Measurement of Floor and Shoe Slipperiness There are a number of methods for measuring floor slipperiness. Typically, each produces a reading on a scale from 0 to 1.
Different devices produce different resulting values. One type, a slip meter, is a small instrument that is pulled along the floor. A dial gives a reading of force created by the device on the string used to pull it. There are several patented slip meters, such as the horizontal pull slipmeter (HPS).2
Another type of slipperiness testing device is a swinging pendulum. It gives a reading of drag as a shoe at the end of the swinging pendulum slides for a short time across a surface. The British pendulum tester uses the pendulum principle.