February 18, 2008—The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) recently registered a new technical report, “Using Variable Angle Tribometers (VAT) for Measurement of the Slip Resistance of Walkway Surfaces” (ANSI/ASSE TR-A1264.3-2007), submitted to ANSI by a subcommittee of which the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) is secretariat. The technical report is due for publication in February.
The technical report provides guidance for the performance of slip resistance testing of in-place walkway surfaces, such as sidewalks, catwalks in factories, grocery store floors, and floors in commercial kitchens. The report covers the technical aspects, research, legislation, standards activities, and operation of the two widely used VATs commercially available for testing of walkway surface slip resistance, the Brungraber Mark II and the English XL.
“This technical report provides detailed information on the validity of the VAT class of slip meters, including how they work, how to operate them, recommended thresholds of safety and numerous precision and ruggedness studies performed,” said Steven DiPilla, ARM, A1264.2 subcommittee chair and director, research and development at ESIS, Inc. “It was developed to serve as another tool for safety professionals to use in accurately assessing the slip resistance of walkway surfaces so that effective improvements can be made when needed.”
For more information, visit the ASSE Web site.
