Sustainable slip resistance testing

Conducting slip resistance tests on products from the factory produces test results which do not offer an accurate depiction of the slip resistance of flooring surfaces over time.

Sustainable Slip Resistance.

It is claimed that conducting slip resistance tests on products 'fresh' from the factory produces test results which are illusory and do not offer an accurate depiction of the slip resistance of flooring surfaces over time.

Naturally, as a surface wears out, its slip resistance changes.

It is estimated that the slip resistance of tiles reduces by 10%-50% in the first 3 months from installation.

This adds a whole new perspective to the meaning of life cycle concept of slip resistant floor surfaces.

Carl Strautins from Slip Check Pty , a specialist safety consulting company in Australia who developed the accelerated wear test explains, "There has been significant development over the last few years where the impact of accelerated wear techniques are highlighted by multinational companies, who have implemented internal standards based on this test methodology".

"This enables organisations that design, construct and procure their own assets to minimise their exposure to risk in slip and fall incidents and litigation and provides ceramic tiling manufacturers a method to differentiate their products against their competitors whilst satisfying the end users needs".

Safe Design Concepts - Mitigating Risk of Slipping, Now and in the Future.

Slips and trips are the main health risks in most buildings.

For this reason, architects, specifiers and clients are under increasing pressure to specify floors which are suitably slip resistant for their intended use in the long term.

Following the research, Pilkington's has recognised that it is imperative to be able to demonstrate the slip resistance of floor surfaces over time to ensure risks of slips are mitigated as far as possible, now and in the future.

Pilkington's Group is a leading world class manufacturer of building product solutions with headquarters based in Manchester, United Kingdom.

The group offers innovative design, manufacturing and installation services to construction, house building and retail markets worldwide.

Dorset Woolliscroft Outperforms Worldwide Competition.

Independent accelerated wear slip resistance tests were conducted for floor tiles from Pilkington's UK manufactured Dorset Woolliscroft floor tile collection.

The results of the tests are aimed to assist the specifier and client to choose the correct tile for a specific application.

Dorset Woolliscroft Optima outperformed worldwide competition being the best in three tests and in the top three performers in the remaining tests.

The combination of the rankings made it the best tile overall.

Dorset Woolliscroft Aggregate also performed very well and was in the top three in wet pendulum tests and oil wet ramp tests demonstrating outstanding qualities for external and internal shoe shod applications.

Dorset Woolliscroft Tetra Super, which has clusters of pyramid shaped profiles and with a highest possible displacement volume (V) value of 10, performed exceptionally well in the pendulum tests.

Measuring Sustainable Slip Resistance.

The independent tests were conducted by Carl Strautins of Slip Check Pty ., a specialist safety consulting company in Australia, under instruction by Pilkington's Australian partner, EarpBros, who were working on behalf of a major client.

Richard Earp explains "Pilkington's Dorset Woolliscroft manufacturing facilities may well be one of the few remaining places in the world that produces industrial, safety and leisure floor tiles which perform this well in the accelerated wear slip resistance tests".

The accelerated wear test methods which have been developed as a result of this research, have been adopted by major international organisations, such as McDonalds, Toyota, Westfield, Aldi Supermarkets and Stockland as their preferred test method and they will only specify tiles which perform well in these tests.

Understanding the Test Methods.

Measuring how tiles perform over a sustained period involves artificially accelerating wear of the tiles using a linear motion washability and wear tester.

A Scotch-Brite abrasive pad was mounted to the bottom of the friction boat and 1000g weight applied to create even accelerated wear.

The tiles were tested for slip resistance according to AS/NZS 4586:2004 Appendix A.

technically equivalent to UK Pendulum method (BS 7976-2 ) .

The tiles were tested new, and also after being conditioned using 100, 500, 1000 and 5000 cycles.

The cycles are estimated to equate to the following duration of use:.

Number of Cycles: Approximate Years of Wear.

500 12 months.

1,000 3 years.

5,000 7 years.

Pendulum results are benchmarked against the following table:.

Risk of Slipping: Slip Resistance Value.

High 24 and below.

Medium 25 to 35.

Low 36 to 64.

Very Low 65 and above.

The aim is for the slip resistance value to be over 35 after 5000 cycles to demonstrate sustainable slip resistance.

A total of 12 tile ranges were included in the tests, including the two Dorset Woolliscroft ranges, Optima and Aggregate which performed very well.

During further testing Dorset Woolliscroft Tetra Super also achieved excellent results.

Six of the 12 ranges tested revealed unsatisfactory results having a pendulum value of 35 or less after 5000 cycles - a very concerning result with wide-ranging consequences for specifiers and clients.

All three Dorset Woolliscroft ranges tested showed pendulum test values of 40 or 41 after 5,000 cycles - an outstanding result making Dorset Woolliscroft the perfect choice when sustainable slip resistance is a must have.

Dorset Woolliscroft Floor Tile ranges are suitable for varied applications including; leisure, changing rooms and barefoot applications, food preparation areas, wet and shoe shod areas internally and externally, workshops, light and heavy industrial applications, wheeled traffic and general commercial areas.

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