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Selecting a Flooring System
Selecting and Maintaining Textured Floors by Tom Murphy, Industrial and Marine Coatings Group, The Sherwin-Williams Company and Bob Lussmyer, Union Brands, Ltd. Most people don't think much about floor surfaces until there is a problem with them. For instance, personnel safety and potential liability may only become major issues when floors become too slippery under normal use conditions. Maintaining floors properly to prevent unwanted hazardous conditions in kitchens, restrooms, production environments and even public access lobbies depends on the type of flooring system and the conditions of use. Typically, textured seamless floors are specified in situations anticipating exposure to water, oils, greases or other process contaminants. The degree of texture will impact the slip resistance of the floor but it is equally important to develop standard operating procedures which include the types of cleaners and the techniques used to clean the floor. Typically, textured seamless floors are specified in situations where exposure to water, oils, greases or other process contaminants is anticipated. Often, a "wet" environment is only considered wet because it requires frequent cleanings to maintain a hygienic plant environment. Further, the degree of texture selected must be matched with the conditions of operation because the texture impacts the slip resistance of the floor and the maintenance procedures required, including the types of cleaners used and the techniques for keeping the floor clean and in good order.
Weighing the Conditions Food processing represents the most aggressive flooring environment. Food and beverage production facilities must maintain a clean environment to protect the condition of the goods being produced. Processing and packaging areas are typically wet and frequently require steam cleaning. Foodstuff contaminants are frequently acid. Flooring systems for these environments must withstand the inherent chemical and abrasion conditions, as well as provide a safe, slip resistant surface for production personnel. As a result, textured flooring systems are commonly used in these areas. Concrete alone will not handle the acid environment and will become slippery with exposure to fats, oils and water. Urethane ¼" resurfacing systems are required in these applications to address the thermal shock conditions of steam cleaning and the physical and chemical exposures. These systems are finished with a non-slip surface to provide safe walking conditions under wet, dry and contaminated conditions. Heavy manufacturing conditions vary based upon the production or assembly environments. Heavy manufacturing and assembly plants must address the issue of slip resistance due to the exposure to oils and particulate matter. The flooring system also must withstand the degree of traffic and physical abrasion anticipated. Combining proper maintenance procedures with some degree of texture can minimize slip hazards in these facilities. Commercial kitchens, cafeterias and restaurants typically represent wet and soiled conditions with low foot traffic. Commercial kitchens and cafeterias do not undergo the same degree of physical abuse and steam cleaning as food processing facilities, but slip resistance and maintaining a clean environment are equally important here. In these situations, a more decorative seamless floor such as a quartz broadcast or decorative troweled system is most frequently selected. These systems also typically receive a textured finish to insure safety. Lobbies and restrooms are mostly dry with light traffic, but wet conditions may occur occasionally. Flooring systems for lobbies and restrooms are generally selected based upon aesthetics. The light foot traffic and routine cleaning typical of these areas do not dictate the need for a textured floor system. Terrazzo, marble and tile using the ADA compliant sealer typically are installed to maintain the desired non-slip surface in these areas.
Table 1. Representative Conditions Requiring Slip Resistant Flooring
Marrying Texture with Safety Heavy manufacturing conditions require a more durable texture that will not be crushed due to the traffic of forklifts and other vehicles. Silica sand is incorporated into the finish surface of slurry/broadcast floors and ¼" trowel applied resurfacing systems for slip resistance. Varying the size of the aggregate also impacts the degree of slip resistance. Larger aggregates, such as a 30 mesh silica sand, provide more slip resistance on a dry surface than the smaller size 40-60 mesh silica. Wen-Ruey Chang and Associates at the Liberty Mutual Research Center for Safety and Health has studied the role of surface roughness for both floor surfaces and footwear. This group's studies concluded that the Coefficient of Friction (COF), a measure of the inverse relationship between friction and "slipperiness," is significantly impacted by the microscopic roughness of the combination of the sole and the floor surfaces. This principle helps to explain the extreme variances obtained when various waxes and sealers are used on textured floors. It is important to insure that ADA compliant sealers and maintenance materials are used in lobbies and restrooms where physically noticeable or "macroscopic" surface texture is not incorporated. The ASM 725 Slip Meter (American Slip Meter, Inc.) was used to measure the static COF of various dry industrial flooring systems with smooth and textured surfaces. Two different grades of aggregate were used, a 40/60 mesh silica sand and a more aggressive 30 mesh silica sand. Results indicated that a smooth surface complies with ADA 0.5 COF recommendations in dry conditions, but the addition of texture to the flooring system dramatically increased the COF for both leather and neolite (rubber) soles. The 30 mesh aggregate improved slip resistance as represented by an increased COF.
