Concept Storage recently completed a state-of-the-art distribution center that included two warehouse flooring products not commonly seen in warehouses (at least for the time being):
- Tactile Warning Plates and
- MetaGard flooring panels.
We wanted to dig a little deeper into these trends, as we believe we will be seeing more of these products in future warehousing projects.
1. TACTILE WARNING PLATES
Safety is an integral element in the efficient operations of your warehouse, and Tactile Warning Plates is a product that can enhance the safety of your warehouse, thus providing a safe environment for your employees.
Tactile Warning Plates are ground surface indicators made of a high-quality polymer with a rigid exterior texture, designed to be placed in front of dangerous foot traffic areas. You have probably seen them while out for your neighborhood stroll placed on the edges of crosswalks.
These tactile warning plates are now being introduced into warehouses to enhance safety in high-traffic areas, and high-risk zones like the top of staircases. They are made with extreme durability to withstand heavy (steel-booted!) foot traffic and can be securely installed on concrete warehouse flooring in under 10 minutes.
Calling these tactile warning plates a “trend” may be a bit of an understatement since they are actually a newly introduced safety requirement as per Ontario Building Code Compliance. These tactile warning plates were typically only a requirement to accommodate those who are visually impaired. However, they are now a requirement in all new warehouse buildings regardless of accessibility standards.
Therefore, these Tactile Warning Plates are definitely going to be a long-standing staple in warehouse and distribution centers going forward.
2. METAGARD
MetaGard is a warehouse flooring material made of a resin deck panel, topped with a steel surface finish. These floor panels are perfect for busy areas that usually see a lot of damage. Places like pallet drop-off zones, where pallets get dragged across the floor causing damage to floor panels, are a perfect place to install MetaGard panels.
More recently, MetaGard floor panels are being used where autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) move around in warehouses. The continuous operation of autonomous vehicles causes increased wear-and-tear on warehouse flooring. Therefore, the added durability that MetaGard offers has been a great solution to this relatively new problem we are seeing in warehouses today.
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