John C. Sotter and George Sotter of Safety Direct America were published in the July issue of The Construction Specifier magazine with an article talking about floor slip resistance and keeping floors safe for pedestrians. The article talks about the latest International Building Code (IBC) requirements for slip resistance, and its limitations as far as … Continue reading “Article published in The Construction Specifier magazine talks slip resistance”
Tag: BOT-3000E
Proposed Federal Rule for Floor Slip Resistance
The U.S. federal government’s Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is considering a petition requesting rule making to require that manufacturers of floor coverings, floor coverings with coatings, and treated floor coverings label their products’ slip resistance in accordance with an ANSI/National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI) standard, B101.5. (NFSI, Safety Direct America and others offer for-fee … Continue reading “Proposed Federal Rule for Floor Slip Resistance”
A bulletproof defense against slip-fall losses
If someone falls, or claims to have fallen, due to a slip on your premises, the key question from a responsibility standpoint is, were you negligent? And did your negligence contribute to the alleged accident? Here’s how to best assure that you won’t be found negligent. You need to do everything a reasonable person can … Continue reading “A bulletproof defense against slip-fall losses”
Video Explains IBC Requirements for Floor Slip Resistance
The 2012 International Building Code changed slip resistance requirements for indoor floors that may get wet in use. The previously-used ASTM C 1028 friction test method is obsolete, and testing using the AcuTest method in ANSI A137.1 slip test must show a minimum of 0.42 wet dynamic coefficient of friction — but many other factors … Continue reading “Video Explains IBC Requirements for Floor Slip Resistance”
Falls Deaths in the USA: a 9/11 Every Six Weeks
The National Safety Council’s (NSC) latest published statistics show that falls are causing 28,000 deaths in the USA annually (see p. 19 of their report). This is the equivalent of a 9/11/2001 attack every six weeks, all year long. Moreover, falls deaths are approaching motor-vehicle deaths. Safety Direct America offers products and services that can … Continue reading “Falls Deaths in the USA: a 9/11 Every Six Weeks”
Stop Slips on Cruise Ships!
Since 2008, Safety Direct America has been helping some of the world’s foremost cruise ship companies to prevent slips and falls by helping their designers choose flooring appropriate to the situation (with the correct level of wet coefficient of friction). The work improves safety both on new cruise ships and on ships that are routinely … Continue reading “Stop Slips on Cruise Ships!”
What’s the Difference Between the Three ANSI standards for floor slip resistance?
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has three pedestrian floor friction standards involving tests using the BOT-3000E digital tribometer, intended for testing flooring for indoor use. Why do they have three standards, and what’s the difference between them? They all have different test methods and different minimum coefficient of friction values (0.42, 0.43, and 0.60). … Continue reading “What’s the Difference Between the Three ANSI standards for floor slip resistance?”
Situation-Specific Floor Slip Resistance Testing Standards
In the USA, pedestrian slip resistance standards for flooring have traditionally been pass-fail. For instance, a coefficient of friction (COF) of 0.60 might be considered “safe” but 0.59 was “not safe.” This applied to any situation provided the floor was level. Recently the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has published some standards that are a … Continue reading “Situation-Specific Floor Slip Resistance Testing Standards”
BOT-3000 Data Can Help Building Owners Monitor Changes in Floor Slip Resistance
Periodic testing of your company’s floors’ slip resistance can detect problems so they can be solved before they cause an accident, and can help verify that there are no remaining problems. Routine monitoring slip tests are typically conducted quarterly, semiannually, or annually. However, various unrelated pedestrian factors such as prescription and non-prescription drug use, intoxication, … Continue reading “BOT-3000 Data Can Help Building Owners Monitor Changes in Floor Slip Resistance”