…joint repair works can be completed and opened to traffic for Materials Handling Equipment after 1 hour.

Rapid-floor-joint-repairs-in-progress

Interruptions to anyone’s routine are never welcome at the best of times, no matter how necessary that interruption may be. But the impact is arguably felt more keenly in an operational environment, particularly within a busy warehouse, where stock is moving in and out, throughout each and every day. The commercial requirements of any business must take priority, especially in the current economic climate and whilst this is perfectly understandable, in our experience it can also lead to having a negative effect on essential operational support requirements, such as floor maintenance.

Within the CoGri Group we understand ideal opportunities to carry out floor repairs in a busy warehouse or distribution centre are very rare indeed. The realisation was that a repair system is required that will reduce the down time and impact on a clients’ operation. In collaboration with CoGri Australia, CG Flooring Systems Ltd began the investigation into a fast curing repair system that is high on quality and performance, to enable its addition into the CoGri Range of Professional Repair Products. After some research and testing, carried out in both hemispheres, CoGri Rapid Mender was born.

The CoGri Rapid Mender is a blend of specially formulated polymers and graded sands, when mixed together provide a repair mortar with excellent mechanical properties and curing times. The repair mortar is complimented by CoGri Rapid Seal, a fast curing Joint Sealant and this combination allows joint repair works to be completed and opened to traffic from Materials Handling Equipment (MHE) after 1 hour.

The next logical step in the evolution of the CoGri Rapid Mender Joint Repair System was to take it from our in-house test centres, to the live operational environment. With the help of some brave and understanding clients, the live installations were carried out within heavily trafficked areas of warehouses in the UK and Australia. Having received nothing other than positive feedback from the warehouse users, CoGri Australia and CG Flooring Systems Ltd adopted the use of CoGri Rapid Mender Joint Repair System for joint repair projects on concrete industrial floors.

A recent case study of note was an opportunity presented to CoGri Australia by a paper processing plant that had a number of damaged and failing joints within its concrete floor. Attempts to repair the floor joints had been made previously, however these repairs were failing prematurely under the dynamic load of up to 15 tonnes when the fully automated forklift truck, laden with 4 tonnes of paper bale, passed over the joints. With only a brief window available to undertake the floor repairs during the clients planned maintenance schedule, CoGri Australia stepped in and completed the floor repairs using the CoGri Rapid Mender Joint Repair System. In sections averaging just over 60 linear metres of completed joint arris repairs in a working day, the entire job was finished in three days. Each section was handed back to the client and opened to traffic immediately, reducing the impact on the client’s operation.

The ultimate compliment was received when the client commissioned a further 100 linear metres of repairs to be carried out during the warehouse’s normal operational hours, as a result of how fast, efficient and non-disruptive the repair process using the Rapid Mender system was.

Forklift-truck-passing-over-the-Rapid-Mender

The benefits of using the CoGri Rapid Mender system are not confined to ambient temperature internal floor slabs. It has also been applied with a great deal of success on external floor slabs and within an operational freezer with an operating temperature of -24 degrees centigrade. Due to temperatures in the freezer slowing the curing rate of the material, it took slightly longer at 3 hours before the new repair could be opened to traffic. However, this is still pretty impressive and outweighs the performance of the more traditional epoxy or cementitious based repair materials in this and other environments.

The CoGri Rapid Mender Joint Repair System has the potential to revolutionise the approach to floor maintenance in busy operational environments. A full repair process can be done in a very short period of time, without the need to leave the material to cure overnight, before completing the repair detail.

Tel: 01484 600085

Email: info@cg-flooring.com

www.cg-flooring.com

Comments are closed.