Slip Risk Assessment: Why Testing Once Isn’t the Same as Being Safe

A slip risk assessment is the process of measuring a floor’s actual grip, identifying where that
grip falls short, and tracking whether it improves over time. It is not a single certificate filed
away after one visit. Done properly, it follows a cycle: assess, amend, advocate, assure,
affirm, so a floor’s safety can be proven again and again, not just once.

You tested the floor. That’s not the same as knowing it’s safe.

Most multi-site organisations we speak to have had a slip test done somewhere. Maybe at fit out. Maybe after an incident. There’s a report in a folder saying the floor passed.
That report answers a question from the past. It does not tell you what’s true today. Grip is
invisible. A floor can look clean and dry and still be dangerously slippery, and the only way
to know is to measure it. Many organisations believe they may have a slip problem. Most
actually have a grip problem, and a grip problem cannot be solved by testing once and
assuming the result holds. This article sets out the belief worth changing: stop treating “we
tested it” as the same thing as “we’re compliant.” Measure, improve, and prove instead.

What does a slip risk assessment actually measure?
A slip risk assessment measures the pendulum test value (PTV) of a floor surface, which is a
recognised, HSE-referenced measure of slip resistance. It’s taken wet and dry, in the specific
zones where risk is highest, not just at one convenient point in a room
A single reading gives you a number. A proper assessment gives you a pattern: which zones
are borderline, which are safe, and which need attention before an incident forces the issue.

Why “we tested it, so we’re compliant” doesn’t hold up
This is the belief we most want to challenge. A number from a single test does not change
outcomes on its own. Measuring is step one. What happens after the measurement is what
actually prevents slips.
Floors change. Cleaning products change. Footfall patterns change. A surface that read safely
at installation can read very differently two years later in a busy
entrance or a poolside walkway, and nobody re-measures because nobody thought they
needed to. Treating that original certificate as permanent proof is where the risk quietly
builds.

The Slipology Method: how the cycle actually works
Rather than a one-off test, we work through five stages, each building on the last.
Assess: measure the real risk with pendulum testing, using CHIMES as the diagnostic lens(more on that below).
Amend: fix the floor and the conditions causing the risk, at source, not just the symptom.
Advocate: get buy-in across the site so the right behaviours and standards actually stick.
Assure: maintain grip through the right cleaning methods and regular checks, not just a onetime treatment.
Affirm: prove the result with data, on record, so you can show it whenever it’s needed.
This is what “measure, improve, prove” looks like in practice. Each stage depends on the one
before it.

What should the assessment stage (CHIMES) actually cover?
Within the Assess stage, CHIMES gives you a structured way to look at everything that
drives slip risk in hospitality and leisure settings, not just the floor material itself.

• Contamination: water, grease, food and dust on the surface, particularly around bars,
  kitchens and pool areas.
• Heel: the footwear guests and staff actually wear in that zone, bare feet by a pool versus
  wet-weather shoes at reception.
• Individual: who’s exposed and how, staff on shift for hours versus a guest passing
  through once.
• Maintenance: the cleaning methods and products used, since the wrong regime can
  increase slipperiness rather than reduce it.
• Environment: lighting, gradients, and transitions between surfaces, especially where
  guests move from wet to dry areas.
• Surface: the floor material itself and its measured, current slip resistance.
  Run through all six for each zone, and you get a genuine picture of where risk sits, rather than a guess based on how the floor looks.

How do you improve once you know where the risk sits?
Measurement tells you where the problem is. Amend is what you do about it. In hospitality
venues, that often means:

• Adjusting cleaning products or methods in specific high-risk zones
• Treating the surface where wear has reduced its grip
• Reviewing matting, drainage or signage at known contamination points
• Retraining staff where the cleaning process itself is contributing to the risk

Slip Safety Services has found that across the sites we work with, a properly run cycle of
measurement and improvement delivers a 57%+ average reduction in slip incidents. The
improvement rarely needs to be a full floor replacement. Often it’s smaller and more specific but you only know that once you’ve measured properly.

How do you prove it, on an ongoing basis?
This is the stage most venues skip. Affirm means keeping a live, dated record: readings over
time, any remedial work carried out, and a schedule for the next assessment.
That record is what turns “we believe the floor is safe” into “we can show you it is.” It’s
useful for your own risk management, for insurers, and simply for your own confidence
walking the site.

What good looks like
A venue doing this well has floors assessed at sensible intervals, with high-risk zones such as
entrances, bars, kitchens and poolside areas checked more often than quiet corridors.
Cleaning regimes are matched to the specific flooring type in each zone, rather than applied
the same way across the whole building. Staff understand why certain areas need extra care,
not just that a sign says to be careful. And if anyone asks how a specific zone performs today,
there’s a dated reading to hand, not a memory of when the floor was installed.
None of this requires constant intervention. It requires a rhythm: assess, amend, advocate,
assure, affirm, then repeat.

The takeaway

Testing once tells you what was true on one day. A proper slip risk assessment, run as a cycle
rather than a single event, tells you what’s true now and gives you the means to keep it that
way. The shift is simple: stop treating a single certificate as permanent proof. Start measuring,
improving, and proving instead.

Where to start
If you’re not sure where your venue currently stands, the Slip Risk Scorecard is a useful first
step. It gives you a clear view of where your grip risk sits today, without committing you to
anything beyond that first look.

FAQ
How often should a slip risk assessment be carried out at a hospitality venue?
High-traffic zones like entrances, bars, kitchens and poolside areas generally need more
frequent checks than quiet corridors. As a general principle, reassessing whenever cleaning
products, footfall or flooring change is more useful than sticking to a fixed calendar date
alone.

Is a slip risk assessment a legal requirement?
Requirements vary depending on your sector and specific circumstances, so it’s worth
checking what applies to your venue directly. Regardless of the legal position, a documented,
ongoing assessment gives you a far stronger position if an incident does occur, since you can
show exactly what was measured and when.

What’s the difference between a slip test and a slip risk assessment?
A slip test is usually a single pendulum reading taken at one point in time. A slip risk
assessment looks at the fuller picture, contamination, footwear, maintenance, environment and surface, together, and is designed to be repeated over time rather than filed once and
forgotten.

Can cleaning products make a floor more slippery?
Yes. Some products leave a residue that changes how a floor performs, even when the
underlying material hasn’t changed at all. This is one of the more common reasons a floor that
tested safely at installation performs differently a year or two later.

Who should carry out a slip risk assessment?
It’s best carried out using recognised, HSE-referenced pendulum testing rather than a visual
check alone. Consistency matters most: measurements need to be taken and recorded in a
way that allows fair comparison from one assessment
to the next.
You should check these out;
“Take the Slip Risk Scorecard”
“Read the full method behind measure, improve, prove“