FLOOR SAFETY FIRM FOOTING
Dave Ford, Altro’s Specifications Manager for the North, explores the critical factors to consider when selecting flooring materials for public areas that experience heavy footfall.
When it comes to specifying flooring for public areas with heavy footfall, there is a greater need than ever for durable, easy-to-clean and attractive surfaces – and, thankfully, plenty of smart solutions to meet those demands.
Specifiers have a lot to balance, but probably top of that list has to be safety. Different environments demand different solutions to keep people safe, but
deciding what flooring you need doesn’t need to be complicated. It’s all down to the contaminants present in your environment, as it’s contaminants that determine the level of slip risk.
For example, if you’ve ever been to a busy shopping centre when it’s been raining outside – wet shoes and dripping umbrellas can make the floor slippery. Likewise, there’s potential for wet floors in food and drink areas, restrooms and entrance areas. So, for many high-traffic areas, especially where there’s a chance of water spillage, we recommend high-quality safety flooring.
All our solutions for high slip-risk areas have PTV≥ 36 and are within the R10 slip resistance category. These products deliver sustained slip resistance, reducing the risk of slipping to one in a million for the lifetime of the flooring in areas where water is the contaminant. Also consider practical ways to reduce the risk in the first place, such as installing good quality barrier matting at entrances to reduce dirt and water brought in.
For areas with a low slip risk, where spillages rarely happen and there’s no direct access from outside bringing wet or muddy footprints, smooth flooring solutions could be ideal. For corridors, waiting areas and wards, smooth flooring also delivers ease of cleaning and durability and a wide range of aesthetic options.
For high-traffic, heavy footfall areas, durability is a key consideration. Most safety flooring is impact-resistant, which makes it very durable, but look for manufacturer guarantees that prove confidence in the longevity of the flooring. Our safety flooring provides a robust, hardwearing surface that resists many common stains, odours and common chemicals for better hygiene.
Also remember that how that flooring is maintained is essential to how it will perform, so cleaning should form part of the durability considerations. To combat stains from food and drink, salt and dirt, it’s important that the cleaning regime is frequent and simple, and to use the right technique for the right flooring, communicated properly to the cleaning teams. You can find easy-to-use cleaning guides for all our products on the Altro website.
Safety and durability are key for flooring for high-traffic areas, but the good news is that there is a huge variety
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