FLOOR FRICTION MEASUREMENTS (DCOF & SCOF)

The science of slip-and-fall prevention has advanced greatly in recent years. One of the advances that rapidly is becoming accepted by experts in the field is the importance of how friction is measured on a surface. The conventional method of measurement involved measuring something known as the Static Coefficient of Friction (SCOF). This measurement looked at how much traction was required to prevent the initial slip that can lead to a fall. This measurement is interesting but far less important that understanding how to "stop" a slide from continuing after the initial slip has occurred. Laboratory and field research have led to new, emerging and more practical benchmarks, since it is now clear that slips occur most often on wet floors in dynamic "in motion" environments. So measuring the "SLIDE" and how to stop it is now understood to be more important than measuring the initial "SLIP."

We measure the "slide" not by measuring SCOF but rather by measuring the Dynamic Coefficient of Friction, or DCOF. The answer we are seeking is this: how much traction is needed to "stop" a slide once it has started?

WHO WOULD WANT THEIR FLOORS MEASURED?

SlipDoctors™ uses the BOT-3000 measurement device because it measures both SCOF and DCOF, so we get the full story. Measuring your floors wet and measuring DCOF is becoming the "GOLD STANDARD" in slip-and-fall prevention measurement.