Every Floor and Door....
Promote your image and greet your visitors or customers at every floor and door.
DigiPrint mats are ideal for all businesses, schools, civic groups and point of purchase programs. Quality Commercial floor Mats at discount prices.
Entrance Mat Facts....
Estimated cost of removing a single pound of dirt from a building is $600.00.
70-80 % of dust, grime, and dirt in a building is tracked in from the outside on peoples feet - permanently damaging floors and carpets.
One square yard of carpet can accumulate one pound of dirt in a week - twice that in inclement weather.
86 billion pounds of dust settles over the U.S. each year.
American Business are spending up to $100 billion a year as a result of lost worker productivity due to poor indoor air quality and "sick building syndrome".
91% of shoppers select a store because of its appearance.
When asked, "What's the first thing you look at when judging cleanliness?", the most popular response of consumers was "Floors" (42%).
Without entrance matting, 1500 people can remove 42% of the finish from a floor. (3M)
Slip and Fall Facts....
Over 30% of worker injuries are slip related. (Wausau Insurance)
Falls are the second leading cause of accidental deaths and percentage-wise, it is growing 3 times faster than any other cause. (National Safety Council)
The average cost of a slip related injury exceeds $12,000.00. (Wausau Insurance)
In the U.S. each year, an average of 7.75 claims per 1 million supermarket customers are filed due to slips and falls. (Foodmarketing Institute)
How important are mats to an establishment?
If you consider the facts above and calculate the amount of money a given facility spends on cleaning chemicals, machines, mops, brooms, caution signs, and LABOR to clean the building, the need to have the most effective matting possible is essential to protecting the investment mentioned in the materials listed above. Lessening the slip and fall potential, in addition, should give you a refreshed reason to contact every customer you have about Andersen matting for their facility.
After contacting everyone in the front office about matting for the entrances, switch gears and contact the Safety Directors and Plant managers involved with decisions on Anti-fatigue or Anti-slip matting. The budgets for these types of mats are staggering, and purchases of anti-fatigue/slip matting are year round, as needs arise.
Anti Fatigue Mats Are Not Just For Factories
For workers who spend their days on their feet anti-fatigue products are a godsend. They work wonders for foot, leg, and lower back pain. It has been shown that workers actually get less tired and perform better when standing on anti-fatigue mats.
Hospitality/Hotels: Hotels are a great place for anti-fatigue mats. Potential applications include the reception desk and concierge desk. A good product to suggest for this area is the Hog Heaven Plush. You can give them a product that not only fells great to stand on but also has a beautiful carpet surface that will not detract from the hotels appearance. Another possible application is in larger hotels laundry facilities.
Retail/Grocery/Department Stores: Grocery stores and other large retailers have employees standing all day at checkout stands. Carpet top and rubber top anti-fatigue mats are both possibilities for this application. Grocery stores are also good prospects for Comfort Flow mats in their Deli and Butcher shops.
Banks: Banks can use many anti-fatigue mats because they have tellers standing in one place all through the day. Banks can also appreciate the different anti-fatigue options that do not look industrial.
Schools/Restaurants: Schools and restaurants are also potential applications for anti-fatigue mats, especially in the kitchen areas. The Comfort Flow mats are great for food service areas because they are lightweight, grease proof, and have a low profile.
Four Things An Entrance Mat Should Do
Soil is everywhere. It is a part of the earth we live on and managing it is a vital part of our everyday existence. Today's emphasis on Green Cleaning and the impact of the cleanliness of a building on health makes soil management even more important. Experts are recommending a minimum of 10-12 feet of quality matting products at entrances as part of a Green Cleaning program. At the heart of soil management is the concept of prevention - prevention of contaminants from entering a building. 85% of all soil enters a building on the feet of building occupants. Of this, at least, 80% is dry soil and the rest is oily. The dry soil can range from large particles to powder-like dust. Over the years, many products have been developed and sold to help keep soil at the door and out of the building. The International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA) has estimated that it costs 600 dollars to find and remove one pound of soil after it has been allowed to enter an average building. This cost is primarily labor. Since entrance mats stop and contain soil and water, it is obvious that removing soil from a mat can be less expensive than removing it from a building since the soil is concentrated in a localized area.
Entrance mats may also be scraper mats that provide the first line of defense against soil. Scraper mats should always be used with other entrance mats that will provide wiping properties to remove fine soil and water from feet.
1. STOP SOIL AND WATER AT THE DOOR
Surprisingly, not all entrance mats are designed to do this. The most effective mats provide a combination of scraping and wiping to stop the maximum amount of contaminants.
