Improving the safety and efficiency of a workplace is essential to success. There are many avenues and tools available, but not many are as effective as the visual cue of floor markings. Floor signs, shapes, and tapes can convey virtually any type of message and doesn’t occupy valuable space. They are excellent for reminding workers of procedures, highlighting hazardous areas, and creating structure in an open facility.
While floor marking is a relatively simple procedure, it’s best to avoid the temptation to start placing tape on the floor immediately. To ensure you get the best results in your facility, spend some time considering options and developing a site-wide plan. If planned properly, a floor marking strategy will improve workplace safety, reduce waste, and increase efficiency.
Here are some tips for getting the most out of your floor marking:
- Involve everyone: Solicit employee input for floor marking improvements and be sure to include workers from different levels and different departments.
- Map it out: Develop detailed location plans for each floor sign or line of tape before laying down anything.
- Plan a color code: To avoid confusion, use as few colors as possible. Select colors and color patterns that are easy to recognize and distinguish. Simple and bright is best. Avoid colors and patterns too close to existing safety markings. Colors chosen for pathways should not be used for other floor marking applications. Post your floor marking color code in a conspicuous location and train all employees on your new system.
- Leave some space: Do not cover access doors, electrical outlets, and important equipment with floor markings.
- Consider shapes: Continuous lines of tape are not always needed. In many cases, corner markers are sufficient to show the edges of an area.
- Research materials: Floor markings, specifically tapes, come in a number of materials for different applications. Some tapes are more durable, some tapes come in a reflective finish, and some tapes even glow in the dark.
Before you put anything on your floors, remember to plan! Using the above advice can set you up to implement an extremely effective floor marking strategy.
Additional Resources
- Types of Floor Marking– creativesafetysupply.com
- Exploring Different Types of Floor Marking– facilityfloormarking.com
- Implementing Floor Markings in your Facility– hiplogic.com
- Floor Marking Best Practices– floortape101.com
- Floor Marking – 7 Common Mistakes– blog.creativesafetysupply.com
- Improving Workplace Efficiency with Floor Marking– 5snews.com
- Floor Marking Shapes Example– aislemarking.com
- Industrial Floor Marking Color Standards– floor-tape.com
- Types of Floor Marking Tapes for Warehouses– babelplex.com