Matting – An Ideal Solution for Safe Surfaces

Upgrading your floor space to increase its slip-resistance can go a long way in avoiding a variety of unsafe incidents.  Commercial establishments especially have to focus on keeping their floors very safe to avoid slips and falls that can incapacitate employees, injure customers, and potentially expose them to litigate and liability.  Matting is a great way to ensure that your floors are safe for everyone.

Accidents caused by slippery surfaces

According to statistics collated by the Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada in 2011, 42,000 workers are injured annually due to accidental falls. 66% of these falls are due to slips and trips on level surfaces.

The main reason for slips is less traction or friction between the flooring and footwear. Other common reasons for slips include:

• wet, waxed or oily surfaces
• weather conditions
• worn out or poorly installed rugs or carpets

Why is matting the best solution for slippery surfaces?

Entrance matting is the perfect solution for expansive, slippery floor spaces that need to be secured. They are also much more durable than other temporary solutions like carpets and rugs. Carpeting large commercial spaces can be a significant expense, not to mention difficult to maintain and not in tune with a space’s design aesthetic.

Matting, on the other hand, is much easier to maintain. Entrance mats are also designed for performance first, and appearance second – they’re engineered to offer better friction against all kinds of footwear. They are ideal for building entrances, which are among the most slippery surfaces, prone to a lot of accidental slips especially during inclement weather.

During wet weather, you are likely to have a lot of customers walking with wet umbrellas and coats. Water dripping from these accessories can make even the most well maintained surfaces volatile. A certain amount of matting – at least at the entrances – is essential for safe, dry commercial spaces.

What are the other benefits of matting?

There are a string of benefits that come with opting for mats. Unlike carpeting, loose-laid entrance mats don’t require lengthy installation procedures.  Entrance mats can be delivered and rolled out in a matter of minutes, resulting in no downtime for any of your building’s entrances.  Matting also helps make building maintenance easier; instead of dirt spread over a large area like bare hard flooring or carpeting, entrance mats trap and hold incoming dirt until your cleaning staff remove it on a nightly basis with simple maintenance, reducing your costs.  Entrance mats also offer you ample choices in terms of custom size and shape, logo, and colour. You can coordinate them well with your décor, or alternatively, use them to advertise your business as well.

If placed ideally, they can attract attention from escalators and elevators, making them excellent marketing tools. They can be conveniently placed only where needed. Mats can protect your floor and ease your maintenance as your floor doesn’t have to be constantly waxed and polished to repair damage from unchecked dirt and grit.

Matting is the most convenient and economical solution for improving the safety and appearance of your commercial public spaces.