Gyms combine multiple distinct slip environments in one site: dry rubberised studio floors, wet pool surrounds (where present), barefoot changing zones, and high-impact free-weight areas where dropped equipment can damage the floor surface itself. Each requires a different test approach.
Sweat is a real contaminant that lowers PTV on rubber and rubberised vinyl flooring. So is chalk dust on rubber tile in free-weight zones. Both are foreseeable in gym operation and both have produced reported claims. Pendulum testing in service hours, after a busy session, captures conditions members actually move on — not the showroom surface.
For multi-site gym operators, periodic pendulum testing across the estate provides both insurance-grade documentary evidence and an early-warning system for floors approaching end of life. Resin-bound rubber tile typically degrades non-uniformly — the cardio area may be passing while the free-weight zone is failing — so zone-by-zone data matters more than a single site-level number.
Where the gym includes a pool, pool surround testing follows the barefoot ramp protocol (BS EN 16165 Annex A) for product specification and pendulum testing with Slider 55/57 for in-situ verification. The transition from gym shoe to bare foot at the changing room boundary is itself a foreseeable risk zone and should be tested with both sliders.
Studio floors face a competing-requirements problem: too much friction increases ankle and knee injuries during pivoting movements; too little increases slip risk. Manufacturer specifications for sprung studio floors usually quote both PTV (slip) and rebound/shock-absorption data; our reports cover both metrics where the studio floor manufacturer's specification supplies them.
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