Tech Talk

A food service space without a good floor mat can be a recipe for disaster. Kitchens, bars, and other food service environments are no strangers to slick floors, leading OSHA to name slips and falls as a major hazard in the workplace.

An investment into quality wet area matting can help food service workers move around without fear of slipping while providing other benefits. The trick is that you can’t just buy any old floor mat. Matting products come in a variety of styles, with some being better for the food service industry than others. Here’s a quick guide that will help you understand how floor mats can help the food service industry and choose the right ones for your business.

Why Food Services Spaces Need Floor Mats

A good floor mat can provide several important benefits in the food service industry. These include:
• Workplace safety
• Cleanliness
• Comfort

Due to the nature of the food service industry, there’s a good chance that your floors will get slippery at some point. Between spills, cleaning, and other watery occurrences, wet floors pose a serious threat for employees while they work. Wet area mats allow water and other slippery substances to drain through to the floor so that employees can walk on dry matting with plenty of traction.

Of course, all those slippery substances need to be cleaned up eventually. Food service floor mats are designed to make cleaning faster and easier. Food service floor mats are light enough to be picked up when it’s time to clean so that workers can mop and wash up underneath them. These mats are also made to hold up to substances that would weaken standard mats. This means that food substances like animal fat or harsh chemicals found in cleaning solutions won’t eat away at your mats, allowing them to provide the protection and support your workers need for years.

Another major benefit of food service mats is that they provide ample support for workers. It only takes 90 seconds of standing for employees to feel fatigue, while long periods of standing on hard surfaces can lead to serious health issues like back pain, joint stiffness, and more. Anti-fatigue mats give workers the cushion they need to feel great and stay effective throughout the day.

Mat Recommendations for Food Service Spaces

An understanding of how floor mats can help your spaces is great. Choosing the right matting products is even better.
• Workstation Plus – A wet area, lightweight rubber mat with built-in beveled edges.
• Kitchen Grid – A slip-resistant anti-fatigue with an open surface that allows for drainage of waste by-products in the food processing industry.
• Workmaster – A general purpose rubber mat that provides excellent drainage in wet areas.
• Workflow Plus – A lightweight anti-fatigue mat made from a 100% nitrile grease-proof compound.
• Sof Spun 5/8” – A thick sponge mat that is ideal for use behind bars and check-out areas.
• Workstation Light – An economical, lighter weight general purpose mat with beveled edges.

The right food service mats can provide your staff with ample support and traction to improve your work areas. Durable supplies businesses with a variety of quality food service matting that can protect your environments. Register for an official Durable account for 24/7 access to our company and to order food service floor mats online.

A good manufacturing facility or any other industrial environment should protect their investments. Quality floor mats can help you protect some of your most valuable assets: your employees, your equipment, and the very floors that support your business.

Not just any floor mat will work, though. Industrial environments require a tougher protection, something durable enough to hold up over time and provide the layer of support between a cold, hard floor and your workers. These facilities can also vary in what types of mats they need depending on their floor layout, types of equipment, and other factors.

Each of these details can change exactly which style of mat you should buy, so here’s a quick good to help you choose the right floor mats for your industrial spaces.

Why Industrial Spaces Need Floor Mats

There are four major ways that floor mats can improve an industrial facility.
• Comfort
• Workplace safety
• Anti-static
• Floor protection

Employees in manufacturing and industrial environments generally work on their feet for long periods at a time. These prolonged periods of standing can lead to fatigue, bad posture, and even serious health issues over time. Durable anti-fatigue mats designed for industrial spaces provide workers with enough cushion to reduce the amount of stress put on their body over time.

In addition to making industrial spaces more comfortable for employees, there are matting products that can improve workplace safety. According to the National Floor Safety Institute, “85 percent of worker’s compensation claims are attributed to employees slipping on slick floors.” The use of high-visibility floor mats can help employees identify areas where extra caution is needed, while anti-slip surfaces and tape provide an extra level of traction to keep workers on their feet. Wet area mats can also be designed to allow slippery substances to drain through the mat, making it easy for employees to walk around the work area.

Industrial floor mats can protect more than just people. The presence of electrical equipment and products is common in many industrial facilities. Electrostatic discharge can cause billions of dollars in losses each year, so anti-static mats are used to reduce the risk of any electrical surges that could damage any sensitive equipment or manufactured materials.

Of course, the floor itself needs some protection as well. Nobody wins when heavy equipment hits the floor. The impact can damage both the equipment and the floor itself. A heavy-duty floor mat can serve as a protective layer between the floor and everything else, shielding it from problematic cracks and scuffs that can lead to bigger issues over time.

Mat Recommendations for Industrial Spaces

Now that you know exactly how mats can protect your industrial spaces, it’s time to choose the perfect floor protection products for your business. Of course, that can be tricky without a little guidance. Here are six top floor mat products for industrial spaces:
• Diamond Dek Sponge – A versatile heavy-duty mat featuring Diamond tread for sure footing.
• Sof Spun 3/8” – A sponge vinyl corrugated surface that is ideal for use at workstations and assembly lines in factories and warehouses.
• Workstation – An interlocking wet area mat with a non-skid surface that is ideal for large areas.
• RxMat – The toughest, most durable rubber mat made today. Features an interlocking design that’s perfect for large areas.
• Corrugated Rubber 1/8” – A fine-rib corrugated surface that adds traction and captures moisture and dirt.
• Conductive Diamond Dek Sponge – A Diamond-pattern mat that prevents the accumulation of static to protect electronic equipment form sparks and surges.

Some well-placed mats can make a big difference for industrial facilities. Durable can supply your business with quality matting products designed to improve the comfort and safety of industrial spaces. Register for an official Durable account for 24/7 access to our company and to order industrial floor mats online.

