ASSESSMENT OF SLIPPING RESISTANCE OF FOOTWEAR AND DOOR SURFACES - INFLUENCE OF MANUFACTURE AND UTILIZATION OF THE PRODUCTS

The slipping resistance of footwear or floor surfaces is a characteris tic which it is vital to be able to quantify. Work is being carried ou t at The International Standard Organization (ISO) and at the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) into the slip resistance of both work shoes and protective footwear, involving analysis of the latest d evelopments in both the validity of measuring methods and the extent o f the influence of certain experimental parameters on the slip resista nce. Two industrial factors, independent of the measuring process but essential to the determination of the coefficient of friction of the m odels have been experimentally studied, namely the effect of the manuf acture of the footwear or floor surfaces on the scattering of the spec ific coefficient of friction of a referenced model and the effect on t he coefficient of friction of mechanical wear and tear on the soles as a result of their use respectively. Work into slipping on industrial floor surfaces is less advanced. Yet, problems raised call for the sam e approach than for problems linked to slipping resistance of footwear , and applications will be also at first related to standardized measu rement conditions.