As a facility manager, extending the lifespan of your facility's floors is crucial. They need to be in good shape at all times because damage to the floors could result in harm to employees and damage to equipment or products.
With a large facility that's busy, when there's heavy foot or vehicle traffic, keeping floors in good shape is often difficult. Fortunately, there are some options you can consider to extend the life of your floors.
Floors that last longer not only help employees get more done safely, but they reduce downtime, the risk of damage or injury, and frustration. Here are some of the most important things to consider when extending your facility floor's lifespan.
Proper Maintenance is Vital to Floor Life
No matter what else is happening in your facility, you don't want to defer the maintenance on your floors. Deferred maintenance can quickly turn to ignored maintenance. In turn, that leads to quick fixes for problems, and a "just keep moving" attitude that results in additional problems.
Without maintaining the floors in your facility, the floor could end up needing costly repairs over time. If a poorly maintained floor leads to an injured employee, you may also be liable for that employee's medical expenses and even be facing a lawsuit.
Naturally, none of those scenarios is anything you want for your facility. It's natural to want to put off maintenance if it's inconvenient, costly, or time-consuming, but don't take the chance. You need to extend the life of your floors and keep your employees safe.
You Need an Established Cleaning Regimen
Keeping the floor in your facility clean is about much more than just picking up dropped items or sweeping up debris. Depending on the kind of floor you have, you need to make sure it's cleaned correctly.
Setting up a specific regimen for cleaning will help ensure that it's handled on set days and times, so it doesn't get overlooked for too long. Naturally, it's best to clean it when the facility is closed. If you have a facility that doesn't shut down, cleaning can be done on whichever shift is lighter.
If a deeper type of cleaning is required, you may have to shut everything down for a period of time in order to make sure the cleaning is carried out properly. Either way, don't skip the right kind of cleaning for your facility's floor and the proper schedule for it. It's too important to ignore.
Floors Should be Frequently Inspected
Inspecting your facility's floors on a scheduled basis is another way you can help protect them. You're looking for cleaning issues that are being neglected, any damage that's being ignored, and wear and tear that's notable and obvious.
The sooner you find these problems and get them corrected, the longer you can expect your floor to last. Because facilities see a lot of use on a long-term basis, the floors can wear out much more quickly than they would in a home or office building.
Making note of any problems you find with the floor can help you get those problems addressed efficiently. Not every spot of wear or chip in the baseboard needs to be repaired that day, but you want to keep track of the condition of your floor. Then you can schedule repairs as you see that they're going to be needed instead of waiting until they're already a problem.
Updates to the Flooring Require a Professional
When you're ready to make updates and repairs to your facility's flooring, you want to make sure you have a trusted, professional company handling that for you. Not only does that give you better quality, but it can help with peace of mind, as well.
Industrial-grade concrete coating is an excellent way to protect the floor in your facility. You don't have to settle for floors that don't hold up to your needs or that won't last as long as possible. The right floor coating can make all the difference. Long-lasting facility floors that stay in great shape are possible, with coating options that will meet your needs.