The National Sanitation Foundation (NSF), together with American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and National Standard of Canada (CAN) established a slip resistance standard for recreational water facilities. Formalized in NSF/ANSI/CAN 50 – 2020, the standard requires a wet Slip Resistance Value, SRV, of 40 or greater, measured using the pendulum slip resistance test method. Though … Continue reading “Slip Resistance Standard NSF 50 for Swimming Pools, Spas, Hot Tubs, Splash Pads, etc.”
Category: Slipping accident prevention
SDA Can Offer Foreign Insurance if Needed
As pointed out elsewhere in these pages, Safety Direct America has general liability and professional liability (Errors and Omissions) to cover our floor slip resistance testing work for clients located in the USA. However, we often do laboratory or field floor slip test work for foreign clients, sometimes on their own premises, e.g. in Canada … Continue reading “SDA Can Offer Foreign Insurance if Needed”
Detailed Information on Our Abrasive Anti-Slip Tapes
Occasionally a customer asks what the “grit size” is for our self-adhesive Safety Grip abrasive anti-slip tapes. The numbers are mostly irrelevant for reasons discussed below, but here they are together with their wet Pendulum Test Values (PTV): Standard Safety Grip is roughly equivalent to 60 grit abrasive paper: wet PTV = 71 (using TRL … Continue reading “Detailed Information on Our Abrasive Anti-Slip Tapes”
A Review of Standards for Pedestrian Slip Resistance Testing
There are a number of floor slip test methods established by standards-setting organizations that assess pedestrian slip resistance. Here we’ll review the most widely known and current ones. They are distinguished by the devices used in the testing. Terms such as DCOF rating, coefficient of friction, slip coefficient, slip resistance rating, and friction coefficient all … Continue reading “A Review of Standards for Pedestrian Slip Resistance Testing”
Beware of Slippery Finished-in-Place Floors Installed by Clueless Contractors
Some floors are covered with premanufactured stuff, such as marble, granite or ceramic tiles, wood, or vinyl composite tile. Other floors are created in place — including epoxy, terrazzo, and concrete. Topical sealers added to premanufactured floors also constitute a finished-in-place surface — the pedestrian is not walking on the flooring, but on the sealer. … Continue reading “Beware of Slippery Finished-in-Place Floors Installed by Clueless Contractors”
Making Your Stairs Safer
An important part of ensuring the safety of stairs is making sure the steps are clearly visible. This is especially true for commercial properties, but can also be crucial for private homes — particularly if the occupants are visually impaired to some extent. You should conform to, or exceed, your local building code, but if … Continue reading “Making Your Stairs Safer”
Let’s be Careful on Stairs!
Accidents on stairs can be serious and even fatal. We need to be attentive and play it safe. Always hold the handrail or (if you fear colds and flu) keep a free hand close to the handrail so you can grab it at any time. Hand sanitizer can help reduce the chance of getting sick, … Continue reading “Let’s be Careful on Stairs!”
The Five-Second Check of Stair Rise and Run
Because falls on stairs can cause especially severe injuries and even deaths, building codes for stairs are very stringent. When we use stairs that are properly constructed, we can walk with ease and converse at the same time, nearly unaware that our feet are performing a rather complex operation. Ease and safety depend on each … Continue reading “The Five-Second Check of Stair Rise and Run”
New Study Shows Sotter Engineering to be one of World’s Most Accurate Pendulum Floor Slip Test Labs
A recent global interlaboratory program “Slip Resistance Proficiency Testing — Pendulum Friction Tester,” showed Sotter Engineering Corporation’s Safety Direct America (SDA) floor slip resistance testing laboratory to be one of the world’s most accurate in use of the pendulum skid tester. The pendulum is a national standard for pedestrian floor and tile slip resistance testing … Continue reading “New Study Shows Sotter Engineering to be one of World’s Most Accurate Pendulum Floor Slip Test Labs”
Roughness and Wet Floor Slip Resistance
We all know intuitively that roughness has a lot to do with floor slip resistance. Very smooth floors tend to have low wet slip resistance, and to some types of shoe solings (as on some dancing shoes) can have low dry slip resistance too. However, “rough” appearing floors aren’t always slip-resistant, and this has to … Continue reading “Roughness and Wet Floor Slip Resistance”