The Importance of Forklift Floor Mats: Ensuring Safety and Cleanliness in Warehouses
Forklift trucks are the backbone of warehouse operations, tirelessly transporting goods back and forth from the outside to the inside of the facility. These powerful machines are essential for maintaining the flow of inventory, but they also bring with them an often-overlooked issue: dirt and water tracked into the warehouse on their wheels. This problem is particularly pronounced during inclement weather, leading to potential health and safety hazards such as slip, trip, and fall accidents. In this blog post, we will explore the importance of forklift floor mats in mitigating these risks and maintaining a clean and safe warehouse environment.
The Challenge of Dirt and Water in Warehouses
Warehouses are bustling hubs of activity, with forklifts moving in and out multiple times throughout the day. Each trip brings not only goods but also dirt, water, and debris from the outside. This accumulation of contaminants can create a hazardous environment for both workers and equipment. During rainy or snowy weather, the problem is exacerbated, as wet and muddy conditions increase the likelihood of slip and fall accidents.
The Role of Forklift Floor Mats
Forklift floor mats are specifically designed to address the unique challenges posed by forklift traffic in warehouses. These mats serve several critical functions:
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Dirt and Water Containment: Forklift floor mats are engineered to trap dirt, water, and debris from the wheels of forklifts. By capturing these contaminants at the entry points, the mats prevent them from spreading throughout the warehouse, maintaining a cleaner and safer environment.
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Enhanced Safety: Slippery floors are a significant safety hazard in warehouses. Forklift floor mats provide a non-slip surface that reduces the risk of slip, trip, and fall accidents. This is especially important in high-traffic areas where forklifts frequently enter and exit the building.
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Protecting Flooring: The constant movement of forklifts can cause wear and tear on warehouse floors. Forklift floor mats act as a protective barrier, extending the lifespan of the flooring and reducing maintenance costs.
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Improved Efficiency: A clean and safe warehouse environment contributes to overall operational efficiency. Workers can move more confidently and quickly without the fear of slipping, and forklifts can operate smoothly without the hindrance of dirt and debris.
Choosing the Right Forklift Floor Mats
Selecting the appropriate forklift floor mats for your warehouse is crucial to maximizing their effectiveness. Here are some key factors to consider:
- Material: Look for mats made from durable materials that can withstand heavy forklift traffic. Rubber and vinyl are popular choices due to their resilience and ease of maintenance.
- Size and Coverage: Ensure the mats are large enough to cover the entry points where forklifts enter and exit. Consider mats with beveled edges to prevent tripping hazards.
- Non-Slip Surface: Opt for mats with a textured, non-slip surface to enhance safety. This feature is particularly important in wet conditions.
- Ease of Cleaning: Choose mats that are easy to clean and maintain. Regular cleaning is essential to ensure the mats continue to effectively trap dirt and water.
Implementing Forklift Floor Mats in Your Warehouse
To maximize the benefits of forklift floor mats, it’s important to implement them strategically within your warehouse. Here are some tips for effective placement and maintenance:
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Entry Points: Place forklift floor mats at all entry points where forklifts move between the outside and inside of the warehouse. This is the first line of defense against dirt and water.
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High-Traffic Areas: Identify high-traffic areas within the warehouse where forklifts frequently operate. Placing mats in these zones can further reduce the spread of contaminants.
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Regular Cleaning: Establish a routine cleaning schedule for the mats to ensure they remain effective. Regularly remove accumulated dirt and water to maintain their performance.
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Inspection and Replacement: Periodically inspect the mats for signs of wear and tear. Replace any damaged or worn mats promptly to ensure continued safety and cleanliness.
Forklift trucks frequently have to bring goods back and forth into warehouses from the outside. They will do so numerous times during the course of the working day. However its not just the goods making their way into the warehouse, dirt and water is also being tracked into the building on the wheels of the forklift. In inclement weather the problem is exacerbated greatly and this can result in health and safety issues, such as slip, trip and fall accidents.
The problem can be solved quite simply with the right matting placed at the entrance to the warehouse, over which the forklift truck can operate. The mat needs to be able to withstand the weight and motion of a forklift whilst containing the right wiping and drying properties to remove and hold onto dirt and moisture.
The Solution
Waterhog Forklift Truck Mats are an ideal solution to the problem. These mats are heavy duty dirt and moisture stoppers, constructed with rubber reinforced nubs which prevent the mat from crushing under the weight of heavy traffic, such as a forklift. The mats are bi-level, which means that the upper level wipes and scrapes the dirt and moisture off, which then falls to the lower level where it is stored until the mat is cleaned. The mats can be cleaned at the end of the day using an extraction machine or simply hosed or pressure washed then hung to dry.
If the area is prone to grease or oil, then an oil and grease proof all rubber bi level mat or a mat specifically designed for greasy conditions should be used. Examples of such mats include the all nitrile rubber Superscrape mat and Greasehog mats which have a grease proof fabric which aids removal of grease in particular.

What to avoid
Choosing the right matting to handle the problem caused by forklift trucks is particularly important. Traditional mats are neither reinforced nor bi-level. This means that traditional matting will become quickly saturated by dirt and moisture as the pile is crushed down and becomes less effective at holding the soil within the mat. Consequently as the traffic continues to travel over the matting, the dirt is transported into the building.
Avoid vinyl backed matting which is more liable to split, crack and curl under the weight of the forklift. These mats will quickly become a trip hazard in their own right and will need replacing more frequently than if you chose more durable rubber backed mats.
What to do next?
We regularly encounter the problem with forklifts bringing in dirt and moisture when we carry out mat audits for our customers. On many occasions the customer has called us in because they have a problem with dirt on floors in other areas of their building. The reason for this is that once dirt has been brought into the building, whether it be through the warehouse doors on a forklift or on visitors' feet through the main entrance, it is quickly transported to other areas of the building as people walk over it and carry it further afield on their footwear. Staff members often have to travel between the warehouse and the office and so the problem spreads.
If you would like a visit from one of our matting experts, you can take advantage of one of our free mat audits, whereby we visit your premises to find the source of your problem and compile a report to suggest the right matting you need in order for you to solve it. To request this, simply email sales@mats4u.co.uk for more information.
If you don't want to arrange an appointment with us and you just want to go ahead and buy a suitable mat then you can view our range of Waterhog Forklift Truck mats here: http://www.mats4u.co.uk/product/forklift-truck-mats.html
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