Put simply, this is the level of slip resistance that can be reasonably expected to be sustained over the many years of a product being in service.

Under standard slip resistance tests, many products score an unrepresentatively high result when brand new, straight out of the box.

Many factors, including deposits or grit on the tile left over from the manufacturing process, can influence the results of a slip test. In some cases, even small amounts of wear can drastically reduce the slip resistance of a tile. After the floor is installed and has undergone a routine post-construction clean, a product receiving a P5 result straight out of the box could test at P3 or lower.

Slip test results can easily be supplied to show the result when new as well as after Accelerated Wear Testing (AWT).

The same laboratories (CSIRO, Safe Environments and ATTAR) who perform the slip resistance tests, will also provide AWT testing on request. AWT testing, as the name implies, involves applying wear to the product’s surface, then re-testing the slip resistance.

The degree of wear applied is referred to by the number of cycles. Small amounts of wear like 50 and 100 cycles will easily identify items that show an unrepresentative result when brand new.

Results after a greater amount of wear cycles 500, 1,000 and 5,000 cycles indicate the products that provide the most sustainable slip resistance.

Metz provides AWT results at 5,000 cycles for our Sicodur^® and MicroGRIP^® finishes, the maximum number of cycles used.

Despite the complexity of this issue, there is one driving factor that overwhelmingly characterises the risk of a slip incident occuring:

Many specifiers therefore treat 35BPN as the minimum safe pendulum test result they require for areas that are going to get wet. Remember, this result needs to be sustained throughout the life of the floor, not just on day one.

Virtually all slips occur on a wet floor, but not all wet floors are slippery. Controlling the masses on a “slippery when wet” floor is costly, time consuming and presents an ongoing risk, forever, until the floor is replaced.

Floors in high traffic areas more likely to get wet, and it’s not just bad weather and accompanying water from umbrellas and raincoats that poses a risk. A spilled coffee or even food from nearby outlets is considered a wet floor. Adequately slip resistant tiles (over 35BPN) are a necessity on all floors that are even ‘occasionally’ wet.