Facility owners and managers have a duty of care and compliance obligation with regard to the risk of pedestrians slipping, tripping, or falling on floor surfaces.
Accredited and independent slip resistance testing will determine if floor areas meet minimum anti-slip performance requirements and regular testing can help to manage risks arising from wear and surface treatments such as cleaning.
Pedestrian surfaces, whether open to the public or not, present a risk to be managed and this is applicable across all property sectors:
- retail
- office
- hotel
- education
- industrial
QED will tailor a slip resistance testing program to each facility depending on the surfaces involved and pedestrian traffic patterns. Our in-house laboratory can also assess flooring products prior to installation.
Conducting slip resistance testing is important to help reduce exposure to:
- injuries due to slips, trips, or falls
- potential impact of litigation and liability claims
- increased insurance premiums
There are two major parts of slip resistance testing:
- initial assessment of flooring material in the laboratory enables suppliers to certify resistance of a product prior to installation or delivery to site
- ongoing monitoring of existing pedestrian surfaces by facility owners fulfills their duty of care and compliance obligations
Testing of pedestrian surfaces is the first step in developing and operating a risk management plan. If requested we provide interpretation of test results to assist with risk assessment and mitigation

QED conducts slip resistance tests in accordance with relevant Australian Standards and issues reports endorsed by NATA, the National Association of Testing Authorities.
We conduct both in-situ and laboratory slip resistance tests using accredited and calibrated equipment by the:
- wet pendulum test method, and/or
- dry floor friction test method
We provide suppliers of flooring products (manufacturers and importers) NATA-endorsed test certification of their pedestrian surface materials. This testing is conducted at our inhouse laboratory in accordance with AS 4586 Slip resistance classification of new pedestrian surface materials.
Ongoing monitoring of in-situ flooring is conducted according to AS 4663 Slip resistance measurement of existing pedestrian surfaces.
Working with QED, the only NATA accredited laboratory in WA to perform and report on slip tests means our reporting is assured by an independent third party.
NATA accreditation is a system of audited checks and protocols which provides our clients the confidence to act on the information we provide.
QED can undertake slip resistance of resilient flooring in accordance with;
- AS 4663 : Slip resistance measurement of existing floors.
- AS 4586 : Slip resistance classification of new pedestrian flooring materials.
- HB 198 : Guide to the specification and testing of slip resistance of pedestrian surfaces.
And given his decades of experience Alex is also able to appear as an Expert Witness in all legal platforms to provide factual evidence to matters he has investigated or tested related to ceramics, tiling and natural stone.
In addition we also offer a range of services to the construction industry as listed below.
Tests and reports are conducted using Australian and International Standards as well as The National Construction Code.
- AS 3958.1 Ceramic Tiles: guide to the installation of ceramic tiles.
- Australian Tile Council : Tiles and Tiling Guide.
- ISO 13006 – Definitions, classification, characteristics and marking.
- AAA Natural Stone Design Manual.
- ISO 10545 Ceramic Tile Test Methods.
- AS 3740 : Waterproofing of domestics wet areas.
- AS 4654.2 : Waterproofing membranes for external above-ground use.
- AS 4992.3 Ceramic Tiles : Products for installation : Definitions and specifications.
- AS 4992.2 Ceramic Tiles : Test methods for adhesives.
ASTM F2170 : Standard method for determining Relative Humidity in concrete floor slabs using insitu probes.
- Moisture Content Testing of absorbent surfaces.
- Flat pad sensor to approximately 15mm depth.
- Infra-red Imaging.
- Moisture detection behind most resilient surfaces.
- MOHs Hardness.
- To all hard surfaces.
- Pull Off Test.
- Pull tensile strength of adhesives and coatings as per relevant standards to that product.
- Luminance Reflectance Value (LRV) Testing.
- Visually Impaired Protocols in regards to surface colour contrasting in accordance with AS 1428.1 (2009).
- Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)
- Localised radar imagining of building elements to locate reinforcing and determine concrete thickness.