Years ago, applying decals to sports flooring was new to the industry. At this time, it’s pretty common practice, yet we always get asked whether decals affect slip or trip on sports flooring.
The Basic Coatings® laboratory compared the static coefficient of friction in between StreetShoe® on wood
and StreetShoe on a decal. These coatings chemists determined that there isn’t a significant difference in the static coefficient of friction in between the different substrates. Testing was conducted using the ASTM D2047 - 11 standard test
method for static coefficient of friction of polish-coated flooring surfaces as measured by the James machine.
Slip resistance of floor finishes is determined by measuring the static coefficient of friction. The most common device for measuring this is the James machine. Underwriters Laboratory (UL®) developed it in the early 1940s. Laboratory test data corroborated by field experience established a minimum value of 0.5 for the static coefficient of friction for a floor finish to bear the UL seal of approval. Since then, 0.5 has
become the commonly accepted threshold for classifying slip resistance in floor finishes. Furthermore, the James machine is the only recognized test method (ASTM D-2047), and the 0.5 value (as measured by the James machine) is the recognized minimum
criterion for slip resistant walking surfaces in courts of law in the United States.
All Basic Coatings floor coatings are tested for slip resistance in accordance with ASTM D-2047 and meet or exceed the
standard of 0.5 and are therefore considered to be slip resistant.
Basic Coatings Floor Care Expert, Micah Petersen, is an expert witness for slip/fall cases and is also a member of the ASTM D-21 Committee on Polishes, as well as the D-21.06 Slip Resistance subcommittee.