These tests were duplicated with oily conditions. The smooth surface was below "safe" recommendations and both textured surfaces improved the COF . It must be noted that although these tests provide relative performance and valid comparison, the static measurement of slip resistance may not fully reflect the degree of "slipperiness" of the dynamic interaction of an individual walking. By definition the static meter determines the amount of force necessary to initiate movement of a weight. Water and oil will exhibit a cohesive force with stationary objects. The amount of force required to maintain movement on these surfaces is significantly less.
While in most food processing areas a wet environment exists, conditions can range from extremely wet to mostly dry. Packaging areas, for example, may be mostly dry. Aluminum oxide is used to provide a non-slip surface in areas subject to the most extreme conditions. The angular nature of this aggregate yields a high coefficient of friction. Figure 3 illustrates that footwear composed of neolite (rubber) tends to provide safer COF than leather across at all levels of texture in the flooring system.
As this chart shows, in dry, wet and oily conditions Sherwin-Williams General Polymers brand FasTop™ Flooring Systems maintain a high level of slip resistance . When an epoxy topcoat is applied over the aluminum oxide, the COF decreases.
Cleaning a Textured Surface Most textured floor applications are for areas that experience relatively high traffic and are exposed to significant accumulation of dirt, grease, oil or other matter. Without an effective cleaning procedure, a key benefit of textured flooring, increased COF, is quickly lost. Because of this, the maintenance schedule for most areas is daily or twice-daily cleaning and regular "touch-ups" for spills. Less frequent cleaning of these areas results in a buildup of foreign matter, negating the slip resistance benefits of the floor. The first challenge in cleaning a textured floor is to put away the mops. Mops are not appropriate for cleaning most textured floors, given their tendency to shed fibers when put into abrasive service, and to spread grease and oils around an area. The first and perhaps most complex step in cleaning a textured floor is choosing the correct cleaning chemical for the need at hand, based on the amount and types of foreign matter, the type of flooring surface and the cleaning process. Following the floor manufacturer's recommendations is a great way to decide what type of cleaning chemical to use. If no recommendations are given, then it is necessary to determine the best type of cleaner based on a number of factors:
These products have successfully removed contaminants on a variety of General Polymers textured flooring, including protein-based soils such as food, blood, fats; crude-based soils such as petroleum oils, dirt, mud; and rubber tire marks. In addition, we have also removed common "floor stains," including Gatorade, Pepto Bismol, mustard and Betadine. Once the proper chemical has been chosen, there are four additional steps for proper cleaning of a textured floor:
Sometimes, floor maintenance involves more than cleaning. Maintaining a slip resistant surface may mean providing additional friction. With friction comes wear. All surfaces exposed to constant use will show erosion. Maintaining a textured floor requires periodic recoating and renewed texture application. In low foot traffic conditions and light cleaning programs, this restoration will be required somewhat rarely. Extreme conditions will require more frequent maintenance, perhaps at regular intervals. To assure proper maintenance of any floor, textured or smooth, standard maintenance procedures for each environment should delineate the frequency of cleaning needed, the correct cleaning agents and the appropriate tools. Though cleaning and maintaining a textured floor presents a challenge to the maintenance staff, it is not an undue burden. Safety of personnel is of primary importance, and the energy and cost associated with maintaining a safe environment is inconsequential compared with the cost of low morale and potential medical liability. With the correct type of textured flooring, the correct chemicals and the right cleaning procedures for the specific environment, a textured floor will provide years of dependable service without ever becoming a major maintenance hassle.
Robert Lussmyer
Thomas Murphy
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