The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that floors accessible to disabled persons be “slip-resistant”, but does not define what that means. Apparently it’s up to property owners and the courts to decide. But there is a reliable way of assessing slip resistance that is recognized the world over to help comply with ADA slip […]
Can a Floor be Too Slip Resistant?
As floor slip resistance testing experts with decades of experience, we’re sometimes asked if a floor can be too slip resistant, usually by someone who is trying to sell a flooring that is likely too slippery for a particular application. The answer, put simply, is no. There is no such thing as a floor that’s […]
Cleaning Anti-Slip Floors
After installing a tile or other type of flooring that has great slip resistance, or after applying an anti-slip floor coating with great slip resistance on top of a slippery floor (like SparkleTuff™ Anti-Slip Floor Coating), you’ll find that dragging a dirty mop across the floor may no longer be sufficient to get the floor […]
Slippery Epoxy Garage Floors – SparkleTuff™ Anti-Slip Floor Coating to the Rescue
Our transparent abrasive anti-slip floor coating, SparkleTuff™, has been applied to hundreds of different kinds of floors, and we have yet to find a surface to which it won’t adhere. However, based on the number of frantic phone calls we get, home garage floors that have been newly coated with epoxy seem to be the […]
Pool Deck Slip Standard would Create Jobs for Lawyers
A swimming pool deck slip resistance standard is proposed that if adopted will cause hundreds of millions of dollars of misspent investment; lead to thousands of slip and fall accidents, many with life-changing injuries; cost hundreds of millions in medical bills and other losses; and lead to far too many premature deaths due to injuries […]
Safety Direct America Calibrates Pendulum Skid Testers from Far and Wide
Like any scientific or engineering instrument, the pendulum skid tester (also sometimes called the British pendulum or pendulum slip tester) should be calibrated at least once annually. Safety Direct America, a subsidiary of Sotter Engineering Corporation, is the leading calibrator of pendulum skid testers in the Americas. Alignment of the vertical shaft (level bubble) and […]
2022 Revised ANSI A326.3 Has Five Situation-Specific DCOF Minimums — And Crucial Caveats
In February of 2022, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) issued a revised version of their “Test Method for Measuring Dynamic Coefficient of Friction of Hard Surface Flooring Materials.” Situation-specific recommended minimum DCOF values range from 0.42 to 0.55. As in previous versions, this one has important caveats. E.g., “The specifier shall determine materials appropriate […]
Your Questions About SparkleTuff™ Transparent Anti-Slip Floor Coating
Since Safety Direct America introduced its popular transparent anti-slip floor coating, SparkleTuff™, in September of 2016, we’ve fielded questions from thousands of prospective customers. Here are the most popular ones. 1. Will it adhere to my flooring (epoxy, vinyl, wood, tile, marble, granite, glass, etc.)? Yes. We have yet to find a flooring type that […]
British Government Lab Rates Footwear Slip Resistance
For work environments where there’s a risk of slipping, it’s prudent to consider mandating slip-resistant footwear for employees, and possibly providing them with help in obtaining them. Some cruise ship companies have stores on board their ships where crew members can get slip-resistant footwear. Other companies provide financial assistance. Footwear in a slippery floor environment […]
Use Anti-Slip Floor Tape Strips Wisely
Anti-slip abrasive or non-abrasive floor tape strips have a place in a slip reduction plan, but they must be used judiciously. Figure 1 shows a long ramp to restrooms in a popular (and pricey) restaurant. The floor material is the same for the whole ramp, but inexplicably the anti-slip floor tape strips are only at […]