Overview
Public places where many people congregate face a variety of challenges in taking care of smooth and safe travelling movements. Gatwick Airport station is one of these public places where many people are passing through. One of the challenges they were facing was finding a sustainable, easy to clean, long term solution for slippery floors at the station.
Challenge
In a crowded public place such as Gatwick Airport station, offering smooth and safe travelling circumstances is essential. A safe, well-maintained anti-slip floor is part of this aim.
A part of a floor area in Gatwick Airport station had slip issues caused by wet or damp surfaces mainly during the winter months. Test results showed that this led to a high risk of slipping. There was also a need of an anti-slip system that could be easily cleaned and maintain slip resistance.
Solution
Recoat’s partner AGS One suggested the application of the Recoat non-slip system consisting of Recoat Cleaner, Recoat Multi Primer Clear and Recoat Floor. The universal, waterborne, clear primer adheres exceptionally well to most substrates and has a very high yield.
Recoat Floor is specifically developed for maintenance and repair of various types of floors. The coating extends the design life of the treated surfaces and is invisible due to the extremely matt finish. Recoat Floor has unique anti-slip properties on both dry and wet floors, without the floor becoming rough. This makes the floor easy to clean. In addition, the coating is resistant to chewing gum: it prevents the gum from adhering to the surface which solves a lot of annoyance for both passengers and cleaning staff.
Specific benefits for Gatwick Airport station are:
- Recoat Floor is dry to walk on in very short working times in standard weather conditions
- It has all the fire ratings needed for Airports and London Underground
- It is easy to clean and yet has great anti-slip properties
- Recoat Floor can also be applied to Vinyl, marmoleum as well as hard surfaces i.e. tiles
- Reduces cleaning time and cleaning frequency, no chemicals required
- Chewing gum doesn’t adhere on Recoat Floor
Outcome: significantly reduced slip potential even on sloped surfaces
After first carrying out a pre slip-test on the original floor, the Recoat system was applied and tested by the AGS One team. The surface has improved in appearance as well as anti-slip levels. The wet slip results have improved dramatically*. They are well within the low level of slip potential as seen below, whereas before they were undeniably in the high slip potential range.
Please contact us if you require any additional information.
*A detailed report on the tests carried out by AGS One is available upon request.
| Slip potential | Flat PTV | PTV for tested slope angle |
| High | 0-24 | 0-32 |
| Moderate | 25-35 | 33-43 |
| Low | 36+ | 44+ |
Slip potential results tested on wet floor:
| Before application of Recoat FLOOR | After application or Recoat FLOOR |
| A high slip potential of 18 | A significantly reduced, low slip potential of 47 |
Figure 1 Application Recoat Anti Slip Topcoat in escalator area
Figure 2 Testing Recoat Anti Slip Topcoat 14 days after application in escalator area
