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Method & accreditation
The pendulum test, and the standards behind it
The pendulum is the HSE’s preferred method because it works in the wet conditions where slips actually happen. Here’s how it works and why accreditation matters.
How it works
A weighted arm swings a rubber slider across the floor to reproduce the moment a heel slips, and measures how much the floor holds it back. That reading is the Pendulum Test Value (PTV). We test wet as well as dry, using the correct slider — the shod-condition rubber for most areas, the barefoot rubber for wet rooms and pool surrounds.
36 or above is the HSE’s low-risk threshold — roughly a one-in-a-million chance of a slip.
The standards
- BS 7976-2 — operation of the pendulum tester
- BS EN 16165 — the current standard for measuring surface slip resistance (it superseded BS EN 13036-4)
- UKSRG guidelines — how the results are interpreted in practice
Why a UKAS-accredited tester matters
Anyone can buy a pendulum and quote a number. As a UKAS-accredited laboratory (UKAS Testing Laboratory No. 7933, ISO/IEC 17025) we can show the calibration, verified sliders and method behind every result — the audit trail an insurer, the HSE or a court will look for. And because we don’t sell flooring or treatments, nothing influences the figure.
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