Laminate and wood floor coverings for sale in the UK and EU are subject to the Construction Products Regulation, which covers a range of safety-related properties including reaction to fire and release of dangerous substances. The industry has also developed specifications and test methods, which are used to assess a products suitability for use.
SATRA’s floor coverings testing facility, working to ISO 17025, offers a wide range of floor covering testing to UK, European, and International standards, including resistance to slip, chemicals, and artificial light; flammability and light reflectance testing. We are also an Approved Body, and can therefore assist with UKCA mark certification, and our subsidiary SATRA Technology Europe Ltd is a Notified Body for the CE mark.
SATRA can assess a wide variety of flooring products, including laminate and wood against their product specifications, with testing often including geometrical characteristics, dimensional stability, residual indentation, resistance to the effect of a castor chair, and furniture legs.
Due to our history as a world leading testing and research facility in the footwear industry, SATRA is uniquely positioned when testing floor coverings for properties such as slip resistance. For example, the SATRA STM 528 Pedatron provides accelerated wear simulation under realistic conditions and can be used as a means of assessing the wear characteristics of floor coverings.
Floor safety management is an important part of health and safety regulations. It is therefore important to understand the performance of a floor surface in terms of slip resistance. In the UK the pendulum test is the predominant method used in this respect, commonly performed in accordance with BS 7976-2. SATRA are able to offer pendulum testing, either in-situ or in the laboratory, alongside other slip resistance tests including SATRA TM 144, EN 13893, DIN 51130, DIN 51097, and BS 8445. Following the publication of EN 16165, BS 7976-2, DIN 51130, and DIN 51097 have been replaced, and SATRA are now able to offer testing to Annex A (barefoot ramp), Annex B (shod ramp), and Annex C (pendulum), in line with this new standard.
SATRA is also offers testing and assessment against resilient and laminate flooring specifications including ISO 10582, EN 651, EN 16511, EN 1817, EN 13845, and EN 1307, among others, allowing manufacturers to ensure their products are safe to use and fit for purpose.
floorcoverings@satra.com
