RR529 - A study of the slip characteristics of natural and manmade stone flooring materials
The aim of the current study was to assess the slip resistance of a wide range of natural and man stone flooring. These types of floors are commonly found in a variety of commercial premises where high specification prestige finishes are required, however to date there has not been a systematic study of the slip characteristics of these floors. A better understanding of the anti-slip performance of these flooring materials would better inform the advice given to duty holders considering the installation of this type of flooring.
During the initial phase of the work, the ramp boards to be used in the study were characterised using the test methods typically employed during site HSL/HSE investigations:
- surface roughness;
- the pendulum test.
The objective of this phase of the work was to gain a better understanding of natural and man made stone floors and to provide a comparison with the ramp data to be generated in the future. This will help to better inform how ramp data generated in the laboratory setting relates to data obtained from real work places generated by portable test methods.
This report and the work it describes were funded by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Its contents, including any opinions and/or conclusions expressed, are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect HSE policy.
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