Floor markings are an excellent tool for any visual communication strategy. While there are many creative ways a facility can employ floor markings, the following are among the most utilized applications.
1. Hazardous Areas
It is critical to visually alert employees and visitors to potentially hazardous areas. Place floor marking in front of and around:
• Areas in a building that contain a known hazard, such as toxic chemicals or potentially high concentrations of airborne particulates
• Electrical panels
• Potentially hazardous equipment or machinery
• “Open pit” or tripping hazards (these are the most common floor marking-related OSHA violation)
2. Product and Material Storage
Many facilities utilize floor marking in product and material storage areas to communicate to employees where they can find what they need. These markings can be temporary for holding areas where products in various stages of production are kept or permanent for long-term storage areas that house finished products or raw materials.
Considered a key component of the 5S process in lean manufacturing, this application of floor marking yields gains in efficiency and safety by reducing worker confusion.
3. Equipment and Tools
Placing outlines around equipment and tools is another common application of floor marking.
An example of this is placing white tape around the base of portable tools or machinery to indicate its proper location. This eliminates the time employees would waste searching for needed resources. Outlining machinery also enhances safety because the line can indicate the reach of the machine’s components and the space it needs to operate.
4. Traffic Routes
The most common application of floor marking is pedestrian and vehicle pathway markings. Forklift collisions with workers are a major cause of workplace fatalities and are a clear indicator of the importance of clearly marked traffic routes.
Marking emergency exit routes using directional arrows and photoluminescent lines is also crucial for safety. If done properly, floor marking will allow employees and visitors to easily navigate your facility with no training.
5. Workplace Communication
Floor markings are a visual communication tool with many applications. They can be used to communicate about where operators should stand while using a tool or machine, what areas employees must avoid, and where smoking is allowed. The need for thoughtful and creative visual communication exists whenever and wherever important information needs to be conveyed.
Additional Resources
- Floor Marking for Forklift Traffic– creativesafetysupply.com
- Improving Safety with Floor Marking– realsafety.org
- Floor Tapes for Safety– blog.safetytac.com
- Floor Tape Applications– floortape101.com
- Improving Workplace Efficiency with Floor Marking– 5snews.com
- Floor Marking Guidelines– safetyblognews.com
- Using Floor Tape for Facility Safety– facilityfloormarking.com
- Line Marking & Floor Tape– aislemarking.com
- Floor Marking Tips– floor-marking-tape.com