4 Ways Resinous Urethane Cement Flooring Can Improve Safety in Food Processing Plants
Posted Jun 17, 2019 by Dave Scaturro
If you work in the food processing industry, you know how significant it is to abide by the proper United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) standards in your facility. Starting from machinery maintenance to employee attire, strict guidelines need to be followed in order to comply with USDA regulations. While you may NOT often think about it, the flooring in your food processing facility is an element that probably faces the most wear and tear on a daily basis. Seems like common sense right? Foot traffic, food debris, cleaning chemicals, and more, are all very real components that need to be taken into consideration.
According to the USDA, industrial flooring in food manufacturing facilities need to be durable, easily cleaned, installed without seams, graded for drainage, and impervious to moisture. The floors must also reduce the growth of bacteria and mold to guard against any contamination. At Alpine Specialty Flooring, we're experts in industrial flooring and can install a variety of USDA-approved flooring solutions for your business. In this post, we will highlight some of the benefits of a resinous floor application and how it can be an ideal flooring solution for your food processing plant.
Impact, Abrasion, Chemicals, Thermal Shock, and Slip Resistance
All that! One of the best benefits of resinous flooring is that it is impervious to just about everything. From harsh chemicals to variances in temperature, urethane cement is likely going to be your flooring of choice in food processing industries. Valued for its long lifespan, urethane cement will also require less maintenance than sealed concrete floor. Since it’s already installed on durable concrete, epoxy or urethane will protect the floor from moisture, stains, and cracks over time. In addition, its natural slip resistance (especially when textured) will allow for improved safety in the workplace.
Improved Safety and Work Flow
Rather than having signs to designate traffic and work flow in your food processing plant, consider using different colors of resin on your industrial flooring. By color coding walkways and traffic areas, you can implement improved safety guidelines and avoid accidents in your facility. You may also use colors to place a visual distance and safety barriers around specific equipment. All to avoid any potential injuries.
Increased Visibility and Aesthetics
Some "food for thought" - A lesser known advantage of urethane cement flooring is that, due to its high gloss, it can help to increase visibility in the workplace. Depending on the color of the resin, the surfaces can be made “brighter” in certain areas where more reflectiveness may be needed. The light in your building will reflect off the floors, while the glossy look will give your facility a clean and professional look.
Improved Sanitation
Sanitation is critically important in the food processing industry. Certain food byproducts such as fats, oils, acids, blood, and sugar are likely to fall onto the ground. It’s essential to have proper protection to avoid future contamination. When you use resinous flooring, not only will you be providing that extra protection against alkalis and acids, but your floor will also be able to tolerate all of your cleaning chemicals and procedures. This type of industrial flooring is also resistant to germs and bacteria, making it much easier to sanitize. No matter the type of food processing plant, our team at Alpine Specialty Flooring will gladly work with you to install the type of coating that best works for your facility.
Our seamless flooring solutions will meet USDA guidelines and help improve safety for your workplace at the same time.
Contact us to schedule a free site visit from one of our experts and explore industrial flooring solutions for your facility today!