You decide to call independent slip testing services for the pendulum slip resistance test in London and across the UK. They come to your premises and conduct a slip resistance test or a skid resistance test (one and the same) and you get the PTV for your floors..
PTV stands for Pendulum Test Value and is recognised by the courts to acknowledge if your floor is slippery enough to cause a slip and trip threat to a person. The anti-slip ratings or the PTV of the floor needs to be 36 or above.
It is important to note here that the pendulum test value must be for the dry floor as well as for the wet floor. You can refer to PTV 36 as the ‘legal’ value for floor safety and is obtained using a British pendulum skid resistance tester.
The researchers and industry experts believe that wet floor 36+ PTV is as safe as walking on an open can of worms on the floor.
In case you decide to get a slip resistance R10, then let me tell you that ‘R10’ can be easily dismissed by the prosecuting lawyers by merely stating that it works for only dry floors and most often the ‘R10’ ratings do not co-relate to the PTV.
As a fact of the matter, if you would research thoroughly via scientists, flooring professionals and lawyers you will realise that slip resistance R10 is unable to clear the legal set bar of 36 PTV.
The slip resistance R10 is being used by many floor manufacturers to state that their flooring is slip resistant. However, the fact is that these ratings are a German technique to determine the slip resistance of the floor.
The slip resistance R10 technique uses only soap and oil on a ramp and is measured via cleated boot.
Here is what HSE stated on their website in respect to slip resistance R10 technique:
“HSE has reservations about the slip resistance R10 test methods. The technique neither uses contaminants that are representative of those commonly found in workplaces and the way the results are reported nor applied is a cause for concern.”
If you have decided to go ahead and get your floors tested, I would strongly recommend you to go ahead with pendulum friction test in London and across the UK to get your anti-slip rating. Well, what is the point in spending on a test that would actually not be able to keep you safe in case a claim is raised?