When a slip or fall occurs in London — in a shop, a restaurant, a hotel, an office, a hospital, or the public realm — the central question is usually the same: did the floor meet the recognised slip-resistance threshold at the time of the incident? Independent pendulum testing to BS 7976 is the method UK insurers, defendants and claimants rely on to answer that question. We carry out rapid-response post-incident surveys across London, prioritising jobs where the site is still preserved and further wear or cleaning has not yet changed the surface.
The slip-resistance of a floor changes. Cleaning regimes shift, surface treatments are applied, floors are replaced, and general wear moves the numbers up or down over time. A pendulum reading taken today tells you how t…
The slip-resistance of a floor changes. Cleaning regimes shift, surface treatments are applied, floors are replaced, and general wear moves the numbers up or down over time. A pendulum reading taken today tells you how the floor is performing today — not necessarily how it was performing when the incident occurred. The sooner after an incident that testing is carried out, the stronger the evidence chain.
For defendant-instructed work, early pendulum testing can establish that the floor met the recognised threshold in the condition closest to the time of the incident. For claimant-instructed work, early testing can establish that the floor did not meet the threshold and was a material contributor to the fall. In either case, the pendulum data is supported by photography, site context, and — where instructed — correlation with surface roughness (Rz) readings.
We routinely accept instruction from insurers, from defendant solicitors acting for occupiers and their insurers, and from claimant solicitors. Reports are written to be usable in the CPR Part 35 context where required, though we do not hold ourselves out as Part 35 experts unless specifically instructed on that basis.
Where provided by the instructing party, a concise note of the reported incident location, date, conditions, and any known contamination or cleaning factors — so the test findings can be read in context.
Pendulum readings at the reported incident location and at relevant comparison zones on the same site, so the report addresses both the specific location and the broader floor.
Full data tables, mean values per zone, photographed in position — the central evidential content of the report.
Photographic and written record of the finish, contamination, wear patterns, cleaning residue and any floor-treatment evidence visible at the time of testing.
Each PTV result placed against the HSE slip-potential categories with plain-English interpretation.
Clear, transparent note of what the testing can and cannot evidence — particularly the temporal gap between testing and the reported incident, and any site changes identified.
1 in 20 chance of a slip or greater. Floor fails to meet the recognised threshold and is likely to produce a claim in wet or contaminated conditions.
1 in 10,000 to 1 in 20. Borderline — management controls, cleaning regime and contamination must be carefully reviewed.
Better than 1 in 1,000,000 chance of a slip. The floor is considered to meet the recognised UK standard for slip resistance.
The most common route. The occupier's insurer instructs pendulum testing following a reported incident, to establish the floor's slip resistance in the condition closest to the time of the event. Used to assess the claim's merits before admission or defence.
Where a claim is already pleaded, defendant solicitors instruct pendulum testing as part of evidence preparation. The report sits alongside CCTV, cleaning records, and witness evidence.
Claimant-side instruction following a fall, usually where the claimant's legal team wants independent evidence that the floor failed to meet the recognised slip-resistance threshold. Early testing is particularly important here — the claimant rarely has control of the site.
Local-authority paving, station concourses, transport interchanges, and shopping-centre common parts all produce regular post-incident work. External surfaces are particularly sensitive to test-timing because weather, wear and maintenance change the readings quickly.
Where liability is disputed between an occupier, a cleaning contractor, a flooring supplier and an installer, a single independent pendulum dataset often becomes the anchor piece of technical evidence in the dispute.
Pendulum slip testing in London typically ranges from £450 for a single-location survey to £1,200+ for multi-site or multi-area assessments. Costs depend on the number of test areas, accessibility, whether out-of-hours access is required, and report format. Every quote is fixed, written, and includes the on-site work, report and photography.
The Pendulum Test Value is the measurement produced by a pendulum friction tester under BS 7976. It is an index, not a unit. A PTV of 36 or above indicates a low slip potential, 25–35 moderate, and below 25 high. The HSE recognises pendulum testing as the method for assessing slip risk in the UK. Readings are taken in both dry and contaminated (wet) conditions to reflect real use.
A typical single-location pendulum survey in London takes 1–3 hours on site. Larger sites or multi-zone surveys may take longer. A written report with PTV readings, photographs, zone references and recommendations is usually issued within 5 working days. Faster turnaround is available for urgent incident response.
Slip testing is commonly instructed following a slip or fall incident, either by the occupier's insurer, the defendant's solicitor or the claimant's solicitor. Independent pendulum readings establish whether the floor met the recognised slip-resistance threshold at the time of testing, which is central to liability. Where possible, test as soon as practical — before cleaning regimes change or the floor is replaced.
Yes. Out-of-hours testing is standard for retail, hospitality, transport and healthcare clients. We routinely work evenings, nights and weekends across London. Pendulum testing is non-destructive and leaves no residue beyond the water used for wet readings.
Most real-world slips occur when a floor is wet or contaminated — spilt drinks, tracked-in rainwater, cleaning residue or grease. A floor can score a perfectly strong PTV dry and drop into high or moderate slip potential once water is introduced. Wet pendulum readings reflect real use and are usually the metric that matters for both compliance and litigation.
Tell us the site, the floor, and roughly when you need the report by. We will come back within one working day with a fixed, written quote.
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