2. STORE SOIL AND WATER FOR REMOVAL
The most effective entrance mats are designed to provide a place for soil and water to go to for storage. It is important that the storage be designed for maximum storage and ease of removal when the mat is cleaned. It is important that the mat provide a way for soil and water to be contained so they cannot spread to the surrounding floor . Contaminants that flow off the sides of a mat cause damage and can lead to slip/fall dangers. Mats with flat borders do not provide the necessary containment for best performance. Higher performance mats provide a dam that will hold the soil and water for removal during cleaning.
3. MINIMIZE TRACKING OF SOIL AND WATER
This capability is best accomplished by a BI-level construction that provides an upper surface for walking and a lower area where soil and water are stored until removed by cleaning. The amount of soil that a mat allows to be reattached to shoes is directly related to the construction of the mat. High performance mats utilize this permanent rubber reinforced BI-level construction, thereby, trapping large quantities of moisture and dirt, minimizing the effects of soil and water being tracked further into the facility. Low performance mats such as those with non-reinforced ribbed or cut pile face yarn alone will not hold up under foot pressure and will crush in a short period of time, thus allowing more water and dirt to reattach to shoes and be tracked into respective facilities. A permanently rubber reinforced Bi-level construction extends the performance life of a mat reducing the need to dispose of mats frequently.
4. PROVIDE A SAFE SURFACE
The bottom of a mat should be slip-resistant to minimize movement on the floor when it is walked on. Also any water on the mat should be contained in a reservoir below the traffic surface to prevent moisture on flooring surface adjacent to the mat that can cause slip/fall incidents. Rubber-backed mats provide a better slip resistance than vinyl-backed mats. Rubber-backed mats do not curl, as vinyl mats do, thus reducing trip and fall exposure. Some rubber-backed mats have cleated surfaces on the bottom that further enhances non-skid properties and allows moisture to dry from underneath the mat.
Do You Have The Right Size Mat For The Application?
Many times facilities select mats for their entrances without much thought to the size they really need to effectively stop soil & moisture from entering the building. Because 3'x5' and 4'x6' size mats are most often seen in use. Facilities will select one of these smaller mat sizes based on this observation. We also see facilities choose a size similar to the one already in use, which may be too small as well.
So how can we help facilities make the best choice of mat size for their entrances? The first thing we must do is make sure the sales person is trained and able to do a facility survey to determine what the needs are for each entryway. Then we must consider other factors.
Is the entrance a high/low traffic entrance?
Does the entrance have an outside cover?
Do carts and buggies come in this entrance?
Is this a snowy area? Rainy? Dry?
These are a few of the considerations that need to be addressed when deciding how much matting coverage is needed.
The Carpet and Rug Institute recommends a minimum of 12 to 15 feet of coverage to remove 90% of tracked in soil. While a regional grocery store chain's insurance provider recommended a minimum of 23 to 25 feet to remove the majority of moisture entering their facilities. In both cases, the recommendation was much longer that 5 or 6 feet.
Facilities can achieve maximum coverage by utilizing a three mat system that includes an outside scrapper mat, vestibule wipe/scrape mat, and an interior wiping/finishing mat to collect the moisture and soil not stopped by the first two mats. The sizes of these mats could vary depending on the available area but should measure collectively a minimum of 15 feet.
One way to determine if the current coverage is sufficient is to look beyond the end of the mat. If there is excess soil, moisture, or wear, it is a good bet that there isn't enough coverage for the conditions. Remember it is always better to have too much coverage than not enough.
Traction Tread Slip Control & Wear Protection
When asked what mat opportunities there are, the most obvious answer is usually "Entrance Mats". And while this is a large segment of the mat market, there are numerous other placements that are available beyond the doorways which are overlooked.
One such area will be found at schools, universities and professional athletic arenas. When athletes go from the locker room to the field they will, in many cases, have to walk on smooth concrete which can be a slip hazard if they are wearing cleats. Or swimmers walking from their locker rooms may also find walkways slippery due to the wet nature of pool areas. In these cases, you may want to consider offering Traction Tread rubber runners to increase the slip resistance of the walking surface. The cost of the Traction Tread rubber runner will more than pay for itself in reduced injury and liability and will help to keep athletes safe and healthy.
Another area at schools and universities where Traction Tread rubber runners can be beneficial is as a protective matting surface on composite athletic tracks. When tracks are not being used but access is needed to the infield, Traction Tread rubber runners laid across the track will protect the composite surface from accelerated wear in those areas used as walkways. The cost is more than justified by extending the life of the track surface.
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