Fall-Winter 1996-97

Fall-Winter 1996-97

Evolution of Slip-Resistance Standards workshop at the National Institute of Standards and Technology

The following is an abstract of the presentation Tom Bresnahan and and Keith Vidal, P.E. gave at the Evolution of Slip-Resistance Standards workshop at NIST on Nov 21, 1996.

Slip-Resistance Standards Development in ANSI

The American National Standards Institute joined committees A12 (Guardrails, wall openings and toe boards) and A64 (Industrial Stairs) in 1980. The A1264 committee was born (Safety requirements for workplace floor and wall openings, stairs, and railing systems) with the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) acting as secretariat. Among the many provisions of these standards are those setting forth slip resistant surfaces. Almost three years ago the A1264 committee balloted and approved the establishment of a subcommittee to address this gap in its treatment of surfaces. The project was registered by ANSI through the Project Initiation Notification System (PINS).

There was a perceived need to further define the term slip-resistance, and with that in mind the A1264.2 sub-committee began writing a standard with the intent of reducing falls due to conditions which in some fashion are manageable in the workplace. The three basic areas in the standard are: Provisions for reducing hazards, Test Equipment, and Slip-Resistance criteria.

The first area constitutes the largest part of the standard and addresses: Footwear applications and considerations, Mats & Runners, Housekeeping, Warnings, Symbols, Controlled Access, and Selection and/or treatment.

The test equipment portion essentially refers to ASTM standards and test methods.

The slip-resistance criteria portion was an area which all members of the sub-committee felt strongly about. The entire committee felt that in order for the standard to be meaningful, the criteria issue had to be addressed head-on, but with a middle of the road approach.

Although there has been alot of talk in the past 10 years, no signifcant advances have been made to improve the safety of the work environment. The ANSI A1264 committee has taken a stride forward in trying to break the logjam that has been created by various interests in this area.