Static electricity can do more than just give you a little shock. It can end up causing damage to important electrical devices and financially hurting businesses across the country.

Electrostatic damage (ESD) has been a problem for businesses for hundreds of years. The EOS/ESD notes that issues can be traced back all the way to the 1400s, when military forts would have to try and control static so that it wouldn’t ignite stores of gunpowder. These days, ESD can cause havoc for sensitive electronic technology, forcing businesses to take measures to protect their investments.

How ESD Damage Works

The EOS/ESD Association defines ESD as “change to an item caused by an electrostatic discharge that makes it fail to meet one or more specified parameters.” In short, ESD can either completely break your devices or affect either their effectiveness or life span.

Catastrophic failure is a pretty easy to diagnose – the device no longer functions at all thanks to ESD. A latent defect caused by ESD is trickier to point out. ESD exposure can cause only partial damage that affects devices in multiple ways. Some devices could work perfectly fine, but break down earlier than expected. Other devices may not be quite as effective as they should.

Whether ESD causes catastrophic failures or latent defects, it can hurt your business’ overall efficiency and cost you a fair amount of money.

The Costs of ESD

ESD can cost a business in many different ways. One of the most obvious is the total damages from ruined devices. An ESD Association article highlights that losses in the electronics industry have been estimated to range anywhere from half a billion dollars to $5 billion. However, the article also asserts that while the industry wide cost is an issue, the true costs of ESD can go much further.

The aforementioned latent defects are one example of the costly effects of ESD. These damages don’t cause a company to outright lose money on products, but can have lasting costs tied to efficiency. If a device is damaged and cannot complete tasks as quickly as it was supposed to, those delays can add up over time whereas a completely efficient device would have a greater return on investment.

Another hidden cost is how ESD can create crisis points. Damaged or ruined devices could end up causing your business to have to postpone product delivery for a customer. Not only will this delay affect the timeline of a project, it can also impact your relationship with the customer. Too many issues can even help sever a business relationship.

Prevention Tactics

In order to limit the impact of ESD on your business, it makes sense to take certain measures to protect your electrical devices. Basic steps include adjusting the humidity level and using items like anti-static bags for your devices.

Another way to limit the amount of static is to invest in anti-static mats. These mats are made with insulated materials to prevent static build-up while giving your employees more standing support. They can also come with grounding cords to divert electricity away from your electrical equipment.

The costs of ESD are real, and measure like anti-static mats can help protect your business from future problems. Log in or register on our site to order anti-static mats for your business.

A floor is more than just a place to stand. It’s the foundation of any home or business and plays a key part for the look and feel of a space. Of course, that can go both ways.

Attractive flooring can add to the appeal of a room or space. Dingy, dirty floors can make a place feel, well, dingy and dirty. Fortunately, Dura-Tile II Entrance Tile keeps your floors safe and clean while adding to the aesthetic appeal of your space.

Combine Look and Function with Dura Tile II Entrance Tile

You spend a lot on your flooring. Regular foot traffic will drag in dirt, moisture, and debris that will turn a beautiful floor into a mess in no time. Dura-Tile II Entrance Tile provides an aggressive barrier before a step is placed on your flooring removing all the dirt, moisture, and debris while remaining attractive and functional for years.

Dura Tile II is made from recycled bus and truck tires manufactured into rubberized fabric strips that looks like carpet with unmatched durability. Maintained is easy just vacuum or hose for years of dependability.

Carpet Mat Options

In addition to Dura-Tile II, you can also choose from Designer Dura-Tile II and Dura-Tile II Colors. Designer Dura-Tile II comes in triangles to form an attractive pattern and can be combined with other Dura-Tiles for custom layouts. Dura-Tile II Colors adds a blast of color to our standard earth tone color to match any décor.

If you want to pair appearance, durability and functionality Dura-Tile II is for you. Contact Durable today to learn more about our full line of Entrance and Carpet Matting. Approved dealers and buyers can even log in online to order matting products right on our site.

A little slouch can have a big impact over time. While people are often taught to stand up straight as they grew up, certain factors can lead to bad posture, such as fatigue and aging in general.

Bad posture can have serious consequences, especially for people who have to work on their feet all day. That’s a serious issue for businesses who need their employees to be healthy, happy, and productive to succeed. Here are some of the hazards of bad posture in the workplace and what you can do to provide your workers with the support they need.

How Bad Posture Can Affect Your Health

Dealing with bad posture can literally be a big pain. Slouching can lead to back, neck, and shoulder pain, with the effects ranging from mild discomfort and annoyance to severe aches. According to Posturebly, this is because poor posture can cause a misalignment of the spine, leading to extra stress on your upper body and joints.

In addition to pain, there are other negative effects that can be aggravated by bad posture, including:

• Poor breathing
• Digestive issues
• Tension headaches
• Impact on stress and mood

Anti-Fatigue Mats and Other Ways to Limit Bad Posture Problems

Sometime the best way to prevent health problems is a little support. Anti-fatigue mats are a great way to help you and your employees limit bad posture and make you feel better. They do this by providing a level of cushion between you and the floor, relieving some of the pressure created when your feet are in direct contact with the hard floor.

There are also a few exercises and stretches people can do to help. BuiltLean has a 10-minute workout session to help strengthen muscles associated with posture. If that’s too much, even something like doing regular stretches before, during, and after work can help loosen up your body and relieve stress.

Bad posture is a big problem, but small improvements can help keep your workplace stay healthy and happy. If you need quality anti-fatigue mats for your office, shop, or other business, Log in or register on our site to order anti-fatigue matting and other products directly from our site.