Report on analysis and finding of previous skid resistance harmonisation research projects

The review has noted that there are various ways of approaching the problem. The concept of harmonisation has been described as "the definition of a common scale, against which measurements from different sources or standards based on different measurement types can be compared and understood" or "the adjustment of the outputs of different devices used for the measurement of a specific phenomenon so that all devices report the same value(s) (i.e. report in a common scale), except for some inaccuracy". However, it has also been recognised that if the inaccuracy, or imprecision, of a harmonised scale is too great for practical purposes (and what is acceptable may vary with different purposes), it may not be possible to harmonise measurements. Ultimately, standardisation might prove to be a better technical solution for a particular purpose. TYROSAFE aims at the definition of a "common scale" for skid resistance measurements, either through harmonisation or standardisation.