate measurement by opposing the force needed to initiate motion. This is unfortunate, because most slips occur on wet surfaces, which are usually more slippery than dry surfaces.