A GUIDE TO BEST PRACTICE OF SLIP RESISTANCE - Vol. 2 // November 2018

A GUIDE TO BEST PRACTICE OF SLIP RESISTANCE Vol. 2

// November 2018 earp.com.au

B E T T E R S U R FAC E S F O R L I F E

WHY IS SLIP RESISTANCE IMPORTANT?

The Australian Building Codes Board indicate that falls are the greatest health & safety risk in buildings.

Inadequate slip resistance can cause significant risk of serious injury.

Slip and falls are the most common cause of personal injury claims involving architects.

Architects, project managers, builders and certifiers are usually implicated by not selecting / specifying/checking compliant products.

Compare the cost of falls in society to other serious injury mechanisms

Think about motor vehicle accidents and the development of safety features.

Consider the amount of effort involved to ensure that there are adequate fire safety measures, including ongoing maintenance.

Now compare the costs of these to that of falls and potential litigation.

Has floor selection been given enough consideration?

Without future-proofing your building and accounting for real costs, you are losing your competitive advantage.

CODE COMPLIANCE / LEGISLATION Building Code of Australia Ramp, stair treads and stair landings must have slip resistance classification (D2.10,D2.13, D2.14) Workplace Health & Safety Act - National Harmonised Legislation Under section 22 WHS Act, the designer must ensure structures are designed to be safe when it is used as a workplace during its life-cycle. Under section 22 (4) and 22 (5) WHS Act, the designer must provide information to anyone who is issued with the design, indicating the purpose for which the structure is designed, the results of any testing and analysis undertaken and any conditions necessary to ensure that the designer has designed the structure to be without risk to health and safety when it is used as a workplace during its life-cycle. Current relevant information must also be provided to people who use, construct, maintain or demolish the structure on request.

WHS Regulations 295 requires the designer to provide the PCBU client with a safety report outlining potential hazards unique to that design that may pose a hazard to people carrying out construction work.

Disability Discrimination Act All continuous accessible paths of travel must be slip resistant (AS 1428.1) Australian Standards

AS 4586, Slip resistance classification of new pedestrian surface materials.

AS 4663, Slip resistance measurement of existing pedestrian surfaces.

HB 198-2014: Guide to the specification and testing of slip resistance of pedestrian surfaces.

Local Government Development Control Plans Willoughby City Council (NSW) requires “Upon completion, certification that all floor finishes and floor surfaces (Excluding carpet) have been tested on site to achieve a slip resistant classification under wet and dry conditions to comply with the current version of AS/NZS4586, Table 3 of CSIRO/SA publication HB 198 (An Introductory Guide to the Slip Resistance of Pedestrian Surface Materials) and Council’s DCP No 14 (Access and Mobility). (Reason: Public Safety)”.

Common Law Have you caused loss of amenity to others by negligent design that otherwise would not have occurred?

USING HANDBOOK 198 HB 198 provides guidance to designers, specifiers, manufacturers and suppliers in the application of AS 4586 (2013) & AS 4663 (2013).

HB 198 shows that slip hazard is affected by a large number of factors:

The slip resistance of the material

The nature of the pedestrian traffic

Its wear characteristics

Footwear (or lack thereof)

Maintenance

Slope

Contamination

Environmental factors such as lighting,

Presence of water or lubrication on surface

handrails, etc

TABLE 3B

WET PENDULUM TEST OR OIL-WET INCLINING PLATFORM CLASSIFICATIONS Wet pendulum test or oil-wet inclining platform classifications for applications where the NCC does not require slip resistance.

WHAT IS SLIP RESISTANT, NON-SLIP OR NON-SKID? ‘The coefficient of friction required to maintain movement at a constant speed’

AS 4586: Slip Resistive “Property of a pedestrian surface where the available friction is sufficient to enable a person to traverse that surface without an unreasonable risk of slipping.”

REQUIRED FRICTION & RELATIVE RISK Research conducted by Pye, Building Research Establishment, UK Most people require between 0.16 and 0.22 Coefficient of Friction for level walking.

