Slip Resistance Testing
Our Services
Slip Resistance Testing
Our lab performs slip resistance testing of shoes and surfaces that is informed by extensive rigorous research led by the laboratory director, Kurt Beschorner. The test methods provide measurements that realistically simulate a slip and provide valid predictions of slip risk. These test methods have been formalized through the NFSI B101.7 standard. All testing is conducted by a staff engineer and overseen by the HMBL director.
Test Methodology
Why test your shoes with us?
Our research team has been testing shoe-floor friction for 20 years. Our team has developed expertise in friction mechanics, biomechanics, ergonomics, and human gait. This diverse knowledge allows us to develop test methods that accurately simulate the critical aspects of walking and slipping, ensuring precise and valid measurements.
Over the years, we have developed six friction testing devices and used several other commercial devices. Through both our successes and our challenges, we have continuously refined our test methods to deliver the highest quality results.
Request Services
We offer slip testing services of shoes against several in-house flooring samples. These tests can be conducted in dry or slippery conditions. Arrangements can be made for custom flooring samples or contaminants (e.g., liquids and other slippery substances).
To schedule testing and/or discuss your request further, please submit your contact information below and we will get in touch.
Pricing:
- 1st test: $437
- Additional tests: $295 each
- Custom floors to be used: $100 per test
Available tiles:
- High roughness porcelain
- Moderate roughness porcelain
- Low roughness porcelain
- Stainless steel (standardized surface: STM603S)
- Quarry tile (standardized surface: STM 603T-2)
- Ceramic tile (standardized surface: ADJF2508)
Publications related to our testing methods
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2024
Tribology International
The need for better metrics for floor-tile topography: Conventional metrics correlate only modestly with shoe-floor friction
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2024
Applied Ergonomics
Prospective validity assessment of a friction prediction model based on tread outsole features of slip-resistant shoes
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2023
Journal of Safety Research
The need for better metrics for floor-tile topography: Conventional metrics correlate only modestly with shoe-floor friction
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2023
Applied Ergonomics
Friction performance of resilient flooring under contaminant conditions relevant to healthcare settings
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2023
Applied Ergonomics
Validating the ability of a portable shoe-floor friction testing device, NextSTEPS, to predict human slips
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2022
Applied Ergonomics
In contrast to slip-resistant shoes, fluid drainage capacity explains friction performance across shoes that are not slip-resistant
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2021
Footwear Science
Effects of Natural Shoe Wear on Traction Performance: A Longitudinal Study
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2021
Footwear Science
Effect of tread design and hardness on interfacial fluid force and friction in artificially worn shoes
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2021
Tribology Letters
Going beyond traditional roughness metrics for floor tiles: Measuring topography down to the nanoscale
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2021
IISE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors
Differences in friction performance between new and worn shoes
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2020
Journal of Safety Research
Traction Performance Changes across the Life of a Shoe: Preliminary Results from a Longitudinal Study
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2020
Applied Ergonomics
An observational ergonomic tool for assessing the worn condition of slip-resistant shoes
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2020
Journal of Biomechanics
Worn Region Size of Shoe Soles Impacts Human Slips: Testing a Mechanistic Model
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2020
Tribology International
Effect of tread design and hardness on interfacial fluid force and friction in artificially worn shoes
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2020
Applied Ergonomics
Prediction of coefficient of friction based on footwear outsole features
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2020
Applied Ergonomics
Influence of Averaging Time Interval on Shoe-Floor-Contaminant Coefficient of Friction Measurements
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2019
IISE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors
Vinyl Composite Tile (VCT) Surrogate for Mechanical Slip Testing
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2019
Applied Ergonomics
Changes in Under-Shoe Traction and Fluid Drainage for Progressively Worn Shoe Tread – Implications for Replacement Threshold
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2019
Ergonomics
Predicting slips for the SATRA STM 603 whole-shoe tribometer under different coefficient of friction testing conditions
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2018
IISE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors
Generalizability of Footwear Traction Performance across Flooring and Contaminant Conditions
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2018
Journal of Biomechanics
Kinematics and Kinetics of the Shoe during Human Slips
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2018
Applied Ergonomics
Coefficient of friction testing parameters influence the prediction of human slips
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2018
Applied Ergonomics
Performance testing of work shoes labeled as slip resistant
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2018
Journal of Biomechanics
Predictive Multiscale Computational Model of Shoe-Floor Coefficient of Friction
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2017
IISE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors
Three-dimensional shoe kinematics during unexpected slips: Implications for shoe-floor friction testing
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2015
Tribology Letters
A Microscopic Finite Element Model of Shoe-Floor Hysteresis and Adhesion Friction
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2015
Tribology - Materials, Surfaces & Interfaces
Contributions of Adhesion and Hysteresis to the Coefficient of Friction Between Shoe and Floor Surfaces: Effects of Floor Roughness and Sliding Speed
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2014
Journal of Biomechanics
Fluid Pressures at the Shoe-Floor-Contaminant Interface During Slips: Effects of Tread & Implications on Slip Severity
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2014
IISE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors
A Method for Measuring Hydrodynamic Lubrication in the Shoe-Floor-Fluid Interface: Application to Shoe Tread Evaluation
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2012
Journal of Tribology
Analysis of Shoe Friction during Sliding Against Floor Material: Role of Fluid Contaminant
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2012
Tribology Letters
Analysis of the Contribution of Adhesion and Hysteresis to Shoe-Floor Lubricated Friction in the Boundary Lubrication Regime
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2009
Tribology Transactions
Modeling mixed-lubrication of a shoe-floor interface applied to a pin-on-disk apparatus
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2012
Journal of Tribology
Analysis of Shoe Friction during Sliding Against Floor Material: Role of Fluid Contaminant
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
2007
Applied Ergonomics
Effects of slip testing parameters on measured coefficient of friction.