Author: Sara Peters 

Eroded, rough concrete isn't the easiest to clean either, which creates a slew of environmental and sanitation issues in a plants' production and process areas. Cracks and crevices in a floor caused by concrete erosion can harbor harmful bacteria, which may create problems with governing agencies who inspect your plant.  

You can alleviate these problems by installing a smooth and protective industrial floor coating system in your production and process areas, like epoxy and urethane cement. But, what makes these industrial floor coatings different, and which one is best?

EPOXY COATINGS

Epoxies have excellent adhesion properties and protect against contaminate spills and abrasion caused by foot or vehicular traffic. 

An epoxy floor coating system is a great option for manufacturing plants that use extremely harsh chemicals in their manufacturing process. Epoxies are economical, durable, and provide a high level of impact resistance with anti-skid properties.

Epoxies can be applied in a wide variety of colors and textures, so if aesthetics are important to you, epoxies are a great option. And, for increased protection, a thin layer of urethane can be applied directly over the top of an epoxy. This provides additional protection against abrasion, temperature fluctuations, water, etc.  
Epoxies may or may not be recommended for high temperature applications (above 180°), so be sure to speak with a qualified expert before deciding on an epoxy for your high temperature application.

For help getting started on your next floor coating project read 4 Things to Consider When Planning Your Epoxy Floor Coating Project.

URETHANE CEMENT

Urethane cement is a raked and troweled slurry mortar system that has excellent chemical, thermal shock, abrasion resistance, and moisture tolerance properties. Urethane cement is commonly recommended for high temperature applications, like hot water. And, although durable, urethane cement does not have a shiny appearance when compared to epoxy coatings, but is still a great option for new floors, since it bonds well to bare concrete.  

Both epoxies and urethane cement are excellent options for manufacturing facilities. To choose which one is best for your facility, careful considerations should be made, like current surface conditions, performance criteria, aesthetics, lifecycle, installation guidelines, and budget.  

If concrete erosion is a problem in your production and process area, we can help. We'll talk you through the best plan of action based on your flooring requirements, timeframe, and budget.   

Written by Sara Peters

Article Source: ​Crane Engineering Blog

Alabama Industrial & Commercial Flooring - How dangerous is your floor?

What can go wrong with your industrial and commercial flooring and how does it have a negative impact on your employee workplace.
​
Here are some of the industrial flooring problems that can impact your employees, your customers, your product and your bottom line?  

Problem: Cracks, peels and tears in flooring

There are several reasons why you may be seeing cracks, peels and tears in your flooring:
The concrete that was used may have been inferior or improperly mixed. It may not have the tensile strength to handle the amount of vibrational or repetitive heavy-duty traffic.

If you already have epoxy flooring, it may have been improperly applied. In addition to being unsightly, cracks, peels and tears in industrial and commercial flooring can cause accidents, tripping and falling, or damage to your tools and equipment. They can cause problems when using rolling carts or other equipment that must be moved around your facility as part of the daily work routine. Leaving these cracks and fissures in your flooring unrepaired will result in further damage over time.

Problem: Chemical or biological contamination to floors

Improperly installed, damaged or out of date flooring can cause a number of health hazard problems in in industrial or commercial facilities.  Flooring that is porous absorbs, leaks, moisture or other substances – can result in toxic and potentially hazardous working conditions.

Seamless epoxy flooring eliminates risks of dangerous bacterial growth or chemical buildup in tile seams or cracked grout. Seamless and resistant flooring is easier to keep clean and bacteria-or chemical-free.

Problem: Workplace injuries from slips and falls due to slippery floors

If your flooring is getting old and worn, it is going to become less skid-and slip-resistant over time. This can lead to an increase of workplace slips, falls and other injuries, for which you, as the business owner, are responsible. Our slip resistant epoxy flooring systems are designed to be safe, durable, easy to maintain, and attractive.

At Lifetime Epoxy, we understand that your industrial facility has strict requirements when it comes to flooring. You need a high-performance floor that can withstand even extreme conditions and heavy abuse without breaking down, posing a safety or health hazard, or becoming an eyesore. We offer a range of specialized industrial epoxy floor systems that can meet the specific demands of your facility. The benefits of our floor are numerous:

EXTREME CHEMICAL RESISTANCE

Industrial epoxy is a protective barrier that protects the concrete from damage and offers excellent chemical resistance. Spills are isolated on the surface of the seamless epoxy so they can be contained and cleanup up. This makes industrial epoxy flooring an ideal floor system for labs, medical centers, manufacturing plants, commercial kitchens, and more.

FAST INSTALLATION WITHOUT SHUTDOWN

We can even work within your limited schedule to install your entire floor whether this requires installing the coating on a slow day, working in sections, or using quick cure solutions to avoid total shutdown. Fast cure epoxy is often used to replace or install flooring for distribution centers, plants, and processing facilities with 24-hour operation.

SLIP RESISTANT FLOORS

We offer customizable skid resistant additives ranging from mild to coarse in texture. This allows you to guard against slip and fall accidents even with water, chemicals, grease, plastic wrap, or powder. Safety is a top concern at your facility. You need a floor system that isn’t just durable and hard-working; it also needs to be safe to reduce workplace accidents. This is especially important if your facility has unique workplace hazards such as wet floors or involves the use of oils and chemicals.

