Biomechanical gait analysis for the extraction of slip resistance test parameters

Falling accidents caused by slipping represent a high proportion of all accidents and are cost intensive in industry as well as in the private sphere. To prevent such accidents, the slip resistance of flooring must be evaluated. Therefore, measurement methods are necessary. These methods must provide results that comply with an individual's perception of when a floor is slippery. This article describes the analysis of human walking motion to derive essential parameters and estimate their values for measuring the slip resistance of flooring. Human walking motion of 22 persons is analysed to discover the critical phases for slipping. The heel strike was extracted as the critical phase for falling accidents caused by slipping. A model of the friction between the shoe and flooring is set up to describe the conditions in that phase. Heel strike velocity, requirements quotient and contact pressure are extracted as essential parameters from the friction model. With the biomechanical gait analyses of the walking of more than 170 single steps made by 22 test persons, values for these parameters are derived. Suggestions are made to adopt these values as test parameters for slip resistance test devices.