R-ratings — R9 through R13 — are the industrial and commercial kitchen flooring slip-resistance ratings produced by the shod ramp test under BS EN 16165 Annex B (formerly DIN 51130). They are the dominant procurement metric for kitchen, food-processing and industrial flooring across UK and European specifications, but their relationship to in-service pendulum performance is widely misunderstood.
| Rating | Acceptance angle | Indicative use |
|---|---|---|
| R9 | 6° to 10° | Reception areas, dry circulation; not suitable for any wet/oily production |
| R10 | 10° to 19° | Pot wash, light prep, dry-goods storage with occasional moisture |
| R11 | 19° to 27° | Standard restaurant and commercial production kitchens |
| R12 | 27° to 35° | Heavy-oil kitchens, frying stations, food-prep with high contamination |
| R13 | Above 35° | Industrial food production, slaughterhouses, heavy-oil environments |
An operator wearing standard test footwear walks back and forth on a flooring sample fixed to an inclined platform. The platform is contaminated with motor oil. The angle is gradually raised until the operator can no longer maintain a normal walking gait. The angle at which slipping starts determines the R-rating.
Critically: this is a manufacturer-side test on a sample. R-ratings on datasheets describe the product as manufactured, not the floor as installed and worn.
Each R-rating covers a range of acceptance angles. R11 covers anything from 19° to 27° — so two products both rated R11 can perform quite differently within that band. This matters when specifying flooring for the upper end of an environment's typical contamination: an R11 at the bottom of its range (19°) may not be enough where an R11 at the top of its range (27°) would be.
Some manufacturers quote the actual ramp angle alongside the rating; others quote only the rating band. Where critical, asking for the underlying angle gives more procurement detail.
R-rating and PTV measure different aspects:
An R11 floor on a manufacturer's datasheet does not automatically achieve any particular PTV in service. The two should be tested together — R-rating at procurement, PTV after installation — for full assurance.
BS EN 16165 Annex B (formerly DIN 51130) also produces a 'V' rating for displacement volume — the volume of contamination the floor's micro-texture can hold per square decimetre before performance degrades. V4, V6, V8 and V10 ratings indicate progressively higher displacement capacity. V ratings matter most where contamination is heavy and continuous; for occasional contamination, the R-rating alone is the more relevant metric.
R-rated industrial floors typically degrade in service:
An installed R12 floor after five years of heavy use may be performing at R10 levels. Periodic pendulum testing captures this; the R-rating alone, fixed at procurement, does not.
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