Anti-Slip Flooring Products

Why is Anti-Slip Flooring Important?

Slips, trips and falls are the most common cause of workplace accidents in the UK. In 2016/17, they contributed to 29% of all workplace accidents which was estimated to affect over 110,000 people.

Additionally, outside of work, the health and safety of the public is one of the Government’s highest agendas with many landmarks, places of interest and recreational centres governed by law to have anti-slip safety flooring in place.

In recognition of their importance, at First Mats we have extended our range beyond matting to more permanent flooring solutions including anti-slip sheets, tapes and stair treads, to offer our clients a greater choice when they are looking to improve the safety of surrounding floors.

The Types of Anti-Slip Flooring Products

We provide 3 main types of anti-slip flooring sheets for commercial, public and industrial spaces. These include anti-slip tapes, stair treads and nosing and anti-slip walkway matting rolls.  Each of these products can be combined, enabling you to turn hazardous wet and dangerous surfaces into slip-free zones protecting staff and site visitors.

Below is a detailed breakdown of each of the products can make up our anti-slip flooring sheets range.

Anti-Slip Tape

One of our most popular safety flooring products, Anti-Slip Tape is used on the edges of steps or evenly spaced on ramps and walkways to provide extra grip underfoot on a mixture of varying surfaces.

Affordable, durable and effortless to apply; anti-slip tape is common in industrial work environments, factories, warehouses, places of education, offices and many more locations.

What Types of Anti-Slip Tape Are There?

Anti-slip tape is available in strips or rolls 18.3m long and in 7 colours including hazard tapes in black/yellow and red/white. There is also a foil backed option (conformable anti-slip tape) that conforms or moulds to uneven surfaces, such as check plate floors and steps. A few examples of the different Anti-Slip Tape and their applications includes;

Coarse Textured – Heavy-duty indoor and outdoor grip tape made from large abrasive particles with dirt and moisture resistance, great for stairs and ramps with moderate to high volumes of foot traffic.

• Uses and Properties: Amazing Anti-Slip Resistance, Durable, Heavy-Duty, Ideal for public transport depots, distribution centres, factories and more. Indoor and Outdoor Use.
• Colours: In vibrant blue, black, red, green and yellow and safety stiped black/yellow and red/white.

Conformable – Coated with a smart aluminium foil backing that moulds onto irregular and uneven surfaces such as diamond plated floors and bumpy stairs. Our foil-backed tape has a fine gritty surface – increasing traction underfoot.

• Uses and Properties: Good durability, Great Anti-Slip Resistance, Heavy-Duty and Ready for Multi-Surface Applications. Ideal for diamond pattern or irregular floor surfaces and contours in indoor industrial manufacturing and factory environments.
• Colours: Black only

Outdoor Anti-Slip Tape - Outdoor versions offer great weather durability, anti-slip and wear resistance and are suited for high to medium areas of foot traffic.

• Uses and Properties: Great Durability and All-Weather Resistance, Great anti-slip resistance, Heavy-Duty Ready. Ideal for public and commercial areas such as public transport buildings and warehouses.
• Colours: In high-vis yellow and white

Indoor General Use Anti-Slip Tape- General Purpose tapes have an adhesive designed to stick to indoor flooring such as laminate tiling, painted wood, metal and concrete.

Before installing, always read the manufacturers instructions.

• Uses and Properties: Great Durability, Great Anti-Slip Resistance, Heavy-Duty and Home Ready, Multi-Surface Application Friendly. Ideal for commercial and domestic indoor floors.   
• Colours: In vibrant blue, black, red, green and yellow and safety stiped black/yellow and red/white.

Stair Treads and Nosing

Stair treads work as a cover over each step in a staircase providing a grippy coarse surface with excellent anti-slip properties. Nosing works in a similar fashion but cover the edges of steps only and can be used to cover the whole length of the step.

Both our stair treads and nosing are made from a material called Glass-Reinforced Plastic or GRP for short: a lightweight, extremely strong, and robust material for stairs.  Listed down below are some of the many benefits to using GPR for our stair treads and nosings.

