National Floor Safety Institute
In 2001, the NFSI began authoring standards aimed at preventing slips and falls. The NFSI 101 A-D standards were the first slip and fall prevention standards published in the U.S. In 2005 the NFSI Board of Directors established the NFSI B101 committee on slip, trip and fall prevention which it continues to oversee. From 2006 to 2019, the NFSI was an ANSI accredited Standards Developing Organization (SDO) and functioned under a rigorous set of operating procedures which remain intact today and serve as the basis of the standards developing process. In 2020, the NFSI terminated its relationship with ANSI and became an independent SDO and was awarded organizational membership in the Society for Standards Professionals (SES) (ses-standards.org), joining other peer SDO’s including the ASTM and ANSI.
A Standard Developing Organization (SDO), often called a “Standards Body”, is an organization whose primary function is developing, coordinating, promulgating, revising, amending, reissuing, interpreting, or otherwise producing technical standards to address the needs of a group of affected adopters. In the case of the NFSI that need is to prevent slips, trips and falls. The term “standard” includes a wide variety of technical works that prescribe rules, guidelines, best practices, specifications, test methods, design, or installation procedures, etc. The size, scope and subject matter of standards varies widely among industries. NFSI is not the only SDO that develops standards related to floor coverings but is the only one focused on walkway safety and the prevention of slips, trips and falls which are often associated with walkways.
Due process requirements for NFSI B101 Standards are called Operating Procedures and in other industries are referred to as Essential Requirements. The B101 Operating Procedures provide an open and fair process to ensure that all directly and materially interested parties have an opportunity to participate in the development of B101 standards. The NFSI B101 Operating Procedures were developed following the Society for Standardization Professionals (SES) SES 2:2022, Procedure for the Development of Standards. SES 2:2022 provides guidance on creating a procedure that contains all the essential requirements for standards development. This document is organized by the main phases of standards development and includes requirements and best practices. Click here to review the NFSI B101 Operating Procedures.
While volunteers donate their time and expertise to serve on the B101 committee, quality standards development is expensive, and requires substantial administrative and technical staff support, research, information services, production service, publication services, and meeting costs associated with the committee meetings, the processing of public review comments, appeals, etc. And unlike industry trade associations or manufacturer group SDO’s that are funded by large corporations serving a self-interest, the NFSI is a non-profit organization whose funding comes from a broad range of sources including membership fees, sponsorships, and individual donations. The NFSI offsets the cost of its standards expenses through the publication and sale of the B101 series of standards.
The United States has had a long tradition of recognizing the importance and use of voluntary consensus standards which often assist in the creation of laws, codes, and public policy. Voluntary consensus standards are not laws governed by a governmental body or enforcement agency but rather address important technical information not contained in laws, codes, and treaties. Employers, insurers and individual property owners often adopt the use of voluntary consensus standards like those created by the NFSI to serve as the genesis in forming their internal safety policies and employee training procedures to ensure that they are in compliance with the standard of care.
Click to see the purpose and a purchase link for the desired NFSI B101 Standard
Click here to review the NFSI B101 Operating Procedures
Purpose: The purpose of this standard is to provide specific methods and procedures for the performance of a walkway audit, which may, by its performance, reduce or prevent injuries and fatalities from slips and falls.
$56.75 – PurchasePurpose: This test method provides a measurement procedure setting forth traction ranges that facilitate remediation of walkway surfaces when warranted.
$56.75 – PurchasePurpose: This standard provides a methodology for determining the effects of chemical cleaning agents and chemical treatments on the wet dynamic coefficient of friction and/or the wet static coefficient of friction of a walkway material reference surface.
$56.75 – PurchasePurpose: This test method provides a measurement procedure setting forth DCOF ranges which facilitate remediation of walkway surfaces when warranted.
$56.75 – PurchasePurpose: This test method provides a measurement procedure setting forth wet DCOF ranges in the wet barefoot condition by individuals who stand, step, bathe, shuffle, or walk, which facilitate remediation of walkway surfaces when warranted.
$56.75 – PurchasePurpose: The purpose of this standard is to offer, at the point of product sale, guidance to users/purchasers on the traction capabilities of the contents of the package through display of labels and markings.
$56.75 – PurchasePurpose: This standard is intended to provide guidance on commercial entrance matting for reducing slip, trip and fall hazards related to soil, moisture, and/or other contaminants and conditions.
$56.75 – PurchasePurpose: The purpose of this standard is to specify a method for measuring dynamic COF between the heel of a whole shoe outsole across liquid-contaminated floor surfaces and to provide interpretation for how COF measurements relate to slipping risk.
