A field guide to floor safety
Slip Testing in Cumbria
A plain pictorial guide to how a floor’s grip is measured, graded and proven safe — across the Lakes, the coast and the fells.
The dial of slip resistance
The pendulum, and its dial
A weighted arm swings a calibrated rubber slider across the floor to reproduce a slipping heel, recording a Pendulum Test Value — the PTV. It is the method the HSE prefers, and it works in the wet, where most slips happen. We test wet and dry, in three directions.
| PTV result | Slip risk |
|---|---|
| 0–24 | High |
| 25–35 | Moderate |
| 36 + | Low |
36 or above is the recognised low-risk threshold.
Reading the surface itself
| Rz (microns) | Risk |
|---|---|
| Below 10 | High |
| 10–20 | Moderate |
| Above 20 | Low |
A floor needs enough microscopic roughness to break through contaminants and grip footwear. Surface roughness (Rz) measures that, and works best alongside the pendulum — especially in kitchens, dairies and other areas that get wet or greasy. Together the two readings show not just where a floor stands today, but how it is changing.
The grading key
Like a map legend, every floor we test is graded against published thresholds. Green is the goal — a PTV of 36 or above, or an Rz above 20 microns, means roughly a one-in-a-million chance of a slip. Amber should be managed; red needs action.
The rules of the path
- HSW Act 1974 — the general duty to keep people safe.
- Workplace Regs 1992 — floors not to be slippery, so far as reasonably practicable.
- Management Regs 1999 — assess the risk.
- CQC — in care settings, slip risk actively managed.
Every employer and occupier has a legal duty to keep floors safe and to assess the risk. In care settings, the CQC expects slip risk to be actively managed. A measured PTV turns that assessment from an opinion into evidence an insurer, the HSE or the CQC will accept.
Your guides
This service is delivered by Surface Performance — entirely independent, with no connection to any flooring or treatment company and no commission from anyone. The same accredited lab trusted on sites from Amazon and Gatwick to British Airways and TUI, which also tests over 300 flooring products a year in its environmentally controlled laboratory.
By the numbers
Why it matters
Most common cause of major workplace injury — slips and trips.Source: HSE
Estimated annual cost of slips and trips to UK employers.Industry estimate
Estimated cut in claim risk through regular accredited testing.Industry estimate
The ground we cover
Across Cumbria
From Carlisle and the border to Kendal, Barrow and the west coast, and every lake and fell town between — the whole CA and LA postcode area, and nationwide beyond. See coverage →
Plan your survey
Get your floors tested
Send the surface type, the rough area in square metres and where you are in Cumbria. A fixed, no-obligation quote comes back — usually the same working day.
Independent and ISO/IEC 17025 accredited (UKAS Testing Laboratory No. 7933). We test floors; we don’t sell flooring or treatments.