Terminology in Floor Testing and Slip Injury

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1. Acronyms & Abbreviations

2 Glossary (Explanation of Terminology)

1. Acronyms & Abbreviations

This a list of the Acronyms / Abbreviations typically found in the field of Floor Pendulum Testing / Floor Slip Injury Claims

ALARP

As Low as Reasonably Practicable

BAM

Bundesanstalt für Materi­­al­­fors­­chung und -prüfung (Federal Institute for Material Research and Testing - Germany)

BRE

Building Research Establishment

BS

British Standards

BS-EN

British Standards - Europäische Norm (German) European Norm (English)

BSI

British Standards Institute

CE

Conformité Européenne (French) / European Conformity (English)

CEN

European Committee for Standardization (English) / Comité Européen de Normalisation (French)

CIRIA

Construction Industry Research and Information Association

CIBSE

Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers

COF

Coefficient of Friction

COSHH

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health

CPR

Civil Procedure Rules

DDA

Disability Discriminations Act

DIN

Deutsches Institut für Normung (German) / German institute for standardisation (English)

EHO

Environmental Health Office / Officer

EN

Europäische Norm (German) European Norm (English)

ESB

Enhanced Slip Resistance Barefoot

ESF

Enhanced Slip Resistance Footwear

FS

FloorSlip

GL

Guidelines

H & S

Health and Safety

HSE

Health and Safety Executive

HSL

Health and Safety Laboratories

IOSH

Institution of Occupational Safety

IRHD

International Rubber Hardness Degree

ISO

International Standards Organisation

LLP

Limited Liability Partnership

LSR

Likelihood, Severity, Risk (L x S = R)

MSDS

Manufacturers Safety Data Sheets

PPE

Personal Protection Equipment

PTV

Pendulum Test Value

RAPRA

Rubber and Plastics Research Association (Now Smithers)

RIDDOR

Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations

Rz

Rz is one of 5 terms used in Surface Roughness measuring where ‘R’ is the Roughness and ‘z’ is the maths formula applied to give a value. The other values are Ra, Rp, Rv, Rmax

SAT

(Online HSE) Slips Assessment Tool https://­www.­hse.­gov.­uk/­slips/­sat/­default.­htm

SRV                 

Slip Resistance value

STEP

Slip and Trip E-learning Package

UKAS

United Kingdom Accreditation Service

UKCA

UK Conformity Assessed

UKSRG

United Kingdom Slip Resistance Group

USRV

Unpolished Slip Resistance Value

µm

Micron, which Is a value of measurement. 1 micron = 1 millionth of 1 meter (1 human scalp hair is approximately 100 microns). Micron is written µm (for micro metres).

Glossary (Terminology)

This a Glossary (Explanation of Terminology) typically found in the field of Floor Pendulum Testing / Floor Slip Injury Claims

ALARP

Means the risks are ‘As Low as Reasonably Practicable’. For a risk to be ALARP, it must be possible to demonstrate that the cost involved in reducing the risk further would be grossly dispro­por­ti­onate to the benefit gained. See Appendix D for further details

British Standards

UK national standards body that reaches across the international standards community

CIRIA or Construction Industry Research and Information Association

Neutral independent and not-for-profit body. Leading enabler for driving collaboration and improvements across the built environment and construction sectors

Civil Procedure Rules or CPR

Rules of civil procedure used by the Court of Appeal, High Court of Justice, and County Courts in civil cases in England and Wales. Rules designed to improve access to justice by making legal proceedings cheaper, quicker and easier to understand for non-lawyers.

CoF or Coefficient of Friction

The ratio of the force required to move two sliding surfaces over each other, and the force holding them together 

Disability Discriminations Act or DDA

An Equality Act protecting the rights of disable persons across the UK

General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR

Data Protection Regulation and a part of European Union privacy law on the processing and storage of, and access to, personal data.

Health and Safety Executive or HSE

UK government agency responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare, and for research into occupational risks in Great Britain

Health and Safety Laboratories or HSL

Providers of scientific and technical advice to support governments and private sector companies in their everyday work as well as in times of crisis or major change.

International Rubber Hardness Degree or IRHD

A system of defining an elastomer by its resistance to penetration of a known geometry indenter by a known force. An alternative to the Shore hardness for quantifying the hardness of elastomeric or rubber materials. 

Locus / Loci

Locus is Latin meaning ‘place’. It is a particular position or place where something occurs or is situated. Loci is the plural of Locus

Micron / µm

Is a value of measurement. 1 micron = 1 millionth of 1 meter (1 human scalp hair is approximately 100 microns). Micron is written µm (for micro metres).

PTV or Pendulum Test Value

It is a value read from test equipment used to determine the Coefficient of Friction (CoF) of the slip resistance of a floor surface sometimes known as the Slip Resistance Value (SRV). The test equipment includes a swinging pendulum in its makeup with a scale set against the pendulum, hence why the result is termed the Pendulum Test Value or PTV.

Surface Roughness

The slip resistance properties of ground or flooring is often a reflection of the degree of roughness of those surfaces.

UKSRG or United Kingdom Slip Resistance Group

World-leading independent authority on slip resistance. The Group aims to promote a greater understanding of the causes and prevention of slips. The UKSRG provides advice and guidance on safe practices, test methods and the latest industry developments. UKSRG members are drawn from a range of disciplines and are united by a common interest in slip resistance. UKSRG are the leading body that assist in writing the British Standards that floor, pavement and roads surfaces slip resistance testing is set against. (https://­www.­ukslip­re­sis­tance.­org.­uk/)