RISK

STRAIGHT WALKING

TURNING: LEFT FOOT

TURNING: RIGHT FOOT

1 IN 1,000,000

0.36

0.40

0.36

1 IN 100,000

0.34

0.38

0.34

1 IN 10,000

0.29

0.34

0.33

1 IN 200

0.27

0.31

0.32

1 IN 20

0.24

0.27

0.29

WHICH SLIP TEST BEST REFLECTS THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS? AS 4586 Recommended test method for environmental conditions.

AS 4586

TEST

CONTAMINATION

FOOTWEAR

EXAMPLE

APPENDIX A

Pendulum

Water

Smooth Soled Shoes

Entry Foyer (Wet)

APPENDIX B

Dry FFT

Dry & Clean

Smooth Soled Shoes

Internal Dry Areas

APPENDIX C

Wet Barefoot

Water

Barefoot

Swimming Pool Surrounds

APPENDIX D

Oil Wet

Oil

Profiled Safety Boots

Commercial Kitchens

WET PENDULUM TEST AS 4586 Appendix A - Recommended for wet areas.

CLASSIFICATION

SRV-SLIDER 96

SRV-SLIDER 55

P5

> 54

> 44

P4

45 - 54

40 - 44

P3

35 - 44

35 - 39

P2

25 - 34

20 - 34

P1

12 - 24

> 20

P0

< 12

DRY FLOOR FRICTION TEST AS 4586 Appendix B - Recommended for dry internal areas.

AS 4586 Clause 5.3 Means of demonstrating compliance.

5.3(ii) For Classification D1 in Table 3 (A) The mean of the test results shall be equal to or greater than 0.4; and (B) Each individual slope corrected result shall be equal to or greater than 0.35.

Schematic diagram from AS 4586

If either of these criteria is not met the lot shall be considered to be Classification D0.

WET BAREFOOT RAMP TEST AS 4586 Appendix C - Recommended for wet barefoot areas only.

ANGLE OF INCLINATION (DEGREES)

CLASSIFICATION

≥ 12

A

≥ 18

B

≥ 24

C

OIL WET RAMP TEST AS 4586 Appendix D - Recommended for industrial areas only.

ANGLE OF INCLINATION (DEGREES)

CLASSIFICATION

≥ 6 < 10

R9

≥ 10° < 19°

R10

≥ 19° < 27°

R11

≥ 27° < 35°

R12

≥ 35°

R13

RAMP R10 ≠ PENDULUM P3 Graph from Tile Today Issue #40, “Are your slip resistant certificates out of date?” ~ Richard Bowman.

Ramp R13 27

R12 18

AREA OF CONCERN

R11

R10

10 6

R9 0

12

P0

25

P1

35

P2

45

P3

55

P4

P5

DOCUMENTATION CLASS REQUIRED

MEETS HB 198

COMMENTS

AREA

SURFACE

TEST REPORT

CLASS (AS 4586)

External Footpath - Archer St

Segmental Pavers, Lightly Shot Blast 300X300mm

R279a

P4

P4

Compliant

External Walkway

Principal Public Entrance To Commercial Building (Ramp)

Honed Travertine (Filled)

R279b

P2

P5

Non Compliant

External Ramps

Internal Lift Lobby

Honed Travertine (Filled)

R279b

P2

P3

Non Compliant

Entry Foyers Office Buildings - Wet Shops With External Entry

Rear External Entrance

Honed Travertine (Filled)

R279b

P2

P4

Non Compliant

External Walkways

Ground Floor Rear Disabled Toilet

Speckled Beige Unglazed Ceramic Tile 300X300mm

R279c

P3

P3

Compliant

Toilet Facilities In Offices

(COMPARABLE LOCATIONS OF SIMILAR RISK WITHIN HB 198)

SAMPLES & TEST DOCUMENTATION Samples and test documentation supplied during specification must represent the material that will be supplied to site.

SUSTAINABLE SLIP RESISTANCE INITIAL ILLUMANCE

?

All surfaces can drop in slip resistance significantly to a level that is hazardous over a relatively short period of time.

MINIMUM ILLUMANCE

New Installation

Modeled from lighting industry.

