A floor chosen because it photographs well can still be the wrong floor if grease, grit or a wet mop makes it unreliable, or if nobody has named the day it gets replaced. Start from soil and washing, not from a mood board.
Write the soil the floor will see, the wash method the supplier will put in writing, and the condition that ends its service. Take any friction coefficient, pendulum value, or service life from that written method.
| Question | Write the answer from | Do not fill with |
|---|---|---|
| What soil arrives? | Your own note of grit, grease or water | A generic "high traffic" label |
| How is it washed? | The supplier's written method and chemistry limits | A guess from a showroom |
| When is it retired? | A defect you can point at: crack, lip, polish loss | A round number of years |
| Slip pointer | HSE slips index, for causes and prevention | A coefficient that is not in the supplier's written method |
The HSE page lists causes and prevention, and its questions include surfaces and weather. Use it as that pointer, then record the supplier’s slip figure for the soil and wash method you named.
Planning the weeks when that floor is being replaced, while customers remain, is a partial refit, and comparing specific wear-layer mil ratings, ANSI A326.3 wet DCOF slip thresholds, and ASTM F2170 concrete slab moisture tests is covered in commercial flooring options: wear layers, wet DCOF, and retail remodel prep. The parent page is commercial spaces.
If two suppliers offer samples, label each sample with the date it arrived and the soil you rubbed on it. Keep those labels in the shop file.
Method and sources
Health and Safety Executive, Slips and trips. Updated October 2026.
