Tribology and Materials | Volume 5 | Issue 2 | 2026 | 63-73
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https://doi.org/10.46793/tribomat.2026.007
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The impact of machine cleaning on the slip resistance of commercial floors coated with floor finish
Peter Teska
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Brooks Morgan,
Arthur Ansel,
Allegra Baeza
Solenis LLC, Fort Mill, USA
Abstract: Preventing slip, trip and fall events in commercial facilities is an important part of operating a safe facility. Flooring surfaces in commercial buildings are often coated with removable floor finish and maintained with a range of floor maintenance procedures and products, often using floor care machines, but their impact on finished floor slip resistance is poorly reported. In this study, vinyl composite floor tiles were coated with four coatings of four different floor finishes and a range of floor maintenance practices were performed for seven days using floor care machines and various floor maintenance products to determine the impact on the coefficient of friction/slip resistance using the James Machine and a modified ASTM D2047 test method. None of the floor maintenance products or procedures substantially changed the slip resistance of the finished floor tiles. There were some statistically significant changes in the coefficient of friction for some product/finish combinations, but in all cases, all tiles passed ASTM D2047's standard for static coefficient of friction. This study suggests that when a machine is cleaning a finished floor, the maintenance products used on the floor have minimal impact on the slip resistance of the floor and are unlikely to make the floor a slip-fall hazard.
Keywords: slip, trip and fall, floor finish, ASTM D2047, coefficient of friction, static coefficient of friction, floor maintenance practices, floor machines.
Received: 21-10-2025, Revised: 17-02-2026, Accepted: 09-03-2026
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which allows users to distribute, remix, adapt,
and build upon the material in any medium or format for non-commercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.
Abstract: Preventing slip, trip and fall events in commercial facilities is an important part of operating a safe facility. Flooring surfaces in commercial buildings are often coated with removable floor finish and maintained with a range of floor maintenance procedures and products, often using floor care machines, but their impact on finished floor slip resistance is poorly reported. In this study, vinyl composite floor tiles were coated with four coatings of four different floor finishes and a range of floor maintenance practices were performed for seven days using floor care machines and various floor maintenance products to determine the impact on the coefficient of friction/slip resistance using the James Machine and a modified ASTM D2047 test method. None of the floor maintenance products or procedures substantially changed the slip resistance of the finished floor tiles. There were some statistically significant changes in the coefficient of friction for some product/finish combinations, but in all cases, all tiles passed ASTM D2047's standard for static coefficient of friction. This study suggests that when a machine is cleaning a finished floor, the maintenance products used on the floor have minimal impact on the slip resistance of the floor and are unlikely to make the floor a slip-fall hazard.
Keywords: slip, trip and fall, floor finish, ASTM D2047, coefficient of friction, static coefficient of friction, floor maintenance practices, floor machines.
Received: 21-10-2025, Revised: 17-02-2026, Accepted: 09-03-2026
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which allows users to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for non-commercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.