COVER STORY THE WATCOWAY
Scott Saunders, Technical Service Manager at Watco, discusses how to keep on top of repairs and maintenance to protect your surfaces and contribute to a safe, efficient facility.
A well-maintained site provides a safer working environment and creates a positive impression of your business. With so many priorities for facilities managers to juggle, it can be easy for repair and maintenance responsibilities to fall to the bottom of to-do lists, however, this can negatively impact safety and efficiency.
Deciding where to start can be difficult, but introducing a regular routine for checking the condition of floors and surfaces, will allow you to build a manageable schedule for proactive and reactive maintenance.
Identifying and minimising hazards Watco’s latest research revealed that only a third of FMs believe their teams are aware of how to spot and address potential hazards. This is concerning because facilities can present many hazards when risks are not addressed. Our research also uncovered that almost 40% of FM’s businesses had been affected by slips, trips and falls within the past year.
To help reduce workplace slips and trips, proactive and reactive maintenance is important all-year round.
On the proactive side, you should be conducting or delegating regular checks and risk assessments in and around your premises, which will help identify where floors are frequently becoming wet and posing a slip hazard, for example. This is where coatings such as Watco Safety Coat adds slip resistance thanks to its anti-slip beads. The beads will not catch on mops so it doesn’t become difficult to clean up water.
On the reactive side, ensure that the facilities team is trained on good housekeeping practices. Following a training session, displaying posters helps to remind everyone what the process is when a hazard is spotted, so it can be quickly addressed.
Taking a structured approach to repairs Damaged surfaces pose a significant risk to health and safety. Even minor damage to a floor can quickly worsen when left to deteriorate under traffic. As the damage worsens, it not only creates a more time-consuming and expensive repair, but it also increases the risk of injuries, or equipment getting damaged.
Cracks and holes are two of the most common types of damage found on floor surfaces, forming due to high levels of traffic or the impact of heavy objects when dropped. In a busy facility, minor damage seems like a low
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priority, however, a structured approach to dealing with issues quickly will improve the safety and efficiency of your facility.
To make the process of identifying and completing repairs more manageable, divide the responsibility between team members. Ensure that everyone in the facility is familiar with the most common types of surface damage and the process of recording the damage in a shared, central location. A digital or physical poster with examples of the damage and a short description is a useful educational resource and ensures that new starters can quickly familiarise with the process too.
Visual resources can also be used to help train members of the FM team on how to conduct repairs, so that once surface damage is recorded, it can be swiftly repaired by whichever team member is available.
To repair cracks in your concrete floor, start by clearing the surface of any loose material and ensure the area is dry. To apply Watco’s Fine Crack Filler, add the tin of curing agent into the tin of resin and stir thoroughly. Once the entire contents of both tins has been mixed, pour carefully into the crack, level off and wipe away any excess. The filler is incredibly tough and its unique formulation means that no sanding is required to make it level once cured.
For holes, Watco’s Flowpatch is a fibre-reinforced pourable mortar that is perfect for withstanding heavy traffic. To apply, start by removing any loose material, oil or water from the hole. Then pour the powder provided into a bucket, add water (one part clean, cold water to three parts powder) and mix. Pour the mixture into the hole immediately and leave to cure. The floor will be ready to take forklifts in two hours due to Flowpatch’s rapid dry formula.
Protecting your surfaces Once your surfaces have been repaired and hazards have been examined, painting can take place. Painting not only improves the appearance of the facility, but also adds a protective layer to surfaces, improving their ability to withstand wear and tear and environmental factors, e.g. chemical spills.
By using different colours, you can also signal different areas of your facility, highlighting pathways or areas that should not be entered e.g. where vehicles are manoeuvring, or where chemicals are stored.
To get the best finish from your paint, you must properly prepare the surface. Sweep the area with a stiff broom or
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