SAFETY FLOORING SAFETY, REIMAGINED
The experts from British flooring manufacturer Amtico explain how advances in LVT are changing perceptions of safety flooring – combining durability, hygiene and sustainability with the design freedom today’s contractors and specifiers expect.
Safety flooring has long been associated with compromise. For decades, designers and contractors have accepted that specifying for safety meant limiting design ambition – favouring compliance over creativity. But with new materials, smarter construction and a stronger focus on sustainability, that trade-off is no longer necessary.
Today’s safety flooring must do more than prevent slips and trips. It needs to support wellbeing, contribute to sustainability targets and integrate seamlessly with wider design schemes. And with developments in luxury vinyl tile (LVT), specifiers now have access to flooring options that combine all these elements in a single surface.
SAFETY STARTS BENEATH THE SURFACE
The foundation of any safety floor lies in its slip resistance – and, crucially, how that performance is achieved and maintained. Floors that meet the BS EN 13845 Enhanced Slip Standard are engineered to deliver long-term slip resistance, not just a temporary layer that wears away over time.
˝LVT safety floors that incorporate antimicrobial technology, such as ionic-silver additives, reduce
bacteria and viruses by more than 99% within 24 hours.˝
Traditional sheet safety flooring typically relies on surface-applied grit or embossed finishes. By contrast, newer LVT safety floors embed slip-resistant particles throughout the wear layers, ensuring durability for the life of the installation. For example, Amtico Safety incorporates this multi-layer construction, maintaining its enhanced slip resistance even in high-traffic environments such as hotels, schools and healthcare facilities.
The result is a safety floor that doesn’t just meet compliance at installation but is engineered for long-term performance – a key consideration for specifiers responsible for life cycle cost and facility management.
DESIGN WITHOUT COMPROMISE
For many sectors, flooring has evolved from a background finish to a defining feature of the interior. Hospitality, workplace and education projects increasingly demand coordinated design stories that extend across all surfaces, including the floor.
Historically, that level of design freedom was difficult to achieve with traditional safety flooring. Sheet materials restricted layout
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options and colour choices, often leading to utilitarian spaces where practicality overshadowed brand identity.
Advances in cut LVT formats have transformed what is now possible. By manufacturing safety flooring as individual planks and tiles rather than rolled sheets, designers can specify intricate laying patterns, feature borders and zoned areas that mirror the look of natural materials – wood, stone or terrazzo – while still delivering compliance. At Amtico, the Signature collection can be specified with Amtico Safety, offering more than 20 laying patterns and over 100 product combinations, from chevron and parquet to curved designs such as Lune and Arc.
The flexibility of LVT also enables the integration of wayfinding cues directly into the floor design. Subtle changes in direction, scale or tone can intuitively guide movement through a space, enhancing safety without the need for contrasting strips or intrusive graphics.
THE HYGIENE IMPERATIVE
Healthcare designers have long known that hygiene and safety are inseparable. Flooring surfaces in public and commercial environments must withstand frequent cleaning while actively reducing bacterial and viral load.
LVT safety floors that incorporate antimicrobial technology, such as ionic-silver additives, reduce bacteria and viruses by more than
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