12061 Jefferson Blvd., Culver City, CA 90230-6219
Endorsement of Improved Test Methods and Slip Prevention Standards for New FlooringSummary The objective of this endorsement is to reduce
the human and financial costs of slips and falls. Such accidents cause
some 1200 deaths, and in the workplace alone about $3 billion in lost
productivity and compensation costs, in the United States each year. The Slip Resistance Committee of the Ceramic Tile
Institute of America (CTIOA) is endorsing the following: (1) The variable-angle ramp laboratory test methods
for slip resistance that are already a national standard in Australia,
Germany, Italy, and New Zealand and a Final Draft standard in 17 other
nations (2) The spillage volume displacement test that is a
national standard in Australia, Germany and New Zealand (3) The detailed pedestrian slip-resistance safety
standards for new flooring that are already national standards in Australia,
Germany, and New Zealand It’s necessary to know the results of (1) and (2)
above to make full use of the safety standards in (3). We request that manufacturers of hard and resilient
flooring offered for sale in the United States supply potential buyers
with slip-resistance category and (where appropriate) spill-volume
displacement test results for the manufacturers’ products by January
1, 2003. As a substitute for the ramp test, manufacturers may use any
alternative test, or combination of tests and calculations, that is
scientifically proven to predict the results of the ramp test or to
be as good as, or better than, the ramp test as an indicator of human
traction potential. The ramp tests would replace the horizontal pull-meter
test, American Society for Testing and Materials Method C 1028-96,
that U.S. ceramic tile manufacturers currently use for laboratory slip
resistance testing of their products. The safety standards that are based on the test
results are useful in selection of flooring in ceramic tile, vinyl
and linoleum, natural stone, terrazzo, and wood. Buyers of flooring
products should use the recommended safety standards when selecting
new flooring for commercial, industrial, and recreational applications.
They should also consider using the standards for residential flooring,
particularly in cases in which occupants are at high risk for serious
slip-related injuries. Introduction The Slip Resistance Committee of the Ceramic Tile
Institute of America is tasked to advance and disseminate scientific
knowledge of slip and fall issues in order to improve safety of walkway
surfaces in the built environment, including floors, stairs, and pedestrian
ramps. Pedestrian slips occur from an unfavorable combination
of the person involved, the activity the person is involved in, the
environment, the footwear (if any), and the flooring. Most slip accidents
occur when the footwear or bare feet and/or the flooring are wet or
otherwise lubricated. Some manufacturers of flooring and floor coatings
presently offer as catalog information slip resistance test results,
dry and/or wet, based on test methods standardized by the American
Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Experience with U.S. test methods and safety standards
for prevention of slip and fall accidents shows that improved test
methods and safety standards are necessary. National Safety Council
statistics indicate that some 1200 Americans die each year — an average
of one death every seven hours — as a result of slip-and-fall accidents
on the same level (not on a ladder, stairs, etc.). In the workplace
alone, in 1998 slips and falls caused 313,335 injuries (an average
of one every two minutes) and over $3 billion (or $340,000 per hour)
in workers’ compensation and lost productivity (Ref. 1). Too many floors
are potentially slippery under their normal conditions of use. The
requests and recommendations below are in the interest of public safety. Slip
Resistance Standards for Specific Situations The Slip Resistance Committee is endorsing the
slip resistance and spill-volume displacement standards in “Classification
Guide for Commercial and Industrial Areas” (Table 5 in Reference 2)
and “Classification Guide for Public Wet Barefoot Areas” (Table 4 in
Reference 2) for new hard and resilient flooring materials. Implementing
the slip resistance and spill-volume displacement standards in those
tables helps prevent slipping accidents that occur on walking surfaces
under wet or otherwise lubricated conditions. These standards are
specific to situations of environment and human activity that relate
to the use of the flooring. Most of the standards have been used commercially
(in Germany) since 1992 (Ref. 3). The standards specify minimum slip resistance requirements
for some 150 situations. For instance, relatively low wet slip resistance
is allowed for areas that are nearly always clean and dry. Rest rooms
require higher slip resistance. Busy commercial kitchens require still
higher slip resistance, and some industrial situations, such as mayonnaise
manufacture, require the highest level. For barefoot areas, locker
rooms require relatively low slip resistance; stairs outside a pool
area need higher slip resistance; and pool stairs leading into the
water under certain conditions require the highest. The standards are useful in selection of flooring
in ceramic tile, vinyl and linoleum, natural stone, terrazzo, and wood.
