Slips, trips, and falls are among the most common workplace injuries. Therefore, ensuring that employees have a quality surface to work on can minimize the risk of an accident that could result in serious injuries. With the right floor coating, your workers can move freely and confidently, knowing that they will remain upright throughout the day. If you are in the market for a new floor, the folks at Valley Concrete Coatings & Polishing will be happy to help.
A New Coating Can Increase Visibility
Coating a floor in bright colors can help to highlight potentially dangerous areas. For instance, if you’re in a warehouse, you might want to paint the paths a forklift might take in bright red or yellow. This gives a worker a clear visual cue to either walk somewhere else or remain vigilant while in a painted area. Conversely, you could paint a safe path for employees to take while working inside a factory or warehouse floor.
Safety Markings Are Less Likely to Fade or Peel
In addition to painting certain areas in different colors, you can also put safety warning labels on your new floor. For instance, you could put down strips that indicate where you shouldn’t walk or where machines shouldn’t travel. You can also put falling objects, chemicals, or other hazard warnings on the floor where people will see them.
However, as your current floor ages, it becomes more likely that these signs will fade or peel away. Modern flooring materials are designed to prevent this. Therefore, you can minimize the risk of an accident for years to come without having to spend a lot of time or money constantly repainting or striping your building.
Coatings Can Create Anti-Skid Surfaces
A fresh coat of paint or epoxy on a sales, warehouse, or factory floor can potentially reduce the risk of slipping and falling. Many products used in commercial environments have ingredients designed to create an anti-slip or anti-skid surface. When combined with appropriate footwear, a new floor can reduce the risk that anyone slips or falls while trying to pick up an order or serve a customer.
An anti-slip surface may be especially worthwhile in the front of a building where people may encounter wet or icy conditions. While a rug may be good enough to remove most of the tracked water, an anti-slip surface may be a better long-term solution to helping people keep their footing.
Remove Cracks or Other Tripping Hazards
An old floor may have cracks that individuals could trip over regardless of what type of footwear they have on. Older floors may also be uneven or otherwise create tripping or falling hazards that can be remedied by refreshing them. Creating a smooth surface may also make it easier for forklifts or other vehicles to travel throughout a factory or other facility without potentially tipping or stalling out.
New Floors Can Resist Fire and Mold Growth
In addition to reducing the odds of a slip or fall, modern floor coatings can also resist fire and mold growth. This will give your employees a better chance of fleeing to safety, as the floor will stay cooler for longer. They also have a better chance of putting out small fires or taking other actions to mitigate the risks that they face without putting themselves in danger.
The fact that floor coatings can resist mold or mildew is beneficial in a number of ways. First, it means that your building is less likely to become completely overrun with mold, which would mean a lengthy remediation process. It also means that your workers are less likely to be exposed to something that they could potentially be allergic to. Ultimately, you can minimize or eliminate the risk of a significant outbreak that could result in a lot of lost man-hours and productivity.
New Floors Are Easier to Clean
It’s not uncommon for floors in a hospital or other medical settings to be covered in blood, urine, or other types of hazardous waste. Fortunately, modern floors are designed to be easy to clean, whether they are mopped, wiped with a cloth, or sanitized using other tools.
Removing hazardous materials can prevent a possible slip-and-fall scenario and a medical emergency. If left unchecked, a viral or other type of outbreak could easily occur, which could be fatal for workers and patients alike.
Even outside of a medical setting, wet or dirty floors are a hazard that employees and others will have to account for. Therefore, having an easy-to-clean surface can minimize the risk of an accident while reducing the time and money spent on basic janitorial tasks.
Stay in Compliance With State and Federal Regulations
OSHA requires that floors remain dry and level at all times. Therefore, putting a new coating on a factory, sales, or medical floor may help ensure that you don’t incur fines or other penalties due to not being in regulatory compliance.
It’s important to note that OSHA inspections may happen as a result of employee complaints. This means you should expect an inspection after an accident or a series of accidents, as employees are more likely to report unsafe working conditions.
While you always want to be proactive about workplace safety, making improvements before an inspection occurs might minimize the risk of incurring fines. In some cases, failing to make improvements could result in fines, an appearance in court, temporary closure, or long-term closure of your business.
Floors Can Be Placed Above Existing Surfaces
Placing a new floor or coating above an existing surface can help minimize the damage done to your building because of the environment. For instance, if you have a dirt floor, there is a chance that weeds, grass, or other plants could grow out of it. While you can always pull weeds or mow grass, this might only be practical if your business is a landscape or greenhouse business. Otherwise, putting down a new floor can help prevent roots from taking hold on your property and potentially causing damage to other areas of your building.
Trust Us for Your Floor Coating and Polishing
Fortunately, the team at Valley Concrete Coatings & Polishing in Phoenix can help with all of your floor repair and restoration needs. Whether you need new concrete flooring, floor polishing, or a metallic epoxy floor put in your commercial space, we’ll provide timely and affordable service. We’ll also provide insight into the various colors that might be appropriate for your office or warehouse.
In addition to commercial floors, we can also help residential customers who want to make their homes safer places to live. We can also help with cool decking, which can make an outdoor space more comfortable during the hot and humid summer months.
Our family-owned and -operated business has been serving the area for over a decade, and we take pride in our reputation for integrity, hard work, and professionalism. Customer satisfaction is our top priority. Contact us today to discuss your project.
