Valid Floor Slip Resistance Test Methods

The pendulum DCOF tester has been endorsed by Ceramic Tile Institute of America since 2001 and is a national standard in at least 50 nations on six of the seven continents. It is the best available method of assessing pedestrian slip resistance for safety in the field and in the lab. The newly-updated ASTM E303 slip resistance test method is now the most reliable way to assess the real-world slip resistance of a floor in the USA, based on 50 years of international research and accident investigations.

Other reliable methods exist as well, such as the SlipAlert and Ramp Testing (which gives R-ratings for floors in a lab), but the pedulum test method is widely agreed upon by forensic experts around the world as the best portable slip resistance testing method available today.

The BOT-3000E is used for slip tests ANSI A137.1 and ANSI A326.3, but the BOT-3000E should never be used to aseess safety, ESPECIALLY in high risk areas like pool decks! Both are dynamic coefficient of friction tests, but both are not considered sufficient for assessing safety. The test methods state these tests "...can provide a useful comparison of surfaces, but does not predict the likelihood a person will or will not slip on a hard surface flooring material." This means you should not use the BOT-3000E device and ANSI A326.3 to assess safety or to determine if a flooring is safe for its intended use. Visit SafetyDirectAmerica.com for floor and tile slip resistance testing and for more information and video demonstrations of these various slip resistance test methods.

The BOT-3000E tests were writeen by the Tile Council of North America, who works for the flooring industry in America, and by representatives of the flooring industry in America. Using ANSI A326.3 to assess safety is like asking a pyromaniac to assess whether a box of wooden matches is safe in the hands of a pyromaniac. The flooring industry creates tests to help them sell slippery and marginally slippery tile, not to help stop slip and fall accidents. Once you've bought a flooring, the ANSI A326.3 test (and the ASTM D2047 test results, if the company is so unscupulous that they'll use those as a "safety assessment") is so full of disclaimers that the flooring salesman and manufacturer is off the hook for your slip and fall lawsuit, You're on your own! Hvae fun buying your lawyer another sports car!! The test methods have fine print that basically say, "once your check clears for your flooring, we're done. Any slips that happen are on YOU!!"