ERGONOMIC ANALYSIS OF SLIP-RESISTANCE MEASUREMENT DEVICES

Several measurement devices and techniques have been developed during the past 50 years in an attempt to quantify the static and/or dynamic coefficient of friction (COF) of shoe and floor surface interfaces. Much of this work has been laboratory research with bulky equipment, but recently portable measurement devices have evolved to the extent that field measurements can be taken. Six such devices, three for static COF (Bigfoot, Slipometer and NBS-Brungraber) and three for dynamic COF (British Portable Skid Tester, TORTUS and FIDO), were tested in laboratory and field studies so that an ergonomic assessment of device performance could be made. Device consistency, repeatability, accuracy and ease of use were examined for a variety of shoe, floor and floor preparation conditions. All of the devices had advantages and disadvantages for field use; these are summarized and recommendations are made for successfully measuring COF values in the field.