Classification

When specifying a particular slip resistance classification, specifiers should consider the likely in-service wear and its effects on slip resistance, taking into account the material type, pedestrian and other traffic and environmental conditions including cleaning and sealing.

Additional accelerated wear conditioning may help specifiers to better understand how the slip resistance of an individual product may alter with wear, thus helping to differentiate between products that might otherwise have seemingly  similar slip resistance characteristics. This Standard provides no guidance on the conduct of such accelerated conditioning procedures .

HB 197, An introductory guide to the slip resistance of pedestrian surface materials, provides guidelines for the selection of slip-resistant pedestrian surfaces classified in accordance with this Standard.

The revisions within the 2013 edition of the standard  incorporates an additional requirement for preparing rubber test feet when testing smooth surfaces. Research has shown that when a slider 96 (Four S rubber) is only prepared with P400 abrasive paper, the pendulum result on smoother surfaces may be more representative of the rubber roughness than the slip resistance of the pedestrian surface that is being tested. A more representative reading that also enables a greater level of discrimination between smoother surfaces may be obtained by preparing the slider on a 3 µm lapping film as detailed in the Standard. A slider prepared in this way is a closer representation of a worn and polished heel and may best reflect the lower slip resistance attributable to the contact of two smoother surfaces under water-wet conditions.

Adoption of the lapping film preparation enables better differentiation between potentially slippery surfaces than was previously the case. It will result in some products receiving a lower classification than when the product was tested according to AS/NZS 4586:2004. This is recognized in the guidance provided in HB 197.

A new pedestrian surface is considered to become an existing pedestrian surface once it has been installed and made available for pedestrian traffic, other than movements specifically for purposes of formal testing to determine compliance with this Standard. Testing of existing pedestrian surfaces is covered in AS 4663, Slip resistance measurement of existing pedestrian surfaces.

AS 4586-2013 Slip resistance classification of new pedestrian surface materials

NOTES:

While Slider 96 or Slider 55 rubbers may be used, the test report shall specify the rubber that was used.