Each year approximately 40% of injuries in the food and hospitality sector occur from trips or falls in the workplace. Slips and trips in the workplace are very common in environments where the drainage and disposal of liquid waste is necessary.

In particular, an overflowing drain can cause serious trip hazards, and this often occurs from the result of dirty or wet flooring.

The best of way testing the anti-slip protection of a drain cover is using the pendulum anti-slip test. The pendulum test assesses the friction offered by a floor when a foot comes into contact with the surface.

This test carefully assesses the slip potential of both dry, wet and contaminated flooring. Multiple slip tests exist in the UK but the pendulum slip test is the only one recommended by the HSE and identified in court.

The pendulum CoF test (also known as the portable skid resistance tester, the British pendulum) is the subject of a British standard, BS 7976: Parts 1-3. The method uses a swinging pendulum, imitation heel (using a rubber soling sample) sweeping over the drain cover. The slipperiness of the flooring has an impact on the pendulum test (PTV) value provided.

The pendulum has proven to deliver the most accurate results and therefore adopted the method for assessing floor slipperiness in all conditions.

Slip potential classification is based on the following test values (PTV)
High slip potential: 0-24
Moderate slip potential: 25-35
Low slip potential: 36+

How it works:
1) Machine set to zero (test swing to check reading is accurate)
2) The pendulum swings across the face of the cover with a reading measured. The pendulum is swung three times and a further five times (average reading of the last five determines the PTV value)
3) The cover is then checked twice more (in different directions) to fully test the slip resistance
4) Once this has been completed with a dry cover – the test is repeated with water applied to the cover surfaces. Again, the average reading taken as the result to ensure fairness. This will give a second reading and determine a PTV on the slip resistance of the tile in wet conditions.

The idea of the pendulum anti slip test is to determine clear and concise evidence that the surface presents a safe level of grip in end use. At Aspen Stainless, they conduct slip tests using the pendulum to test compliance with the HSE and latest UKSRG guidelines. The data produced by this test is invaluable to the user and is always conducted by a qualified technician.

If you have any further questions regarding anti-slip safety standard testing, please contact aspen@canalengineering.co.uk for more information.