What a slip test fail means
AS 4663 is the measurement. HB 198 and the NCC are the target. The fail is the gap between them.
You have a PDF. It has a P classification, or a British Pendulum Number mapped to one. Someone has circled a result and written “fail”. That word is doing a lot of work. It is not a legal finding on its own, and it is not a specification for the fix.
Two documents, two jobs
AS 4663:2013 is the method for measuring existing pedestrian surfaces in place. Wet pendulum testing produces a P classification from P0 to P5. Dry floor friction testing produces a D classification. The report you are holding is almost always an AS 4663 in-situ result.
HB 198:2014 is the Standards Australia handbook used to interpret what classification an area should hold. Table 3B is the usual table for applications the National Construction Code does not already classify. The NCC Deemed-to-Satisfy provisions — reflected in HB 198 Table 3A — cover certain stairs, ramps and landings in new work.
A fail, in facilities and WHS language, means: the in-situ result is below the handbook or NCC classification that applies to that area. The work is to close that gap, not to argue with the pendulum.
Guidance we actually use
These figures are HB 198:2014 Table 3B wet-pendulum recommendations. They are handbook guidance, not a substitute for the current NCC or for a specifier who has already written a higher class into the project.
| Area | HB 198 class | What a lower result means |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial kitchen; undercover loading dock | P5 | Anything under P5 is a gap. P3 here is not “almost”. |
| Bar servery, cold store, freezer | P4 | Oil and ice change the surface. The handbook class is P4. |
| Hospital / aged-care bathroom or ensuite | P3 | Not P5. Do not “upgrade” the target because the report is alarming. |
| Hospital / aged-care ward or corridor | P2 | A P1 result is a one-class gap, not a kitchen-grade problem. |
| Toilets in offices, hotels, shopping centres | P3 | Same class as a hospital bathroom. Different building, same handbook line. |
| Hotel apartment bathroom, ensuite, toilet | P2 | Lower than a public toilet. The handbook distinguishes them. |
| Entry foyer — wet / transitional / dry | P3 / P2 / P1 | The same tiles can pass a dry foyer and fail a wet one. |
| Pool surrounds and communal showers | P4 | Ramps and stairs into water are a different line: P5. |
Table 3B also notes that P1 / R9 is the lowest class it will list. P0 has no lower bound. A polished floor that sits under P1 can still be walked when it is kept clean and dry; contaminated, it is a different surface. We will say so if that is what the report shows.
Stairs and ramps sit on a different table
If the fail is a stair tread, nosing or a ramp, the target is usually the NCC DTS classification (HB 198 Table 3A), not Table 3B. We do not invent a P number for a gradient we have not been given. Send the report and the drawing note if you have one.
What we will not say
We will not treat a works report as a compliance certificate. We will not promise that a treatment produces P5 in a day. We read the report you already have. We do not re-badge it.