When someone hears of floor marking it can be easily associated with floor paint but the world of floor marking is much more than just floor paint. Floor marking encompasses a variety of things like floor tapes, floor shapes, and floor signs.
Floor marking can be used for safety or organizational purposes in a facility and can be a huge advantage for manufacturing workplaces and industrial warehouses. Tape, shapes, and signs on the floor not only make a workplace safer, but also more efficient and productive.
Any workplace trying to emphasize a visual communication approach should have a floor marking strategy in place. Here are some ideas and areas for a floor marking strategy:
- Hazardous areas: Yellow and black hazard striped tape can be placed around dangerous equipment, around electrical panels, and surrounding other hazardous areas. This communicates to the employee the area is dangerous and precautions should be taken.
- Product and material storage: Keep the facility organized by creating storage areas and homes for products and materials. Laying down floor tape for storage will help to create structure in an otherwise open floor. Floor marking corners can also be used to designate storage areas.
- Equipment and tools: Like with product and material storage, equipment and tools should have their own homes in the workplace. This can help communicate to workers where certain tools belong and ensure nothing encroaches on the equipment’s space.
- Traffic: If your workplace has both pedestrians and vehicles traveling around the facility, creating lanes and traffic markings can greatly benefit safety of workers and visitors. Yield signs, stop signs, and speed limit signs also come in floor sign options for optimal visual communication.
- Other wayfinding: Mark emergency routes with signs, arrows, and photoluminescent tape. Foot print shaped floor markings are an excellent option for creating pathways to help visitors and employees navigate the facility.
Historically, floor paint has been the standard for marking floors, but floor tape is an ideal alternative. Installing industrial floor tapes guarantee the advantages of no fumes, no dry time, and no spills. Straight and curved lines can be easy to achieve with floor tapes and there will be little to no interruption the work floor and can be quickly applied, unlike floor paint. Over time, floor paint, even industrial grade, can often chip or fade while floor tape will stay intact and can be easily cleaned.
Visual communication shouldn’t be limited to just the walls! Floor marking tapes, shapes, and signs will improve safety and efficiency in the warehouse. Create storage and organization areas on the facility floor, direct traffic by designing lanes to run through the warehouse, or convey important information that is sure to be seen.
Additional Resources
- OSHA Floor Marking– creativesafetysupply.com
- Floor Marking Tape Applications– floormarkingtape.org
- Floor Marking for Warehouse Traffic– forkliftsafety101.com
- Floor Marking Colors for the Workplace– facilityfloortape.com
- Industrial Floor Tape vs. Industrial Floor Paint– infographicsdirectory.org
- Floor Markings for Safety– safetyvisuals.com
- The Importance of Bollards in Industrial Environments– bollardpostcovers.com
- Why is Pipe Marking Important?– pipemarking.info
- A Guide to Safety Labels– safetylabelmakers.com