Grated floors are a popular sight in industrial workplaces. They are an excellent alternative to concrete or stone floors, especially when you think about the conditions that prevail in manufacturing and processing plants. The grated floors are a product of strong metals such as steel and reinforced aluminum. These materials are easy to cut and weld, which allows you to change the layout of your workspace with significant ease. Secondly, grated metal floors have special galvanic coatings. The coatings enable them to stand up to the harsh conditions of an industrial set-up. On the other hand, grated floors are a great risk to workers because they can let materials and equipment slip through, fall, and cause injuries. You need to manage this using the following floor matting:

Tubular Plastic Matting

Tubular plastic matting comes in the form of long plastic tubes laid out over the grated floor. Typically, you would expect the mat to comprise the strongest plastic resins available. They should be able to withstand constant friction resulting from the movement of people and equipment. The best material for this purpose is polyvinylchloride (PVC).

PVC can be designed to make it resistant to slip. You do not have to worry about your workers slipping and falling on the matting. Secondly, the material resists grease, oils and harsh chemicals. Additionally, it can stand up to extremely low and high temperatures without warping and melting. The tubes lie over the grates in such a way that they reduce the size of the spaces between individual grates. Therefore, you can place the matting longitudinally or laterally provided they minimise the spacing in the grate.

Non-Porous Plastic Matting

You can opt for a non-porous matting, which varies from the tubular option discussed above. The non-porous matting is impervious to the penetration of harsh chemicals, grease and oils. The continuous layer means that fall objects cannot pass through to the underside of the grated floor where they could hit an unsuspecting worker.

Non-porous matting is the best option for workspaces that experience wet conditions. They come in handy for those who use their commercial space to process fluids. Their ability to protect underlying grates from damage while preventing falling objects from passing through to the underside makes them stand out.  When buying this kind of matting, beware of the need to keep fire safety in mind. Go for a self-extinguishing matting that puts out a flame upon removal of the source of the fire.

To learn more about PPE, check out the stop the drop initiative.