Planning Anti-Slip Flooring from FLOORChef #Planning

A one-minute article to stop slipping up on anti-slip floors #Planning

There are many anti-slip flooring options out there and the best chance you have of choosing the right one is, as always, to do your homework. Anti-slip flooring can't be an afterthought because insufficient planning will guarantee you pay the price later on. You need to understand the demands on the floor and find the system/s equipped to deal with them.

Know thy floor

Consider what type of punishment the floor will receive during service. Is there heavy vehicle traffic with the potential to wear an anti-slip profile smooth? Will frequent impact and gouging from dropped items necessitate constant repair or replacement? Is there a chance "gunk" falling onto the floor will become lodged and compromise the anti-slip profile? Think hard and put together a clear checklist of what properties, besides anti-slip, the floor will need to be a success.

You can easily spot the floors that weren't subject to this kind of analysis beforehand because they often have a telltale "mish mash" of anti-slip measures slapped together - some bulky rubber mats here and there, dirty tiles where they shouldn't be, sections of cheap flooring peeling off. The stop-gap approach not only looks sloppy and unprofessional, but it also becomes more costly because temporary fixes always need more cleaning, repair, replacement and shutdown time.

Consistency is the key

At the end of that process your solution should present itself clearly enough. The ideal scenario would be to have the same surface with the same slip resistance over the entire area, however that might not always be practical. Floor shape, fixtures, contamination, hygiene demands, cleaning methods, traffic levels and budget all need to be bundled into a decision that's too complex to cover in this short space. What you should try to avoid, however, is the situation described above where too many different types of anti-slip measures slapped together can actually exacerbate the risks, e.g. edges of rubber mats forming a trip hazard.

Some hidden gems to consider

There are some other things to consider during this planning phase, aside from the surface used, which will help the performance and longevity of anti-slip floors (or any other floor). Coving - the shape, size and construction - should always be assessed because of the role it plays in keeping floors clean and hygienic. The question of how to clean underneath equipment and other hard-to-reach areas also needs to be tackled (often coving is crucial in this context as well). So too can the potential sources of damage to the floor besides traffic, e.g. most flooring surfaces (or people for that matter) don't cope well with equipment dumping boiling hot water directly onto them.

If you have any questions about planning anti-slip flooring, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Keep Smiling,

Jack Josephsen
Head FLOORChef

For more articles on anti-slip flooring, visit the YESChef! Blog