WHAT IS THE SLIP ALERT® DEVICE?
SlipAlert® is designed to behave in the same way as the
heel of a shoe as it slips across the floor, whether it
be dry, wet or contaminated with some other liquid. In
order to do this SlipAlert has been carefully designed
so that the characteristics of the machine, for example
its weight, the size of the slider, its speed, etc., all
combine together correctly to simulate a heel slipping
on a hydrodynamic lubricating film. Unless the correct
combination is achieved the lubricating film will either
fail to provide any lubrication at all or provide too
much. As a result any test machine which does not have
the correct combination of characteristics will suggest
either that a floor is safe when its accident record
clearly shows it is slippery, or that the floor is
slippery when users' experience shows that it is not.
Click below to see a VIDEO OF SLIP ALERT® IN ACTION (50
seconds):
SlipAlert's slider contacts floor on its trailing edge
while rolling of front
wheels adds negligible friction:
Above
photos and videos are courtesy of Safety Direct America
Until now,
only one portable slip test machine has been recognised
by bodies such as BSI, HSE and the UK Slip Resistance
Group as correlating with slip accidents. This is the
TRL Pendulum as described in BS 7976. It is an excellent
and reliable machine, but it is relatively expensive. It
is portable but very heavy and bulky. It takes some time
to set up and take a set of readings, and it requires an
experienced operator to ensure that the test result is
reliable.
SlipAlert® has been developed to complement the Pendulum
so that virtually anybody can carry out a test and
discover how the floor surface would fare if tested by
an experienced operator using a Pendulum.
SlipAlert® is not intended to be relied upon as the sole
means of testing in legal cases or for manufacturers'
specifications - those should still be tested using a
Pendulum. SlipAlert® can still be of great value
following a slipping accident as a test can be made
immediately after the accident by untrained personnel
whereas it may be weeks, months or even years after the
accident that the various parties agree to the not
insignificant cost of getting a specialist organisation
to come and test the floor with a Pendulum.
Operation of SlipAlert® is simplicity itself. Its ramp
is set on the floor to be tested, SlipAlert® is switched
on and pulled backwards to the top of the ramp,
whereupon the indicator lamp switches from red to green.
The operator simply lets go of the handle and allows
SlipAlert® to roll down the ramp and across the floor.
When it stops, the reading on the counter is noted and
this is then converted to a reading of coefficient of
friction or equivalent Pendulum Test Value using a graph
on the ramp or the set of tables provided. Alternatively
the reading can be categorised as 'safe', 'marginal' or
'dangerous' from the limits shown on the graph. To those
not used to dealing with Coefficient of Friction,
Pendulum Test Values etc., the graph shows operators
whether the reading corresponds to a Safe, Marginal or
Dangerous floor.
It is anticipated that this machine will be particularly
useful to those individuals who are directly or
indirectly responsible for the safety of employees,
customers, visitors and tradesmen who visit their
premises.
The cost of personal injury claims is forever
increasing. SlipAlert if used in a sensible and
conscientious manner, could contribute significantly to
reducing personal injury claims and also other costs
associated with slip accidents.
DO ANY
MACHINES GIVE THE RIGHT ANSWER?
The right answer is one which correlates with the risk
of slipping accidents.
Studies over many years and experience in UK has shown
that the TRL Pendulum, as described in British Standard
BS 7976, does react correctly.
A new machine, SlipAlert, was specifically designed to
take into account the role of the hydrodynamic
lubricating film and uses a slider which simulates shoe
sole material. As a result SlipAlert correlates with the
Pendulum.
Global Safe
Technologies Inc is a leading distributor of the
Slip Alert® device in North America and all members of the Global
Floor Safety Network are using the Slip Alert® device for
measuring floor slip-resistive qualities.
