Did you know that in 2013, the health and safety authority visited a lot of workplaces? And this was the outcome of that visit. The HSA found 29% of 969 workplaces require slip resistance testing. For that reason and more, pendulum tests are important.
Pendulum testing is the ultimate way to determine the safety of flooring surfaces. Your floors should be safe to walk. And that’s why we offer this necessary service. The rest of this piece should convince you to carry out a pendulum test soon. In fact, to stay in line with the safety guidelines for workspaces in Ireland and the UK, you need pendulum testing.
There are certain things you don’t want happening in your workplace environment. Perhaps an accident caused by a slippery floor has crossed your mind. This kind of accident can cause more trouble than you could bargain for. There could be lawsuits. That calls for concern, and a pendulum test can save you from a messy situation.
We can tell you what the HSA and HSE require. Carrying out pendulum tests to BS 7976-2 standards. The BS 7976-2 standard is also recommended by the UK slip-resistant group. And it just happens that we are members of the aforementioned organization. Pendulum tests are necessary if you have to go to court. The data presented in it is adequate. Also, it gives an accurate account of the condition of any flooring surface.
Slip Testing Service
There’s no particular period required to get a pendulum test/Slip Testing Service. The workplace must be safe for people. And maintain their health. Therefore, Pendulum slip testing must be performed in public places. Both in order to maintain the health of the people and also help in the courts. The resistance on floors can change depending on several factors. Frequent usage, type of surface, and method of cleaning among others. You should consider these factors before deciding how often you want to test. However, the HSA requires annual testing.
Note the following points when to do a test:
- Annual testing required by the health and safety authority
- For maintenance and monitoring purposes
- After installation of new floors
- Changes to cleaning procedures
- Before handing over a newly installed floor to a new owner
- After an accident.
Pendulum test values
The safety of your floor can be categorized depending on the data values of your pendulum floor testing. The slip risk can range from high slip potential to low slip potential. And obviously, a low slip potential is the safest a floor can be.
The pendulum test is carried out in three directions — Horizontally, vertically, and diagonally. The median values of these three tests determine the Pendulum Test Values of the surface
Low: 36+
Moderate: 25-35
High: 0-24
The value of the Pendulum Test Value (PTV) figure can help you determine how safe the floors are.When the values are low the floor is potentially unsafe. Meanwhile, higher values mean safer floors. We classify them into low, medium, and high risk. And the values would be less than 24, 25 to 36, and over 36 respectively.
Why It Is Essential To Perform Slip Testing In The UK
Floor testing is required to comply with building and health safety regulations in the UK. It can save you from unwanted situations where people can slip and cause the body harm.
Principle of operation
When the pendulum test value PTV is low, more people should adjust how they walk on the concerning flooring. Precisely about 1 in 2 people. However, when the PTV is high which means that there’s a lesser risk, only about 1 in 1,000,000 would have to change how they walk to the level of resistance by the floor
Pendulum Slip Testing
There are many companies that perform Pendulum Slip Testing. One of them in the UK is SLIPTEST from MUNRO. Has extensive experience in the field of Pendulum Testers
