Asda opened a new distribution centre in Warrington in 2017 that was 97% automated with staff being supported by robots.


The ‘pick rates’ will depend on the level of automation in a warehouse, with hourly pick rates increasing significantly with the level of automation. There are even online department stores buying up robotics companies to develop artificially intelligent carts and pods to deliver stock around their distribution centres.


“Time is money, so finding flooring products that can be applied quickly without


compromising on quality and performance is key.”


Because of this increase in automation, there’s a growing requirement for floors to achieve the highest levels of surface regularity (SR); the deviation in height of the surface of a flooring layer over short distances. In simpler terms, it is the ‘flatness’ of the screeded surface.


For commercial and industrial floors, an SR2 (5mm) is usually the standard that applicators would adhere to, but now that automation and mobile technology are playing such a critical role within warehouses, there is an increasing demand to achieve SR1 (3mm) or better. In fact, a request for a level of flatness within 1mm over 2m may well become the new normal for these types of building.


BUILDING STRONG FOUNDATIONS Whether it’s a new floor or repairs to an existing floor, the surface has to be right for the job. After all, if you’re distributing valuable, fragile products, all the packaging in the world won’t protect the item if there’s a bumpy ride from the shelf to the van.


The three key qualities for an industrial floor surface are levelness, flatness and compressive strength. You need an extremely strong material to cope with the type of use we’re seeing in today’s distribution warehouses.


As storage and logistics methods change, it can often mean repairing the floor surface where previous racking was located so that every conceivable type of wheel and caster can run effortlessly, sometimes across vast distances and at great speed.


Time is money, so finding flooring products that can be applied quickly without compromising on quality and performance is key. Everyone benefits from a faster build time: from developers seeing a significant reduction in the cost of financing a scheme, through to the tenant benefitting from more efficient and faster operations. And, the quicker the application of the floor, the quicker the building can be kitted out, stocked, and up and running.


Specifiers should consider products that deliver additional benefits to the project. A product which has excellent flow rate for pump application will aid both the speed of application and smoothness of the new surface. Using a


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pump can enable applicators to cover up to 1000m² per day which equates to applying three to four tonnes per hour.


A rapid setting compound will allow light foot traffic soon afterwards, ideally after two to four hours to enable other trades to continue their works, and will tolerate the weight of a forklift in around 48 hours.


Self-smoothing screeds provide the ideal surface for an industrial area on the scales mentioned here. They require less manual correction to get them to the required surface and can be left uncovered or form a base for epoxy resin or polyurethane coatings.


And finally, an industrial topping screed with a compressive strength of 35N/mm2


will be required for industrial settings


like this. That’s the same as a standard M30 concrete mix and will see a building through many years of tough use.


If consumer trends continue and technology develops to further reduce the need for human workers, there will be even greater demand for extremely high-quality floor surfaces in the production, warehouse and distribution sector.


www.uk.weber/flooring-systems INDUSTRIAL FLOORING | 21


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