BOT-3000E Digital Tribometer with Printer

The instrument the standard names

The BOT-3000E is a digital tribometer that measures the dynamic and static coefficient of friction of walkway surfaces, wet or dry, in the lab and in the field. It is the only device qualified for use with ANSI A326.3, the American National Standard test method for measuring dynamic coefficient of friction of hard surface flooring materials.

It is built by Regan Scientific Instruments, a Walkway Management Group company. When you buy one here you are buying from the people who make it, calibrate it, service it and train on it.

Why the qualification matters

ANSI A326.3 was first published in 2017 and updated in 2021. The current version is the one your specifications, your tile suppliers and any expert reviewing your data will be working from.

The standard does not accept any tribometer. A device has to meet ASTM F2508, the standard governing validation and certification of walkway tribometers, and that validation has to be performed by an independent laboratory. The BOT-3000E meets it and holds that independent verification.

The practical consequence: a DCOF number produced on an instrument that does not meet F2508 is difficult to defend. In a specification dispute, an insurance review or a courtroom, the first question asked of a slip resistance measurement is what produced it. The second is whether that instrument was in calibration on the day.

The only other item required to run a complete ANSI A326.3 audit is a validation surface.

What it measures

• Dynamic coefficient of friction (DCOF), the friction present while a foot is already sliding. This is what ANSI A326.3 specifies and what tile manufacturers publish.
• Static coefficient of friction (SCOF), the friction resisting the start of a slide.
• Wet and dry, on the floor as installed rather than on a sample coupon.

Results are stored on the instrument, transferred over Bluetooth, and on printer-equipped configurations printed at the test location on the spot with no laptop.

Who ends up buying one

Tile and flooring manufacturers publishing a DCOF figure that specifiers will rely on, and who need that figure produced on the instrument the standard qualifies.

Architects and specifiers writing slip resistance into a project and verifying the installed floor matches what was specified, rather than what the sample promised.

Facility and risk managers in buildings where wet floors are routine: supermarkets, hospitals, schools, hotels, commercial kitchens, entrance lobbies. A documented DCOF record across a portfolio is both a safety program and a defence.

Flooring contractors and restoration companies proving a treatment worked, with a before and after number instead of an opinion.

Forensic engineers, attorneys and insurers working slip and fall cases, where the measurement has to survive being challenged.

Testing laboratories adding hard surface friction to an existing scope.

If the work is occasional, rent. If you are producing numbers anyone else will rely on, own the instrument and keep it in calibration.

Configurations and pricing

Every configuration ships in a custom-fitted Pelican case with the consumables needed to start testing and a one-year limited warranty. Shipping insurance is added at checkout and is not included in the price.

Buy or rent

Not every job justifies owning one. A four-day rental is $650 and includes every part required to run a full ANSI A326.3 audit. The instrument arrives calibrated and ready to test on the day it lands. Additional rental days are $100. Shipping is not included in the rental price. It is added at checkout and prepaid for both directions, out to you and back to us. Shipping insurance is separate and we strongly recommend adding it.

If the work becomes regular, buying pays for itself quickly against rental.

Renting for a first ANSI A326.3 audit is worth pairing with the online course below. Most first-time audit errors are procedural, not instrumental.

Calibration, and why the date matters

Annual factory calibration is $450 and includes a performance package that verifies the instrument and its parts are functioning correctly.

Precision instruments drift with stress, time and environment. The BOT-3000E tracks its own due date. Past that date every printout carries an out-of-calibration notice, and data collected on an out-of-calibration instrument can be set aside as unreliable. That is not a formality. It is the difference between a report that holds up and one that does not.

Shipping is not included in the $450. You arrange and pay shipping to us, and the shipping option you choose at checkout covers the return leg back to you. Before shipping an instrument in for calibration: include the verification mass, leave the validation tiles at home because they break in transit, and ship in the Pelican case.

Training

• Online course, $675. Covers what is needed to complete a proper ANSI A326.3 audit.
• In person in Texas, from $1,000.
• On site at your location, $2,500.

Service and support

We are the only approved vendor for BOT-3000E repairs and calibration. The instrument is designed, built and calibrated here, so a repair is a repair rather than a return to a distributor who sends it on to someone else.

That matters beyond turnaround time. Service performed outside the approved channel puts the instrument's ASTM F2508 standing in question, and with it the defensibility of every measurement taken afterwards. An unbroken calibration and service record held by the manufacturer is part of what makes your data hold up.

Factory service, repair, troubleshooting, strain gauge replacement, replacement Pelican cases, bumpers, bottles and consumables are all available direct. Contact us with your serial number and we will quote the work.

Documentation

• BOT-3000E user manual, version 1.52 (PDF)
• ANSI A326.3 standard reference

Kit contents subject to change without notice. The device ships within 2 to 3 working days after receipt of payment, because every instrument is calibrated before it leaves us. All product sales are final.

Common questions

Is the BOT-3000E the same as a pendulum tester?
No. The pendulum is a different method used under different standards, mostly outside the United States. ANSI A326.3 specifies dynamic coefficient of friction, which is what the BOT-3000E measures. Walkway Management Group also rents a pendulum at $600 if a project calls for that method.

Does a tile manufacturer's published DCOF number mean my installed floor passes?
Not on its own. A published number describes the tile as manufactured. The floor you are standing on has been installed, cleaned, sealed, worn and contaminated. ANSI A326.3 is written for measuring the surface in place.

How often does it need calibration?
Annually. The instrument tells you when it is due.

Can I use it for litigation work?
That is a large part of why it exists. The F2508 independent validation and a documented calibration record are what make a measurement defensible.