Whether you are a hobbyist, producing small components in your own garage, or managing a large manufacturing facility with hundreds of workers, Workshop Mats can improve the safety and productivity of your workshop. At First Mats, we stock various styles of workshop mats, each with its own features and benefits at competitive prices. Choosing the best one may feel like a difficult task, so this article provides you with all the important information that you need to know about workshop mats to help you decide which ones to use.
Briefly put, a workshop mat is a term to describe any type of matting designed to be in a workshop environment. This can be anywhere from a hobbyist’s own woodworking area to automotive garages, welding bays and large-scale manufacturing plants.
The diversity between workshops and the type of work conducted within them means that many workshops will have at least two or more different types of workshop matting, each designed for a specific purpose.
Industrial workshop mats help to protect both floors and workers by providing a tough but comfortable surface for them to stand on. The mats help to absorb impacts from heavy tools and equipment and prevent the spread of machining oils and swarf to other parts of the building. Many workshop mats also have excellent anti-fatigue properties, guaranteeing that employees get the best possible working environment while also complying with necessary health & safety rules and regulations.
The main features and functionalities of industrial workshop mats include:
Trapping Machine Oils and Swarf – Swarf such as metal fillings, wood shavings and other particles can cause major health and hygiene risks if left unattended. For these environments, we stock workshop mats with an array of compact holes, indents or small wells to collect and trap any swarf when working.
Slip Resistance – Anti-Slip Mats prevent or greatly reduce the risk of workers slipping, tripping or falling within the surrounding area. These slip-resistant mats are usually made from rubber, which helps keep the mat fixed on the floor.
Wear Resistance - In factories, garages and workshops with high volumes of foot and operational vehicle traffic, it is imperative that the workshop mats are durable to sustain the pressure, weight and materials they come in contact which throughout the day.
Oil Resistance – Oil Resistance is especially important in factories, manufacturing plants, and garages that handle any fuel or oily-based products.
Industrial floor mats made with an NBR (nitrile rubber) outer coating resist deterioration due to the synthetic rubber’s amazing resistance qualities - used in many automotive seals and gaskets or other items subject to contact with oils and other industrial fluids.
Fire Resistance – For welders, fire resistance is critical due to hot sparks, liquids and other substances that fall on the floor. All our mats with fire resistance have all passed a Flame Retardancy Certificate - a series of tests conducted by a third-party invigilator testing how well a sample of the mat performs in hot and flammable environments.
Slip resistance is not only the main feature for some mats but also a mandatory requirement for professionals dealing with oil and fuel-based products throughout their work.
Anti-slip workshop mats will usually include weighted bevels and air-tight backing optimised for smooth floor surfaces such as concrete, wood and metal.
Anti-slip mats are predominantly made from varying grades of rubber - natural rubber, nitrile and PVC plastic. Rubber is the primary material because of its excellent traction on multiple conditions and surfaces.
Anti-Fatigue Mats reduce the symptoms of fatigue caused by standing for long periods of time. Studies have proven that using Anti-Fatigue Mats in the workplace will make employees more comfortable, increase productivity, reduce work-related injuries, boost morale, and are very popular within production plants, factories and distribution centres.
Many workshops need mats that will protect their workbenches, and Self-Healing Cutting Mats are ideal for this purpose. Whilst there are many types available, we recommend our Heavy-Duty Workbench Cutting Mats for use in workshops.
Swarf mats help maintain health and safety by helping to collect and isolate small pieces of debris, or “swarf”, produced by machining or other industrial processes. This type of matting is popular in workshops where metals and wood are machined into products.
Welding Mats are, as the name suggests, fire-resistant mats specifically designed for welding, metal cutting, brazing or grinding environments and include anti-fatigue, anti-slip and wear-resistance properties.
Please see the table below providing a brief overview of the properties and examples of how the material changes how the mat is comprised.
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Material |
Properties |
Found in: |
Recommended Mats |
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Natural Rubber |
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Nitrile Rubber |
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Supreme Scrape Anti-Fatigue Mat |
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PVC Plastic |
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FlexiDiamond |
First Mats provide a comprehensive range of high-quality, industry-standard workshop mats suitable for any workshop environment. To browse the full range of workshop mats, please click here to view our contact details and contact us if you need to find out more or need help deciding on the right mat for your workplace. Free samples are available on request.
See our Industrial Mats range for more industrial matting options or make your workshop even safer with our Workshop First Aid Kits. We also provide a comprehensive range of Workshop Tools and Equipment.
Rubber Workshop Swarf Catch Mat
["Great universal mat","Excellent drainage","Available in multiple sizes"]
1 to 2 working days £29.90 Excl. VAT
AtEase Pebble Standard Anti-Fatigue Mat Roll
["Pebble Textured Surface","9.4mm Thickness","Great for Industrial usage"]
2 to 3 working days £0.35 Excl. VAT
Rubber Bubble-Top Anti-Fatigue Mat
["60cm x 90cm or 90cm x 120cm","14mm thick rubber mat","Rated for Heavy Industrial use"]
2 to 3 working days £49.20 Excl. VAT
Anti-fatigue mats are one of the best, most cost-effective ways of improving health and safety at your premises and boosting employee productivity and engagement. There are many different types of anti-fatigue mats available, so we thought that we would take this opportunity to highlight some of the options for specific job roles. In the office Many office workers choose to use a standing or hybrid desk, as there are several health benefits, and the price of these units is becoming much more affordable. Unfortunately for those workers who are standing on harder surfaces – laminates, wood, even the thinner types of...
Swarf Mats are a type of industrial floor matting designed to capture debris from machining and production processes whilst providing a safe and comfortable working area for the user. Many different matting products are available on the market, which can be used for many different purposes or in different environments. Swarf Mats, on the other hand, exist for a very specific reason. Swarf is the debris that is produced from a machining or finishing process. In a workshop, for example, lathes will spin metal into the correct shape creating lots of tiny flakes of metal that are flung in several directions,...
There are many reasons to use anti-fatigue mats in your workplace. They reduce the fatigue effects from standing in one place for too long whilst reducing the slip risks, they can capture swarf from machines and prevent dirt from entering a clean area. The benefits are undeniable, but are anti-fatigue mats required by law? Read our article to find out the answers.