Benefits of Glass-reinforced plastic (GPR)

• GRP has a high strength to weight ratio and high flexural strength.
• High resistance to extreme temperatures and weather conditions.
• Resistance to most chemicals and acids.
• GRP require very little maintenance - no rust, no painting, no wood rot.
• GPR is non-corrosive and immune to rust like other construction metals.
• GPR has an amazing shelf life expectancy of 10 years -making it a great investment and value for money.
• GPR maintains and hold shape under mechanical and environmental stresses. 

Where would you see Stair Treads and Nosings?

Believe it or not, almost any staircase that you have ever used or seen has some type of stair trend equipped, weather this is a standard wooden stair trend for a home or our anti-slip nosing for the office.  Below are just some of the examples of the practical applications where stair treads and nosings are used in everyday life:

• Town Centres
• Schools and Universities
• Libraries
• Train Stations
• Leisure Centres
• Other Public Buildings

UK Building Regulations and the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).

As part of the UK Building Regulations and the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), by law all stair and ramps and tactile plates are required to ensure safe and ease or access for people with wheelchairs or who have impaired vision; stating that “all nosings are made apparent by means of a permanently contrasting material 55mm wide on both the tread and the riser”.

Now fully enforceable and subject to prosecutions such as “unlimited fines”, more than ever it is critical that the right standards are met.

Our stair nosings and treads are fully complaint with both the UK Building Regulations and the Disability Discrimination Act.

Anti-Slip GRP Sheets

Anti-slip GRP flooring sheets from First Mats are all-weather resistant, high grip matting solutions which cover large areas -  ideal for pedestrian and factory walkways, access ramps, gangways and bridges. Coated with a densely-packed fine grit texture which ensures a high-grip surface reducing the risk of slipping, even in wet areas.

Features of Anti-Slip GRP Sheets

Silicone Carbide Construction - Our anti-slip sheets are constructed from Silicone Carbide ;  an exceptionally strong, versatile plastic.  The properties allow us to cut the sheets into custom lengths and sizes whilst offering exceptional grip levels. Their moisture resistance is one of the reasons they are used for applications on the roof such as heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, telecommunications or services such as window cleaning.

Ease of installation -  Another key advantage of anti-slip sheets is the ease of installation, by simply bonding or screwing the sheets to existing floor surface for instant results.

Ideal for uneven surfaces - The flexibility of the anti-slip sheets allows them to contour to uneven surfaces or imperfections of the roof surface.

Large Surface Area- With the large surface area of the sheets and the option to have a custom length cut, they are increasing becoming more popular and a permanent fixture on many commercial and public floors.

Anti-Slip Sheets Cleaning Tips

For practitioners in charge of the maintenance of anti-slip walkway matting, we have complied a basic guide of how to deal with certain day-to-day stains and maintenance of the mat.

Cleaning Tips

• We recommend covering the sheet surface with water first with a pressure washer. This will remove and loosen any stubborn debris that would otherwise affect the cleanliness of the mat.  Try to soak as much of the surface as possible and allow 10-15 minutes before repeating the process again to make sure all internment dirt is removed. Afterwards deploy and carry out any designated health and safety procedures and allow the mat to dry.
• Always check the manufacturers recommendations and requirements with the types of cleaning agents or detergents to use while washing your mat.

Summary - Anti-Slip Flooring Products

To summarise, apply these anti-slip flooring sheets in the following locations to bolster the health and safety for the area.

• For stairs – Stair Trends and Nosings
• For stairways and ramps – Anti-Slip Tape
• For walkways, ramps, gangways and bridges. – Walking Matting

For data sheets or any other information, please don't hesitate to contact one of our team members.

References

The Rubber Company, n.d. Roof Walkway Matting - The Rubber Company. [Online]
Available at: http://therubbercompany.com/products/roof-walkway-matting-roofgrip-pvc/

Anon., n.d. Properties of GRP | What Makes It So Useful. [Online]
Available at: http://www.kingsleyplastics.co.uk/articles/properties-of-grp.html

Anon., n.d. Statistics - Non-fatal injuries at work in Great Britain. [Online]
Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causinj/index.htm

Watco, n.d. Equality Act and Building Regulations. [Online]
Available at: https://www.watco.co.uk/dda