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Slips, trips and falls accounted for...
Don't be another health and safety statistic, get in touch with an expert impartial adviser today 0845 163 0 163
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We are an independent consultancy and aim to provide unbiased information on the different slip test methods available. We use the Munro Pendulum Skid Tester in our assessments and would recommend it to all seeking an accurate and industry recognised measurement of slip resistance. Similar Pendulum Skid Testers are also available from Wessex Test Equipment and Knightcott Surface Solutions.
It should be noted that the Pendulum Skid Tester requires a skilled operator in order to produce valid results. Whilst operation of the pendulum is relatively straightforward, it is very easy for the inexperienced or untrained operator to miss small but vital details, having a significant impact on the values produced. You can guarantee that these seemingly minor oversights would be pointed out by the savvy prosecution team, often negating well intentioned efforts to assess/monitor/provide safe surfaces and exposing responsible parties to the considerable costs of legal action. It is rare that the purchase of test equipment is cheaper than employing our services as independent experts, even for large or repeated projects. Of course there are also further costs beyond the initial purchase of equipment, such as calibration, maintenance, time/effort/pay of an operator during preparation/testing/reporting, travel time/expense, training time/fees and costs of consumables. There are rare cases where in-house testing is cheaper than employing our services, though we find clients are normally happy to cover the small excess to ensure an expert independent assessment with the benefit of our considerable experience in the field. You can find more about our slip risk assessment service here or request a quote here. We would recommend that those seeking to undertake testing in-house obtain a copy of the BS 7976 "Pendulum test" standard along with the latest UKSRG Guidelines. Some equipment manufacturers offer training along with a 'certificate of competency'. Whilst this is better than approaching the subject cold, we are not of the opinion that a day's lab testing will produce the skilled operator required to produce reliable results. Ultimately all tests should be undertaken on the basis that they will be shown in court. Slip testing is a legal requirement and it is likely that any slip and fall injury, whether on a low or high slip risk surface, will incur the scrutiny of solicitors, forensic engineers, expert witnesses and on occasion even ourselves. We would never recommend a method of testing to our clients which produced less than reliable results. We are of the firm opinion that inexperienced operators, using even the most user friendly test method, cannot be relied upon to produce and correctly interpret results to the extent that they would provide sound evidence in court. We would not recommend that responsible parties rely on an inexperienced operator's measurements, even if it is possible to save considerable sums. The considerable expense involved in replacing/treating an erroneously classified 'high slip risk' floor, or possible consequences of exposing pedestrians to an erroneously classified 'low slip risk' floor, would quickly offset any initial cost savings. In our experience of forensic investigation we have come across 'less than robust' test reports that have ultimately cost their responsible parties the wasted test equipment/assessment fee, court fees (including our own assessment and expert witness fee) and compensation to the injured party. 
Useful Links For the Munro Pendulum Skid Tester. We use Munro for our own test equipment and supplies and would recommend them to all.
British Standards Institution shop For the BS 7976-2 "Pendulum Test" standard
For the latest UKSRG Guidelines from an independent panel of experts seeking to further the understanding of pedestrian slip resistance.
If you require any further information please don't hesitate to get in touch.
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