Bartosz Sobowiec, General Manager of Face Consultants Poland, based in Wrocław, explains why industrial floor surveys are important both in Poland and around the rest of the world.
The quality of industrial flooring in the warehouse is as important for racking systems as is the foundation or the ceiling for any building structure. It must safely and without significant deformations transfer the loads to the ground.
More and more high-bay warehouses are now needed in Poland, with over 2.2 million sq. m of warehouse space being under construction in 2020, and locations such as Kraków, Tricity, and Szczecin growing in importance as logistics hubs, according to global real estate providers Knight Frank ( https://content.knightfrank.com/research/2021/documents/en/poland-warehouse-market-q1-2020-7284.pdf).
When high storage racking is required in such VNA warehouses, we must bear in mind two important issues:
- Multi-ton pressure on the floor concentrated on a very small area, which must be considered when designing.
- Flatness of the floor to meet relevant standards (TR34, VDMA, DIN15185 or others) and ensure optimum efficiency and safe operation of the warehouse.
Warehouse Floor Design and Execution
Whilst the correct design of a floor to meet the strength requirements should not be a problem for an experienced designer, the subsequent execution of the floor, especially its flatness and levelness, can frequently deviate from the requirements of the chosen standard.
VNA Floor Flatness Surveys
Before the assembly of VNA storage racks, it is necessary to survey the floor flatness to check it has met compliance with the relevant standard. Due to the very restrictive requirements of standards, the survey must be performed extremely accurately, which is where modern and precise surveying devices such as the Face Digital Profileograph come into their forte.
Face Digital Profileograph
The Face Digital Profileograph works perfectly, regardless of which standard is used, as it can be properly adapted to meet any. Only by conducting such surveys can we answer the question of whether the use of high storage racks with narrow aisles will be possible on the floor, and whether forklift trucks will be able to operate within them safely and with optimum efficiency.
We must remember that even small defects in the flatness of the floor can cause the mast of the forklift to lean when the lifting height increases.
What to do when the floor in your warehouse does not meet the requirements of the flatness standard?
If the floor doesn’t meet the correct floor flatness requirements, many warehouse owners and managers will opt for the seemingly cheapest solution, namely limiting the speed of forklifts. However, by not wanting to incur the costs of repairing the floor and adjusting it to the requirements of the standard, they risk not only a drastic reduction in work efficiency but also an increased probability of accidents where warehouse employees could get injured or stored goods damaged.
According to the Polish Central Statistical Office report, “Accidents at work in 2019”, 6885 people were injured within the Transportation and Storage work sector, including 33 people injured in fatal accidents. Drivers and Mobile Plant Operators accounted for 2417 of these, and estimated material losses caused by accidents at work in this section amounted to 45 155 900.00 PLN.
VNA trucks moving on a floor that does not meet the flatness standards will also be left exposed to mechanical damage and therefore, higher repair costs. When we add up all these risk costs, this solution no longer seems to be the cheapest anymore.
The best solution – Grind it right!
The best solution in this situation is to grind the floor, ensuring full compliance with the flatness standard. This task should be performed by specialists using the best equipment available on the market. Companies such as Concrete Grinding Ltd with their most advanced laser-guided floor grinding system – Laser Grinder® – will meet all customer expectations and provide the highest quality, regardless of whether we are dealing with a new or existing floor. It is a clean, quick, and very effective way of achieving the desired level of floor flatness while offering little or no disruption to the ongoing warehouse activities.
Choosing the right specialists for both industrial floor flatness surveys and grinding your warehouse floor to the correct specification will lead to a safer and less stressful work environment.
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Bartosz Sobowiec
Bartosz Sobowiec graduated from Wrocław University of Science and Technology and, after a brief venture into the world of food and beverages, joined Face Consultants based in the UK as a Surveyor. When the opportunity arose to establish an office in Poland, Bartosz was promoted to General Manager for Face Consultants Sp. z o.o.Contact Bartosz and his team today or follow us on LinkedIn:
Bartosz Sobowiec - LinkedIn
Face Consultants - LinkedIn
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