Court-admissible pendulum testing to BS EN 16165 and UKSRG Guidelines Issue 6 across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Trusted by insurers, solicitors, retailers, local authorities and facility managers.
If a slip test isn't performed by a UKAS accredited laboratory, the results can be challenged on technical grounds the moment a claim reaches court or an HSE investigator.
UKAS is the sole national accreditation body recognised by the UK Government for assessing competence against ISO/IEC 17025. Without it, a test report is an opinion. With it, the report is evidence.
| UKAS Accredited | Non-Accredited | |
|---|---|---|
| Independently audited to ISO/IEC 17025 | Yes | No |
| Traceable calibration of pendulum and sliders | Mandatory | Not required |
| Documented method validation | Yes | Rarely |
| Test technician competency assessed | Annually | Self-declared |
| Report carries UKAS logo + accreditation number | Yes | No |
| Acceptable to HSE as evidence of due diligence | Yes | Challengeable |
| Typically accepted in civil proceedings | Yes | Open to challenge |
Supermarkets, department stores, shopping centres, high-street shops. Wet-floor testing, post-spill re-commissioning, pre-litigation investigations.
Retail slip testingDistribution centres, logistics hubs, manufacturing floors, loading bays. Concrete, resin, epoxy and polished floor assessment.
Warehouse slip testingCommercial kitchens, bars, hotel lobbies, pub gardens. Wet-contaminated and grease-contaminated PTV testing.
Hospitality slip testingHospitals, A&E, wards, operating theatres, dementia units, care home communal areas.
Healthcare slip testingSchools, sixth-form colleges, universities. Corridors, halls, entrance lobbies, changing rooms, external walkways.
Education slip testingPedestrianised zones, town centre paving, leisure centres, libraries, civic buildings, pool surrounds.
Local authority testingWetpour surfaces, rubber mulch, grass matting, bonded rubber. Slip resistance alongside RoSPA impact assessment.
Playground testingTennis courts, MUGAs, sports halls, fitness studios, changing room floors. Acrylic, porous macadam, polyurethane.
Sports surface testingPedestrian crossings, zebra crossings, cycle paths, shared-use surfaces, highway maintenance inspections.
Highways testingThe pendulum friction tester is the method endorsed by the UK Health and Safety Executive and the UK Slip Resistance Group (UKSRG).
It simulates the heel-strike action of a pedestrian's foot slipping on a contaminated surface. The result — the Pendulum Test Value (PTV) — sits on a simple scale:
A PTV of 36 or above in the wet is the HSE's accepted benchmark for low slip potential on level pedestrian surfaces. Below 25 and the surface is dangerous in wet conditions regardless of appearance.
Surface Performance Ltd pendulum testing — BS 7976 (now superseded by BS EN 16165)
Engineers cover every major UK city and town, with 48 dedicated location pages across 11 regions. Commercial and emergency testing available nationwide, including out-of-hours for operational retail and hospitality sites.
London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Bristol, Sheffield, Newcastle, Nottingham and every other major city and town.
England coverageThe pendulum friction tester — formally specified in BS EN 16165 (Annex C), the European standard that superseded BS 7976 in February 2022 — is a portable device that simulates a pedestrian's heel striking the floor. A rubber slider swings through an arc and makes contact with the surface over a 126 mm sweep. Energy lost to friction is measured as the Pendulum Test Value (PTV). The test is performed in dry and wet conditions, in accordance with UKSRG Guidelines Issue 6, and is the method accepted by the UK Health and Safety Executive as evidence of slip resistance.
UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service) is the sole national accreditation body recognised by the UK Government. A UKAS-accredited laboratory has been independently audited against ISO/IEC 17025 — the international standard for testing laboratory competence. For slip testing, this means the equipment is calibrated and traceable, the test method is validated, and the technicians are competency-assessed. Without UKAS accreditation, a report is the tester's opinion. With it, the report is formally recognised evidence.
Pricing varies by location, number of test areas, and whether the site is trading during testing. A single-site survey of up to 10 test areas typically falls within a few hundred pounds plus expenses. Larger estates, multi-site retail portfolios, and expert witness work are priced on scope. We provide fixed-fee quotes within 24 hours of receiving a brief.
A non-accredited test may use the same pendulum device and produce similar numerical results, but the evidential weight is fundamentally different. In litigation, an opposing expert can challenge the calibration records, the technician's competence, the method validation, and the reporting format. A UKAS accredited report has all of these independently verified and is significantly harder to dislodge in proceedings.
On-site testing typically takes between 90 minutes and 4 hours depending on the number of test locations. A UKAS accredited report — including calibration traceability, photographs, PTV results for each location, and professional interpretation — is issued within five working days of the site visit. Rush reporting within 48 hours is available on request.
UKAS ISO 17025 accredited. Nationwide coverage. Report within 5 working days.