Floor vibration serviceability has become an area of interest over recent years. Lightweight electronic offices, especially those with slender architectural forms, and high-technology buildings with low vibration environments can often have excessive floor vibration due to human walking. This can result in a floor which is not fit-for-purpose. There exist a number of design guides which offer simplified formulae to analyse these floors. However, the simplistic methods are often shown in be inaccurate and inappropriate. The alternative, finite element analysis (FEA), which is often considered more accurate, can be expensive to implement and time consuming. In addition, modelling techniques required for dynamic analyses are different to that required for static analysis. This is often overlooked, resulting in poor inaccurate models. An accurate, simplistic, method is required which is suitable for everyday design. This paper examines the current simplified methods of predicting floor response to a single human walking. The inaccuracies are highlighted, as well as where the methodology is inappropriate. The paper also introduces new techniques and ideas to improve design guides in the future.
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