The development of a universal approach to testing of walkway slip resistance in the U.S.

The measurement of walkway slip resistance is required to assess the risk of slipping. Unlike other countries, the U.S. has not decided upon a single approach to the measurement of slip resistance. Several types of tribometers are available to measure slip resistance however, the measured value of the slip resistance of a given surface has been found to be tribometer specific. The introduction of ASTM International Standard F2508 Standard Practice for Validation and Calibration of Walkway Tribometers Using Reference Surfaces, has produced a method which allows validation of each type of tribometer and the values generated during testing.