SLIP RESISTANT MEASUREMENTS - HOW TO MEASURE SLIP RESISTANCE
Years before we had good slip resistance measurements the cleaning industry discovered the need to determine slip resistance.
The bean-bag test was one of the earliest ways to do a slip test and it can be traced back to the 1930s. A 10 pound bag of beans was placed on a clean piece of burlap. The weighted burlap was pulled across the floor with a spring scale. The point at which the load began to move was noted and the test was repeated.
A floor that only required six pounds of pull was considered safe. A floor with less than five pounds was slippery and a floor with a drag of more than seven was considered to be tacky.
By today's standards, the bean-bag test was primitive, but it provided a simple way of comparing results when making slip resistant measurements.
The American Society for Testing and Materials and the National Bureau of Standards have studied the reliability of test devices for measuring the floor surfaces and the effect of cleaning materials on walking safety. We can now predict how a floor care product will behave when applied according to the manufacturer's recommendations. We can do a slip test with a slip meter.
These new slip tests are merely revisions of the old bean-bag test.
Floor characteristics are now measured in terms of the static or dynamic coefficient of friction. This coefficient can be determined by taking the drag necessary to first move the object and dividing it by the weight of the object being pulled. (A floor with a coefficient of friction of .5 or less is considered slippery and a floor with a coefficient of friction of more than .5 is considered safe.
To learn more about Coefficient of Friction
When making slip resistance measurements we use a horizontal drag slip 
meter. This type of device provides the safety investigator a standard with which to compare a floor surface both before and after treatment. We prefer the American Slip Meter. It sells for $829.00.
Whether determining if a floor requires treatment or measuring after an accident, the horizontal dragging device is the best method of slip resistance measurements that we are aware of.
Recording of readings in a logbook provides useful information if you ever have to defend yourself in a lawsuit.
If you have questions please contact us Sales@slipresistantsolutions.com
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