They are already national standards in Australia, Germany, and New
Zealand. We recommend use of these standards when
selecting new flooring for commercial, industrial, and recreational
applications. They are also worthy of consideration for residential
applications, particularly in cases in which occupants are at high
risk for serious slip-and-fall injuries. This includes homes where
there are young children who might run, disabled persons, and/or senior
citizens who may have osteoporosis, be using multiple medications,
or have other medical risks. Flooring manufacturers can, at their option, supply
variable-angle ramp test results to show in which of the standards’ slip
resistant categories their flooring belongs. There are five categories
(R9 thru R13, the latter being the most slip-resistant) for areas where
shoes are worn, and three categories (A thru C, the latter again being
the most slip-resistant) for barefoot areas. Some ceramic tile manufacturers
who sell their products in the United States already offer this information
on request or as catalog information. We request that all vendors of
hard and resilient flooring offer such data by January 1, 2003. Some flooring products have relief surfaces. These
products are intended mainly for restaurant kitchens, commercial car
washes, or industrial areas with frequent spillage of slippery substances
(e.g. in food factories or oil storage areas). The raised areas on
the flooring materials are usually two inches or less across. They
provide traction, and the lower areas provide volume for dispersal
of liquids. For relief surfaces, the amount of volume provided (in
between the raised areas) for spillage dispersal is a significant safety
parameter in addition to the ramp test results. For flat surfaces,
which includes most flooring, there is zero volume for spillage dispersal. Primary
test methods For testing slip resistance, manufacturers can
use the variable-angle ramp test that is specified in the standards
and is now a national standard test method in four nations (Australia,
Germany, Italy, New Zealand) and a Final Draft of a proposed national
standard (including several other test methods) in 17 additional nations (Refs.
4, 5). Reference 4 describes this test in general and Ref. 5 describes
it in detail. Several laboratories in the United States, and many in
other major flooring-producing countries, have in operation variable-angle
ramps built to the existing standards. Two ramp manufacturers offer
ramps for sale. Many of the world’s leading ceramic tile manufacturers
now publish variable-angle ramp test result categories in catalogs
for their floor tile products. The variable-angle ramp method is a laboratory
procedure for assessing traction on wet or otherwise lubricated flooring
materials. Human subjects walk a three-foot-long flooring sample under
specified conditions that include a standard lubricant. Each person
repeatedly adjusts the angle of the ramp to find the steepest slope
that he or she can walk on the test flooring without slipping. Each
person who walks (tests) the flooring is first tested on a specified
standard flooring each day before testing the subject flooring. A scientific study published in 1989 (Ref. 6) validated
the precision of the variable-angle ramp method. The study involved
walkers of both sexes (70 males, 28 females), ages 18–58, weights 110–231
pounds, heights 5 feet 2 inches to 6 feet 8 inches, and a wide range
of shoe sizes and body types. Statistical analysis of the results showed
that by testing with two walkers, the acceptance ramp angle of typical
flooring could be determined to within one degree. No other human traction
test device has equaled, or even approached, a successful validation
of this magnitude. Appendix E in Ref. 5 specifies the spill displacement
volume test method. Alternative test methods The Committee recognizes that these endorsements
do not specify a field test. We plan to deal with that issue separately
as soon as possible. For catalog information and laboratory testing
of new flooring, flooring manufacturers may use any other test method,
or combination of test methods and calculations, that is scientifically
proven to predict the slip-resistance category that would be determined
using the variable-angle ramp tests; or to be (1) at least as good
as the ramp method as an indicator of human traction potential and
(2) relatable to the ramp safety categories. Such a method, if portable,
would also be an obvious candidate for use in field testing. You can obtain further information from, or make
comments to, Ceramic Tile Institute of America in Culver City, California:
telephone 310-574-7800, or E-mail ctioa@earthlink.net. References
1. Simpson,
R., “An Ounce of Prevention,” Flooring, August 2000, pp. 24–25. 2. Bowman,
R., “An Introductory Guide to the Slip Resistance of Pedestrian Surface
Materials,” Standard HB 197:1999, Standards Australia, PO Box 1055,
Strathfield, NSW 2135, Australia. Email: sales@standards.com.au. 3. “Guidelines
for floors in work rooms and work areas with increased slipping hazard,” Code
of Practice ZH 1/571, Main Organization of the Trade Associations,
Central Office for Accident Prevention and Industrial Medicine, Alte
Heerstrasse 111, 53754 St. Augustin, Germany, April 1989. 4. “Ceramic
tiles — determination of coefficient of friction, European Committee
for Standardization CEN/TC 67 N. 161, February 1998, Milan, Italy. 5. “Australian/New
Zealand Standard: Slip resistance classification of new pedestrian
surface materials,” AS/NZS 4586:1999, Standards Australia, Strathfield,
NSW or Standards New Zealand, Wellington. 6. Jung,
K., and Schenk, H., “Objectification and accuracy of the walking method
for determining the anti-slip properties of floor surfaces,” Zentralblatt
for Industrial Medicine, Accident Prevention and Ergonomics, Vol. 39,
No. 8, 1988, pp. 221-228. Contact CTIOA for English-language translation.
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