Resbaladicidad Laboratory S.L. has recently obtained the first accreditation for friction pendulum inspection, the equipment used to determine slippage (or slipperiness) resistance, essential both in the processes of paving manufacturing and analysing those already in use. Thereby becoming the first laboratory accredited in Spain and the second in Europe for this activity.

The concept of slippage (or slipperiness) resistance was first introduced in 2006, in the Building Technical Code - the policy framework regulating the basic quality requirements buildings must meet to satisfy basic safety and liveability requirements in order to prevent the risk of pedestrians falling by slipping.

For Juan Iriarte, Technical Director of Resbaladicidad laboratory, obtaining this accreditation gives a guarantee to their customers and provides technical expertise to all this testing system's critical parameters. Rubio assures, “ENAC's accreditation gives us an experience and knowledge that we share with all building quality laboratories and paving manufacturers using this testing system, to develop critical aspects that can affect products and people's safety.”

Guarantee of pedestrian safety

In addition to providing guarantees to laboratory clients, who can rely on their team to properly determine slippage resistance in the inspected paving, this accreditation also has a positive impact on the end users of paving.

Misreading the friction pendulum can mean paving being misclassified as safe. Without this inspection; which enables equipment to be inspected with the appropriate adjustments, the friction pendulum can show greatly different slippage resistance values from those obtained by a verified team. By not taking appropriate corrective actions, this paving could be potentially dangerous for pedestrians.