Safety flooring is essential in food safety, worker safety and a sustainable plant design.  In an article titled “Floors: What Lays Beneath” Steve Bjeklie explores the recent revolutions in safety flooring technology.

There are many things to consider when addressing safety flooring in a food processing plant.  There is a constant struggle between using floors that are smooth because they are easy to clean, and using a textured floor that could harbor harmful bacteria.  Safety flooring must also be able to withstand the environment, from the temperature of a blast freezer to the steaming hot water of jets used to clean the floor.  Another issue that plant managers come across when renovating a plant is downtime.  New safety flooring must be installed as quickly as possible to minimize downtime.  Products such as cement, epoxy and other materials require long cure times and may give off harmful odors and residues during installation.

The article goes over many options for safety flooring, from epoxy to stainless steel.  Eldon Roth from Beef Products Incorporated talks about using stainless steel plates on the floor throughout the whole plant.  The plates are to be coated with a fine grit to create non-slip safety flooring.  Installation is quick and easy, the plates can be machine welded, and seams around drains and gutters will all be welded to avoid bacteria from thriving in these small areas.  He mentions that the startup cost will be expensive but in the long run it is cost efficient and does a better job of cleaning and sanitizing.

Instead of using a stainless steel plate with a fine grit surface applied to it, SlipNOT® stainless steel safety flooring products provide a durable non slip surface without any grit.  A grit surface can wear off and negatively affect machinery and end products.  SlipNOT® stainless steel safety flooring is 100% grit free, are easy to install, can be machine welded and hold up well in harsh environments.

I believe that poor flooring can cause contamination issues in the food industry that could shut down a plant and taint a good company name.  The production time lost to installing safety flooring is minute compared to the revenue lost when plants are shut down for weeks at a time due to contamination concerns.  Installing a stainless steel non slip floor can both avoid slip and fall accidents and keep a plant clean and bacteria free.

Bjerklie,Steve. “Floors: What Lays Beneath”. Food Engineering. 1 Feb. 2008.

Filed under: Workplace Safety by Beth Faraci