Maintenance Required

Some contributing factors may be:

Installation Process

Contamination

Surface Treatments

Cleaning Residue

Cleaning & Maintenance

Pedestrian Traffic

Wear

Quality of the Product

Maintenance Cycle

HB 198 states the other design factors including the product Figure B1 - Illustration of reduction in illuminance over the maintance cycle.

characteristics such as wear resistance & clean-ability should be

IMPLICATIONS FOR GOING GREEN & FIT FOR PURPOSE

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN Pendulum Class P5 Product Selected (BPN 65) A few months later the slip resistance dropped to BPN 40 (Class P3) Entourage of property developer, cleaner, tile supplier, and scientist converged on site to work out “why is it so?”

HARD LESSONS LEARNT AFTER CASE STUDY 1 Slip resistance changes over time.

The pendulum and dry FFT are the only slip resistant test methods that can be used on site.

What use is the ramp test? How do we account for changes in slip resistance into our design?

AS 4586

TEST

CONTAMINATION

FOOTWEAR

EXAMPLE

Entry Foyer (Wet) Internal Dry Areas

APPENDIX A

Pendulum

Water

Smooth Soled Shoes

APPENDIX B

Dry FFT

Dry & Clean

Smooth Soled Shoes

APPENDIX C

Ramp Test Methods Can Not Be Conducted On-site

APPENDIX D

Ramp Test Methods Can Not Be Conducted On-site

TEST REPORT 1 ACCELERATED WEAR TEST 35 BPN Mean

Stone Mix S/R Tile by Earp Bros - Chinese Porcelain.

TEST REPORT 2 ACCELERATED WEAR TEST Diana Royal Leathered by Earp Bros - Micro-structured Stone Surface.

35 BPN Mean

TEST REPORT 3 ACCELERATED WEAR TEST Starwood S/R Timber Look Tile by Earp Bros.

35 BPN Mean

TEST REPORT 4 WET BAREFOOT RAMP TEST Pietra Di Borgorna S/R Tile by Earp Bros - Stone Floor Tile.

TEST REPORT 5 OIL WET RAMP TEST Porcelain Tile with a Slip Resistant Finish.

“No floor surface will ever be made available to the public in the condition that it was originally tested” Sparke Helmore Lawyers

ACCELERATED WEAR TEST METHOD

Investigation of effects of abrasive materials

Initial trials performed by hand

Using the Gardco 12VFI linear motion wash-ability machine

Traditionally used for wear resistance of paint

100mm x 100mm friction boat

Operates 50 cycles per minute over 300mm length

Can be used on site

Test 5 tiles to assess variability

PLAN

DO

- Identify current position & proceedures

- Implement accelerated wear test procedure

- Legislative requirements

- Develop proceedures at organisational level

- Gap analysis - Plan solutions

- Set inital benchmark

- Allocation of resources

CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT CYCLE

ACT - Liase with stakeholders - Cost / benefit analysis - Reassess initial benchmark - Does this procedure really work?

CHECK - Requires insitu testing i.e. dry friction or pendulum testing - Measure changes in slip resistance over time on location - Monitor ancillary data such as pedestrian traffic, cleaning etc.

SLIP RESISTANCE WITHIN A CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT CYCLE

INDUSTRY BEST PRACTISE Slip resistance can not be considered without understanding the performance of the flooring material over time. Industry best practise is to consider the life cycle of the product, so to reduce unknown risks associated with looking at factory fresh samples only.

Using accelerated wear testing (AWT) enables all parties to understand the proposed flooring performance over time.

CASE STUDY 2 NEW SHOPPING CENTRE Initial Tile Selection

6 weeks after opened to public

Ramp Rating R11 Pendulum Class P4 (BPN 52)

Main thoroughfare BPN 34 Corner of room BPN 44 BPN Vs Cyles

85 75

CYCLES

0

100

500

1000

5000

65 55 45

MEAN BPN OF LAST 3 SWINGS

35

52

32

26

24

21

25 15

Note: only one tile was tasted, these results should be seen as indicative rather than definite

5 0

1000

2000

3000

Cycles

4000

5000

CASE STUDY 3 N EW OUTDOOR GAMING AREA Initial Tile Selection

Ramp Rating R11 Pendulum Class P3 (BPN 37) 3-4 weeks later BPN 27 18 months later BPN 22

