In Free Movement (FM) areas, full-surface measurement is impractical; therefore, TR34 requires a statistically representative survey sample. According to TR34 (4th Edition, Table 3.1), two primary surface regularity properties shall be assessed, Property E for Levelness and property F for Flatness.
TR34-Table 3.1:
|
Floor Class
|
Typical
|
Property E
|
Property F
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
FM1 |
Where very high standards of flatness and levelness are required. |
4.5 |
1.8 |
|
FM2 |
Reach trucks operating at above 8 – 13m without side-shift. |
6.5 |
2.0 |
|
FM3 |
Retail floors to take directly applied flooring. Reach trucks operating at up to 8m without side-shift. |
8.0 |
2.2 |
|
FM4 |
Retail floors to take applied screeds. |
10 |
2.4 |
The survey is made on a 3.0 m × 3.0 m survey grid using an automatic laser measurement system.
Measured elevation data are exported in DWG format or tabulated form for evaluation. From these recorded elevations, the differences between adjacent 3.0 m grid points are calculated.
The resulting elevation differences are then statistically analysed to determine compliance with the applicable Property E tolerance criteria.
the Dip-Stick is manually traversed along the floor surface, collecting measurement data digitally at defined intervals.
At the completion of each survey run, the recorded data are downloaded automatically to a smartphone, after which the next run can commence without delay. Once the required cumulative survey length has been achieved, the complete dataset is transferred from the smartphone to a laptop or PC for processing.
The dataset is automatically analysed. The software calculates the percentile value from all survey runs and generates the corresponding Property F graphical outputs for compliance evaluation.
Property E evaluates levelness as the elevation difference between two opposing points spaced 3.0 m apart, arranged on a 3.0 m × 3.0 m grid.
Property F quantifies flatness as the change in elevational difference between two consecutive measurements, each taken over a 300 mm interval.
To ensure that sampling density is proportional to floor size and statistically representative. The minimum required survey run length is determined by: L=A/10
Where:
Property F – Data Processing and Graphical Interpretation:
For each measurement run, elevation readings are plotted to represent the actual transverse floor profile along the surveyed line. These graphical outputs illustrate the measured cross-section and local surface variation.
All Property F measurements from the survey runs are compiled and statistically analysed.
For each run, a Property F trace graph is generated. Where the trace intersects or exceeds the defined tolerance limits, this indicates that the 95% criterion is locally exceeded at that position. Tolerance boundaries are identified as limit lines (marked in red) on the graph.
After analysing the full sample of Property F runs, the overall 95% percentile value for the entire dataset is calculated and reported in the results table. This value represents the governing flatness compliance indicator for the surveyed area.
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