USDA APPROVED EPOXY SYSTEMS

Industrial epoxy flooring is a high-performance and seamless system that prevents acids, oils, fats, chemicals, and more from seeping into the concrete or breeding mold, bacteria, and other microbes.

Industrial grade epoxy floor coatings meet USDA standards for flooring in food and beverage facilities, including food processing plants, meat processing facilities, restaurants, and commercial kitchens.

HIGH TENSILE STRENGTH

Industrial epoxy can absorb impact with a far higher compressive strength than the concrete itself. An industrial grade epoxy floor coating offers a superior bond to your concrete floor to actually increase the weight load of your concrete without sacrificing flexibility or increasing the risk of cracks, abrasion, or chips.

WATERPROOF EPOXY FLOORING

Industrial grade epoxy floor coatings can even withstand frequent mopping, hosing, and even pressure washing. This makes epoxy flooring popular for food processing, kitchens, industrial mezzanines, locker rooms, facility break areas, restrooms, and more.

CUSTOMIZABLE APPEARANCE AND PROPERTIES

Many facilities can benefit from striping to mark pedestrian paths, work zones, forklift aisles, and hazards. You can even customize the properties of your epoxy flooring with a wide range of specialized industrial epoxy options. For example, your facility may benefit from electrostatic dissipation properties or a higher-than-average resistance to chemicals.

SLIP RESISTANT FLOORSSLIP RESISTANT FLOORS

Industrial grade epoxy floor coatings can even withstand frequent mopping, hosing, and even pressure washing. This makes epoxy flooring popular for food processing, kitchens, industrial mezzanines, locker rooms, facility break areas, restrooms, and more.

By Lifetime Epoxy Floors Expert Guest Author: Tim Murry 

​In today's economy, industry, state, government agencies, and maintenance engineers everywhere are being forced to do more with less. With operating budgets well below average, facilities and organizations of all multitudes are no longer able to replace pieces of capital equipment, or undertake major structural rehabilitation projects. However, with technology advancing at an exponential rate there are alternate routes around having to replace valuable pieces of machinery, equipment, and structures. Advanced composite, coating, and rebuilding systems are beginning to have a strong presence in facility management and maintenance schedules worldwide. These advanced polymer repair products are cost effective, commercially proven, and often save organizations tens of thousands of dollars by reducing life cycle cost, increasing efficiency, decreasing down time, and providing longterm solutions.

Historically these polymer repair products are used in addressing concrete rehabilitation, water intrusion, erosion, corrosion, leaking pipes and roofs, impact, shock, chemical attack, online hydrostatic pressure leaks, and fluid flow related issues.

Examples:
• Leaking Elevator Pits
• Water Intrusion of basements and sub-basements
• Wheel chair transitions
• Pump coatings
• Leaking Pipes
• Shaft Repairs in place or on a lathe
• Broadcast floors
• Sealing of a wide variety of roofs from EPDM to Metal
• Industrial Floor Coatings for heavy wear and tear zones from kitchens to Air Force Hangers
• Containment Areas suffering from chemical attack
• Retro-fitting of Cooling towers to extend the life of the unit
• Tube Shell Heat Exchangers and corresponding End Bells
• Tanks
• Non-skid surfacing

These systems are used by organizations of a variety of sizes. From the YMCA, School Districts, Cities, Counties, Commercial Buildings and Structures, Refineries, Hospitals, Nuclear Power Plants all the way up to the United States Navy. These systems will be more expensive than the conventional over the counter repair method. However, when repairs are being made year after year, these systems pay off greatly in the back end. Often these companies will have no heart ache about coming in and educating you and your team about their products, and often this can be valuable to your team. Just remember that there are dozens of manufacturers of systems such as these. It pays off to do your homework before moving forward with a company.

Bio: Tim Murry is a District Manager for ENECON CORPORATION. He has valuable experience in corrosion and erosion trouble shooting. He works with clients ranging from School Districts to Refineries helping diagnose and solve maintenance solutions.

You may review our corporate website at http://www.enecon.com or reach Tim via email at tmurry@enecon.com.
Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Tim_Murry/841972
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5433781

If you manage a large manufacturing facility, you have a great to deal to worry about other than the condition of your flooring. There are two huge benefits to choosing Lifetime Epoxy Industrial Flooring. First, Epoxy coated concrete is virtually worry free and second, it provides long-term savings.

Epoxy Flooring Is Worry Free Flooring

When you don’t have to worry about your floors, you can turn your attention to more important business matters. You can count on an epoxy-coated floor to be:

• A safe option that leads to fewer accidents caused by slips or falls.
• An option that maintains its shine and beauty for years to come.
• Easily maintained with regular and inexpensive sweeping and mopping.
• Different areas of the facility can easily be sectioned off with colored epoxy flooring to signal the difference between safe walkways and dangerous, prohibited areas protecting employees from unwittingly wandering into harm’s way.

Epoxy Flooring Offers Long Term Savings

Epoxy coatings are easily installed on your new or existing concrete floors, saving you money in repairs over the long-term as they offer constant protection for the underlying floor. Epoxy floors can be expected to last for many years and as such, often save you a great deal in maintenance costs over time.