$56.75 – PurchasePurpose: The purpose of this standard is to establish an integrated process by which policies, processes, procedures and supporting guidelines can mitigate or prevent the potential for personal injury or death from the hazards associated with STFs.
$56.75 – PurchasePurpose: The purpose of this standard guide is to provide users with a compendium of information, procedures, and solutions that can be used to reduce the risk of pedestrian trips.Top of Form
$56.75 – PurchasePurpose: To create a uniform guideline for Preparing, Maintaining, Conditioning and Storing Tribometer Sensor Material
IN DEVELOPMENT—STANDARD CURRENTLY UNPUBLISHED
Purpose: The intent of this standard guide is to raise awareness of specific environmental conditions unique to the property or a category of properties that may result in potential pedestrian hazards.
IN DEVELOPMENT—STANDARD CURRENTLY UNPUBLISHED
Purpose: The purpose of this standard guide is to provide users with a compendium of information, procedures, and solutions that can be used to reduce the risk of pedestrian slips, trips, missteps, and falls from lack of signs, misinterpretation of signs, use of the wrong sign, signs themselves, and how signs can be ignored by […]
IN DEVELOPMENT—STANDARD CURRENTLY UNPUBLISHED
Purpose: The purpose of this standard is to provide specific methods and procedures for the performance of a forensic analysis of a human slip that may have resulted in injury and to ensure that sound scientific principles are being applied which will be accepted and validated through the rigors of litigation. At the same time, […]
IN DEVELOPMENT—STANDARD CURRENTLY UNPUBLISHED
Purpose: The purpose of this standard is to provide specific methods and procedures for the performance of a forensic analysis of a human slip that may have resulted in injury and to ensure that sound scientific principles are being applied which will be accepted and validated through the rigors of litigation. At the same time, […]
IN DEVELOPMENT—STANDARD CURRENTLY UNPUBLISHED
IN DEVELOPMENT—STANDARD CURRENTLY UNPUBLISHED
IN DEVELOPMENT—STANDARD CURRENTLY UNPUBLISHED
Purpose: The purpose of this standard is to provide mitigation strategies that can be used to reduce the risk of slips, trips, and falls from elevations.
IN DEVELOPMENT—STANDARD CURRENTLY UNPUBLISHED
Purpose: This test method provides a measurement procedure setting forth the traction requirements for floor mat backing to be considered “High-Traction.”
$56.75 – PurchaseThe NFSI B101.10, B101.11, B101.12, B101.13, B101.14, B101.15, B101.16, and B101.17 are currently in development.
The next NFSI B101 Main Committee meeting will be held on January 29, 2027 at the NFSI Office in Hurst, Texas. Please contact Laura Cooper for more information (laurac@nfsi.org.)
The B101 Main Committee is currently accepting applications for all three Interest Categories. Email Laura Cooper (laurac@nfsi.org) for an application to serve on the B101 Main Committee or an application to serve on a B101 Subcommittee.
Click Here for the B101 Main Committee Roster. Current annual membership fees are based on one of the three categories below.
An entity that produces or supplies any product that can be related to slip, trip and fall prevention. This includes, but is not limited to manufacturers of flooring material, floor matting, floor cleaners and surface finishes, floor auditing, testing equipment, buffing and burnishing devices etc.
Annual Member dues are based upon the Producer’s net income using the table below:
| Tier | Net Income Range per Tier | Dues |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | $500 million or more | $5,000 |
| 4 | $250 million | $3,500 |
| 3 | $150 million | $2,000 |
| 2 | $100 million | $1,000 |
| 1 | Less than $99,999,999 million | $750 |
An entity that maintains or installs any pedestrian walking surface or consumes products which impacts the probability of slips, trips and falls. Users also include the owners and occupiers of said premises, expert witnesses and those providing consultative services in the evaluation of slips, trips and falls. Example walking surfaces include walkways, floors, pools, spas, tubs, showers, boats, construction sites etc.
Annual Member dues are based upon a flat fee of $495.
General Interest members are neither Producers nor Users. This category includes, but is not limited to, regulatory agencies (state and federal), researchers, educators, trade associations and any individual or organization that is affected by or interested in the need for slip, trip and fall prevention. Trade Associations are defined as a membership-supported organization that represents the interests of those operating in a specific industry. A Trade Association may also be that of an industry trade group, sector association or other organization who offers professional assistance such as: market research, education, lobbying, etc. to their members.
Annual Member dues are based upon a flat fee of $495.
NFSI B101 Operating Procedures (Updated 2022)
Have you suffered as the result of a slip, trip or fall incident? Help prevent these incidents by submitting the details of your incident to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
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