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”
Category: swimming pool decks
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”
Floor Slip Rating: SCOF vs. DCOF
Static coefficient of friction (SCOF) was formerly used to measure the slip resistance of a wet floor in the USA, but the test method (ASTM C1028) was withdrawn by the ASTM in 2014. Experts in the USA now know to use dynamic coefficient of friction (DCOF), as the rest of the world has been using … Continue reading “Floor Slip Rating: SCOF vs. DCOF”
ANSI A326.3 Acutest Does Not Predict Likelihood of Slip
A widely used floor friction test, American National Standards Institute A326.3, states in its introduction that “it can provide a useful comparison of surfaces, but it does not predict the likelihood a person will or will not slip on a hard surface flooring material.” The test assesses wet dynamic coefficient of friction (DCOF) using the … Continue reading “ANSI A326.3 Acutest Does Not Predict Likelihood of Slip”
What’s the Cost of a Slip and Fall on a Commercial Property?
A recent article in Risk & Insurance (May 2018, p. 32) cites some data for costs of slip and fall claims. Claims can result in a sharp increase in insurance premiums. If the property is self-insured, costs can come directly off profit. Falls among adults are the most common cause of traumatic brain injury. Commercial … Continue reading “What’s the Cost of a Slip and Fall on a Commercial Property?”
Test Your New Pool Deck’s Slip Resistance BEFORE Opening the Pool!
It is amazing how often both large and small swimming pool decks are installed with no thought to wet slip resistance until falls, sometimes catastrophic, begin to happen. By the time the first serious slip injury happens, the flooring vendor has usually cashed his check and is unconcerned about the problem. Wet bare feet have … Continue reading “Test Your New Pool Deck’s Slip Resistance BEFORE Opening the Pool!”