Building barriers
Published: 05 January, 2012
With winter in full swing, complete with the threat of wet weather and snow, making sure
barrier matting is up to scratch and maintained properly is high on the list for many
Flooring specialist, Gradus has recently undertaken work at One New Change in London, the Four Seasons shopping centre in Mansfield, Southside in Wandsworth, and the Spindles in Oldham as well as past contracts with Manchester’s Trafford Centre, The Oracle in Reading and others.
And it’s the popular demand of the Esplanade Plus primary barrier matting product that makes up the majority of the company’s work in shopping centres.
If correctly specified in terms of amount of matting required for the volume of traffic and maintained using a suitable and regular cleaning regime, Esplanade Plus removes and retains dirt and moisture from pedestrian and wheeled traffic to prevent them being tracked onto adjacent floorcoverings.
It’s made of aluminium and 100 per cent solution-dyed nylon or a black PVC wiper. It comes in a choice of 16 colours and can be used in both interior and exterior environments.
“The main benefit is that it can help to reduce the risk of slip accidents caused by wet flooring and can help avoid costs associated with compensation claims,” says Gradus’ accessories product manager, Rachael Robertson. “It can also help to reduce the cleaning and maintenance costs and prolong the lifecycle of the surrounding floorcoverings.”
It is available in a choice of thicknesses to suit a variety of matwell frames, and incorporates PVC hinges that allow for ease of handling and minor undulations in the matwell. It is also environmentally friendly with an overall recycled content of 69 per cent.
For shopping centres using terrazzo or ceramic floors, Gradus recommends using a primary entrance mat in conjunction with a secondary barrier carpet as a walk-off area for added safety.
Secondary barrier carpets, Boulevard 6000 and 5000HD, are made from solution-dyed nylon, which means they are easy to clean and maintain and resistant to bleach solutions, and the Boulevard 6000 also has green credentials after being awarded the highest green guide ‘A+’ rating under the BRE’s certified environmental profile scheme.
Those unsure as to how much barrier matting is needed at particular entrances should consult a study by The Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL) and Entrance Flooring Systems Association (EFSA).
“The HSL and EFSA conducted a study on reducing the risk of slips at entrances and the role that entrance matting plays in this,” explains Robertson. “One of the recommendations resulting from the study was that adequate amounts of matting should be provided for the number of people entering a building per hour, making sure that all entrances are covered.
“In some shopping centre environments it may not always be possible to accommodate the recommended amount of primary matting. Therefore, using secondary barrier carpet in conjunction with a smaller primary mat increases dirt and moisture removal, provides a cost effective solution and improves the appearance of the entrance.”
Cleaning and maintenance is vital to ensuring primary barrier matting and secondary barrier carpets continue to work effectively.
“The performance of any barrier matting system is dependent on how well it is cleaned and maintained,” says Robertson. “Matting is designed to collect dirt and moisture to prevent it from being tracked onto adjacent floorcoverings so will soon become full. If not cleaned regularly, the mat will become ineffective as it will not retain any more dirt and moisture and this will be tracked into the building.”
For an entrance mat to work at optimum efficiency, Roberston suggests it should be vacuumed daily with an upright vacuum cleaner, as well as regular cleaning with a water extraction machine.
