Floors are like icebergs: there can be problems lurking above or on the surface as well as below where the problems could be at their worst. Despite existing legislation designed to protect workers, like the Workforce Health & Safety and Welfare Regulations 1992 that states no surfaces should have holes, be uneven or slippery, or covered with any detritus that could cause falls, the state of many floors leaves much to be desired. Over 35 years this writer has seen many warehouse floors in a lamentable condition and it still seems to be the case that floor care is the poor relation of storage practices.

chazApart from the obvious issues of floor safety like the need for good housekeeping practices, there are other areas that can seriously affect MH equipment and even productivity. Seriously potholed or crumbling floor joints can damage forklifts, affect driver comfort, and be forced to run at lower speeds and so impair productivity rates. This is particularly the case where floor flatness is poor or, worse still, is dished owing to one of the sub surface hazards like poor sub soil conditions. Seriously dished floors can cause problems in VNA operations, leading to truck mast collisions with racking. At one time this horror was costly and disruptive to solve because resort to pile driving was often needed. Today, however, far cheaper and less disruptive solutions like foam injection techniques from Uretek are available.

As if some floor problems were not vexatious enough there can be more problems when choosing the right contractor to resolve any floor issues. Comparing like for like is not always straightforward and being motivated primarily by price could subsequently mean long-term operational/maintenance issues down the road. To safeguard against such potential problems, warehouse operators should consider using a specialist flooring contractor who will take responsibility for the whole floor package. They will have a pool of directly employed, skilled labour whereas a cheap price could mean cheap unskilled labour. There is no substitute for skills and experience.

One expects all floors to suffer wear and tear from MH traffic but the rate of such damage could be lessened by taking a hard look at the type and size of forklift and other truck wheels. The smaller and harder they are the higher will be the wheel point loads and the propensity for damage. In VNA or narrow aisle applications truck wheels tend to be smaller and harder than on conventional counterbalance forklifts but articulated forklifts use larger, softer wheels in such applications and so floor wear rates could be reduced.

Just as it is important to choose the right contractor for a flooring job so, too, it’s important to consider the quality of floor marking durability. Every warehouse operator has a duty to keep their staff safe when working in the vicinity of moving MH trucks. Such interaction calls for walkways and traffic areas to be clearly marked but buying cheap can ultimately mean dear. Floor paint may be cheaper than a suitable resin but the latter’s hard-wearing properties mean it will last much longer and so will cut down on maintenance costs. But as with any job application of this nature, good preparation is the secret of success. If a factory floor is highly contaminated with chemicals and oils then the substrate may need to be mechanically ground to open up the concrete and allow it to be cleaned. The surface may then need an oil remover to penetrate, break down and lift the oily contaminants from the surface, after which the surface will need another thorough clean using a scrubber-dryer. Once this process is completed an oil tolerant primer should be applied before application of two coats of a high build, solvent-free epoxy resin, making it suitable for industrial traffic. The resultant seamless floor will then make it easy to keep clean.

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