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The slip-testing glossary
Every term you’re likely to meet in a slip-testing quote or report, defined simply — and why each one matters. Jump to a term, or read straight through.
Anti-slip treatment
A chemical or mechanical treatment that micro-etches or textures a floor to improve its grip in the wet.
Why it matters: It can rescue a failing floor without replacing it — but it should always be re-tested afterwards to prove it worked.
Barefoot test (Slider 55)
A pendulum test using the softer TRL rubber slider, used where people are likely to be barefoot.
Why it matters: It’s the correct test for wet rooms, changing rooms and pool surrounds.
BS 7976-2
The British Standard setting out how the pendulum tester is operated and calibrated.
Why it matters: Testing to it is part of what makes a result credible and repeatable.
BS EN 16165
The current standard for measuring the slip resistance of surfaces; it superseded the older BS EN 13036-4.
Why it matters: It’s the up-to-date reference your report should cite.
Contamination
Anything on a floor that cuts grip — water, grease, dust or detergent residue.
Why it matters: Floors are most dangerous when contaminated, which is exactly why we test wet, not just dry.
CQC
The Care Quality Commission, England’s regulator for health and social care.
Why it matters: In care settings it expects slip risk to be assessed and managed; an accredited test is objective evidence.
Dry testing
Measuring slip resistance on a clean, dry floor.
Why it matters: Useful as a baseline, but the wet result usually matters more — because that’s when slips actually happen.
HSE
The Health and Safety Executive, Britain’s workplace health-and-safety regulator.
Why it matters: The HSE recommends the pendulum and the PTV thresholds we test against.
Pendulum tester
A portable instrument with a swinging, rubber-footed arm that reproduces a slipping heel.
Why it matters: It’s the method the HSE relies on, because it works in the wet.
PTV (Pendulum Test Value)
The number the pendulum produces for a floor: the higher it is, the more grip, and the lower the slip risk.
Why it matters: 36 or above is the recognised low-risk threshold — about a one-in-a-million chance of a slip.
R-rating
A slip rating (R9 to R13) from a German oil-ramp test on a flooring product before it’s laid.
Why it matters: It describes the product, not your installed floor, and isn’t the UK’s in-situ measure — the PTV is.
Ramp test
A laboratory test in which an operator walks a tilting, contaminated ramp until they slip.
Why it matters: It’s where R-ratings come from; it’s not a substitute for testing the actual floor in place.
Risk assessment (slips)
The duty holder’s appraisal of where slips could happen and what’s being done about them.
Why it matters: A measured PTV turns a guess in the assessment into evidence.
Shod test (Slider 96)
A pendulum test using the Four S rubber slider, representing a shoe heel.
Why it matters: It’s the standard test for most floors people walk on in shoes.
Slider
The replaceable rubber on the pendulum’s foot — Slider 96 for shod, Slider 55 for barefoot.
Why it matters: Using the correct, verified slider is essential to a valid result.
Slip resistance
How much a floor resists a foot sliding across it.
Why it matters: It’s invisible and changes over time, so it has to be measured — never judged by eye.
UKAS accreditation
Accreditation by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service, the body recognised by Government to assess testing laboratories.
Why it matters: It’s the difference between a number and a number you can prove (we hold UKAS Testing Laboratory No. 7933).
UKSRG
The UK Slip Resistance Group, which publishes the guidelines used to interpret pendulum results.
Why it matters: Its guidance underpins the low / moderate / high risk bands.
Plain English, measured results
A fixed quote, a quick visit and a UKAS-accredited report — jargon explained, not assumed.
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