RAMP R10 ≠ PENDULUM P3

Amenities in new commercial building

HB 198 recommends Pendulum P3 & Ramp R10

Building owner conducts testing at handover

On-site testing confirms BPN 19 - Class P1

Surface is considered ‘Very High Risk’

Finger pointing as to who is to blame

Almost everyone has non-negligible involvement

Currently being treated with an acid etch

SEALERS WILL AFFECT SLIP RESISTANCE

Pavers tested as new at BPN 64

On-site verification achieved results between 29 & 64

Sample of sealer tested however no verification or quality assurance of large scale application

Sealer was removed at expense of contractor (over 4000m2)

CLEANING PROGRAMS ARE ESSENTIAL WITHIN THE SPECIFICATION

Higher Slip Resistant materials require better cleaning programs.

Most modern slip resistant finishes are easier to clean

Ensure your supplier has a cleaning guide to insert into your specification

INTERNAL SHOPPING CENTRE Renovations Within Shopping Centre

SWIMMING POOLS & WET BAREFOOT AREAS

Increased risk with children / aquarobics for aging population / hydrotherapy

Barefoot ramp B / Pendulum Class P4

Barefoot ramp testing cannot be conducted on site to assess changes in slip resistance

Pendulum test can be used on site to assess changes in slip resistance

Resilient Slider 55 rubber is softer, replicating human skin better than Slider 96 rubber

Wide range of factors:

Cleaning

Sunscreen

Wear

Algae

Chemicals

Surface structure in the tile surface is beneficial

SLIP RESISTANT TREATMENTS

Good housekeeping

Mats at entry foyers

Chemical ‘acid etching’

Grinding

Shot Blasting

Coatings

Adhesive tapes

AS/NZS 3661.2 provides guidance on the reduction of slip hazards

SLIP RESISTANT TREATMENTS

Suitable interim measure to reduce risk immediately, however not a long term solution

Beware of unrealistic claims, read the detail in the warranty

Ongoing etching is required, albeit in a more diluted form

Generally hazardous hydrofluoric or phosphoric acid

Many claims that its not acidic... It’s a bi-fluoride, so technically not until activated on floor Requires strict adherence and ongoing testing on a weekly / monthly basis Use as last resort. Not as a solution.

Min Required Slip Resistance

Time

COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS

Identify possible control measures

Assess sustainable slip resistance not just initial compliance

Consider other performance criteria

Conduct cost benefit analysis

Monitor and review

SUMMARY

Are you aware of your current risk?

Need to be proactive, Not reactive

lassify each floor area during design for slip resistance using the most appropriate C test method. For the majority of public common areas, the ramp classification is not suitable. nsure products meet slip resistance performance criteria, find E alternative solutions if results are lower than recommendations by using additional control measures to minimise risk. ccelerated wear testing can indicate limitations on products, thus eliminating A potentially dangerous products from being specified. BPN of 35 after 500 cycles is a conservative initial benchmark.

QUESTIONS & FEEDBACK Richard Earp

Paul Mander

Wayne Sponneck

Joint Managing Director

State Infrastructure Representative

Sydney Branch Manager

P / 0408 452 113

P / 0400 306 738

P / 0422 800 472

E / richarde@earp.com.au

E / paulma@earp.com.au

E / waynes@earp.com.au

earp.com.au

ABOUT Richard Earp

Carl Strautins

Over the last 30 years, Richard has been developing ceramic materials with superior technical benefits specifically for the Architecture and Interior Design Industry. Richard noticed a lack of understanding with regards to ceramic tiles, and now educates Architects and Interior Designers on the appropriate use of technical ceramic products to minimise risk liability, now and into the future.

As a principle at Safe Environments, Carl Strautins first started his career at CSIRO conducting research in slip resistance and developed the accelerated wear slip resistance test.

He holds a degree in materials science, masters in occupational health and safety and a masters in occupational hygiene. Carl provides guidance to industry to minimise the risk of slip and fall incidents. He is engaged on a regular basis to provide expert opinion

E/ R icharde@earp.com.au

for disputes and legal proceedings.

www.earp.com.au

E/ C arl@SafeEnvironments.com.au www.SafeEnvironments.com.au