Workplace safety is always a high priority and no one wants their employees to get injured on the job. In industrial settings like warehouses and manufacturing industries, the workshop is typically done with concrete flooring.
Concrete floors are not often associated with large amounts of safety during the fall and winter months. However, as the ground temperature changes, it could affect your concrete flooring. If it gets wet, it is very slippery and even icy, depending on the interior temperature.
The entire game changes when your concrete flooring has a floor coating. This investment can help to protect your facility and employees during the colder months of the year.
Temperature and Floor Coatings
One of the best ways to protect your employees from slipping on the floor during cold weather is to ensure that your facility's floors are properly maintained. Epoxy floor coatings over the top of concrete flooring change how your workshop floor reacts to the cold weather. As the temperature drops, epoxy flooring stops your floors from gathering moisture that can occur during climate changes.
In the fall, more moisture and rain occur across most of the northern hemisphere. During late nights into early mornings, you are likely to wake up to a world of frost and dew. This moisture melts and ends up coating the sidewalks outside. However, it can also affect the moisture levels inside your workshop. If your workshop isn't very well insulated or is quite large with certain ventilation systems, you are likely to walk into slightly damp flooring.
Having an epoxy floor coating helps protect your floor so that it doesn't become a hazard for you and your employees.
During the winter, the temperature often drops even further. This can compromise the structural integrity of the concrete. It causes cracks, foundational shifts and dents in the flooring due to the constant freezing and thawing. If you have concrete flooring that runs from the outside of the workshop to the inside, you are also more likely to get worse cracks under the walls.
Floor coatings don't only help to mitigate the effect of excess moisture on your floor. They also help increase the structural integrity of the floor. In addition, the investment in high-quality flooring often gives your floor better resistance to fluctuating temperatures.
Slip Resistance
Utilizing a floor coating over your concrete floors helps to increase the strength and flexibility of the flooring, mitigates the amount of moisture on the floor and adds greater slip resistance. With better traction created from these floor coatings, your employees will have a far less likelihood of experiencing slips and falls on the workshop floor.
Additional Maintenance Solutions for Concrete Floors
Using a floor coating over concrete isn't the only thing you can do to minimize workplace falls or other accidents. You can also:
• Clean spills or mop up condensation as soon as you see it starting. Don't allow your floors to fall prey to sweating slab syndrome.
• Place waffle mats on the inside of each facility entrance to stop snow from tracking inside and melting.
• Schedule walkway audits during the day and keep track using a cleaning chart. You can ensure that there are no areas that are wet or slippery and target problems areas.
Coatings from Concrete Coatings of the Carolinas
At Concrete Coatings of the Carolinas, we understand that each situation and workshop will have a different set of needs. That is why we offer a tailored service to meet the parameters of every project. For example, we don't only offer epoxy floor coatings but have multiple flooring types. That way, you can choose the flooring products that suit your workshop's needs and immediately cut down on the number of workplace accidents you have.
Concrete floors done right have a high capacity to protect your employees and better your facility no matter what the temperature is. Contact our team today to learn how our concrete flooring solutions can enhance your facility.