Look after your floor and your floor will look after you. If a warehouse floor is not adequately maintained, it can prove very costly to the business in the long run. But current circumstances may mean flooring contractors are not available. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, flooring contractors have to decide to either remain on site or pull their workers off site. A statement from the Association of Concrete Industrial Flooring Contractors said: “We expect for the majority of our members, the 2 metre rule will prove problematic to adhere to, with issues being presented in both travelling to work and carrying out works on site. If members feel they cannot adopt this rule, we fully support their decision to withdraw from working on sites. If, however, members are comfortable to adopt this rule and can implement it as per the guidelines, the ACIFC likewise approves this decision.”
This article was first published in the May 1st 2020 issue of Warehouse & Logistics News, subscribe to the magazine by clicking here.
ASG specialises in shot blasting, which is a durable and versatile method of floor marking favoured by many customers for speed of installation and lifespan. Specified for facilities with busy FLT movements, shot blasting can be installed on most floors, making it suitable for old and new warehouses or distribution centres which need cost-effective floor marking, but where long-lasting durability is not essential. Shot blasting is the method of hitting the concrete floor with ‘shot’, a small piece of metal which strips the surface to leave virgin concrete. The ‘Shot’ is effective to various depths, depending on the machine used and severity of the impact.
Good signage and labelling can play a seminal role in an effective anti-coronavirus strategy during these difficult times for tens of thousands of UK businesses, says Jim Roberts, product manager at floor signal provider Beaverswood. The coronavirus outbreak is causing many to urgently revisit their practices to ensure continued worker health and safety, including the use of signs and labelling as part of an effective plan. The sheer volume of people required to carry out key responsibilities and tasks under one roof in warehouses underlines the paramount importance of hygiene to reduce risks and limit the spread of contagion.
But it’s not all doom, gloom and coronavirus. CG Flooring Systems have been looking to the future and getting warehouse floors ready for the robots. Warehouses will be operating robots for their materials handling equipment (MHE) and some demanding level grinding is required to ensure the slab meets the specification for the robots to run on. Working alongside sister company FACE Consultants, which specialises in floor flatness testing for robotic systems, CG Flooring has been doing high tolerance floor level grinding to areas identified by the FACE surveyors, to bring the slab into compliance with the specification.
This kind of work may appear to be straight-forward, but in reality it is challenging, demands attention to detail and tests the skill and knowledge of technicians. Errors in the grinding can be difficult to recover and may lead to excessive grinding, which can also impact on the works programme. Any warehouse looking to operate robots, automated guided vehicles (AGVs) or automatic storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) on a new or existing warehouse floor is advised to get in touch with an industrial flooring specialist to make sure the floor is ready.
George Simpson, Features Editor
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