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Floor slip resistance testing is the science of measuring the coefficient of friction of flooring surfaces, either in a laboratory or on floors in situ. Slip resistance testing is usually desired by the building's owner or manager when there has been a report of a slip and fall accident, when there has been a report of a near accident, or before the flooring is installed on the property. Flooring is tested using a tribometer to discover if there is a high propensity for slip and fall accidents on it, either dry and/or when wet with water or lubricated with other contaminants such as kitchen grease, hydraulic oil, etc. There have been numerous floor slip resistance testing tribometers and lab devices produced around the world to measure both the static and dynamic coefficient of friction, but presently there are only a few that have been proven to be reliable for obtaining useful safety results and that have current official test methods. Static coefficient of friction testing has always been unreliable for assessing safety in the wet condition, so any reliable slip resistance test will be measuring the available slip resistance to someone who is moving across the floor, and therefore will be assessing dynamic coefficient of friction. If an instrument has no official published test method, or has a withdrawn test method, then there is a problem with the instrument, often being poor precision.
To assess a floor's slip resistance, a reliable, thoroughly researched floor friction test method must be used, and then a minimum safety criterion is needed to apply to the results. Each different slip test device will have its own safety criterion. If the floor is likely to be lubricated with water or grease in use, it needs to be anti-slip under these expected conditions. Floor slip resistance testing can be carried out dry, wet with water, or lubricated with oils and other contaminants. Dry slip resistance is not an indicator of wet slip resistance — in fact the two often vary inversely — so reliable wet slip resistance testing is often needed as well as reliable dry testing.