It can be difficult enough to choose between carpeting and laminates when considering the best surfacing solution for the family home, but either option is likely to prove suitable most of the time. However, when one is faced with deciding upon the best industrial flooring solution for a given operation, the consequences of making the wrong choice could be more serious as well as costlier. As is normally the case when contemplating any major business decision, it will be essential to identify the current needs and attempt to anticipate any possible future needs before deciding upon the most suitable course of action.

When that business decision concerns the choice of industrial flooring, there are five main factors that will need to be considered. The first of these is the type of traffic the new surface will be exposed to. Will it be exclusively foot traffic or will there also be vehicular traffic? If the latter, it will be necessary to consider the type of vehicles that will be used. For pedestrian traffic alone, floors need to be resilient but not exceptionally durable. However, while something a bit stronger may be required to support constant forklift traffic, the same surface would not suffice for a loading area used by heavy goods vehicles.

When choosing industrial flooring, the density of traffic is just as important as its nature. Accommodating a manager’s car may not present much of a problem; however, a dedicated car park through which several thousand vehicles are likely to pass in a single day will need a surface that is designed to survive exceptionally high levels of wear and tear.

One’s first reaction may be to believe that the choice of colour for industrial flooring is of minor importance and even a matter of personal taste. In fact, this is not the case and the colour chosen can actually affect operations. While pristine white surfaces may be the perfect choice for the cleanrooms of pharmaceutical and electronics companies (and an architect’s dream), keeping them clean would be a nightmare in a less hygienic environment. Reds and yellows may look good but are known to induce fatigue. However, where natural light is limited, lighter colours are more reflective and could help to limit the cost of electric lighting.

Cleaning industrial flooring may require specialised equipment to ensure it is both fast and efficient. It will therefore be necessary to budget for this additional cost, as well as for a maintenance schedule and the regular servicing of forklifts. Worn tyres, for instance, could result in costly damage to a warehouse floor. Finally, it will be necessary to take into account any special factors that may influence the choice, such as the ambient temperature within the storage facility. For example, the need will be for a very different type of surface in a deep-freeze facility from that which is required in an area used for steam-cleaning operations.

Making the correct choice will be crucial, but the factors to be considered can be confusing and often best left to an expert. For quality storage equipment and industrial flooring solutions, South African businesses have relied on Krost Shelving for more than 50 years.