Retail & supermarket slip testing in Sunderland
An entrance turns lethal the second rain is walked in. High footfall plus the public on your floors makes slip claims common — and only defensible with evidence.
Accredited. Independent. Defensible.
Every test is carried out by a UKAS-accredited technician and reported to the standard the HSE, building-control bodies, insurers and the courts recognise. The full range of methods, properly documented — so the result isn’t just a number, it’s evidence.
Where retail floors let go
The usual culprits: entrance matting zones where wet weather is tracked in, polished aisles, chiller and produce areas, and back-of-house spillages. Each has to hold up wet, not just dry.
We test a single high-risk area or survey the whole store, and hand back a clear map of where you stand against the PTV 36 line.
It’s the walked-in water: a tiled or polished entrance that grips when dry can fall well under safe in coastal North East weather — the exact condition we recreate.
Where we test
Supermarkets, convenience stores, the Bridges shopping centre, the city centre, retail parks and showrooms across Sunderland and the North East.
When to test
After a refit, after any customer slip claim, and as routine due-diligence evidence under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974.
The methods, and when we use them
We pick the method that fits the surface and how it’s used — then document it to the standard the HSE, insurers and the courts expect.
Pendulum (PTV) testing
The HSE’s preferred in-situ method. A calibrated pendulum produces a Pendulum Test Value, wet and dry, to BS EN 16165.
Shod & barefoot
Slider 96 stands in for footwear; Slider 55 for barefoot areas such as pools, showers and changing rooms.
Surface roughness
Microroughness profiling, read alongside the pendulum data to judge slip potential under wet contamination.
R-rating & ABC
Findings related to ramp-test R-ratings (DIN 51130) and barefoot A/B/C ratings where a specification calls for them.
Questions, answered
Q01Just the entrance, or the whole store?
Either. Plenty of retailers start with the highest-risk spots — entrances and chillers — while others want a full-site survey for the complete picture.
Q02A customer has claimed — can you help?
Yes. An independent UKAS-accredited PTV report records the floor’s actual slip resistance and stands as credible evidence in a liability claim.
Q03Do you work out of hours?
Yes — before opening or after close, so customers and staff aren’t affected.