What Is Health and Safety?

Archive for August, 2012

Floor Mats are not just a way to improve the brand image of your office or workplace. They can actually serve quite a big health and safety function. Whether it’s reducing fatigue, preventing slips or stopping the transfer of static discharge, mats can play an important role in the health and safety of all employees.

Here we take a look at some of the mats available:-

Anti-Fatigue Mats

Anti-Fatigue mats are an important product for anyone who has to stand up for long periods of time. The body is not designed to stand still for long periods and is meant to be dynamic. This can have disastrous effects on the body and put pressure on the joints. The effects are even worse for those working in buildings or factories with hard floors. For example working on a concrete floor all day can often cause pain in the lower back and legs.

Anti-Fatigue floor mats work to alleviate this by allowing subtle movement of the leg and calf muscles. This in turn allows blood to flow easily back to the heart. This is called “dynamic ergonomics”. Anti-Fatigue mats are made of various materials including vinyl, rubber and PVC to name a few. These mats are usually found in plants and factories which often have concrete flooring, restaurants in food preparation areas and assembly line operations. They can often be combined with a safety matting function with bright yellow borders to help promote workplace safety.

Non-Slip Mats

As well as keeping the mat in one place, non-slip mats play a vital role in workplace safety. These are often placed in areas where being able to keep sure footed is paramount such as industrial and food preparation areas. They can also help to trap debris and moisture in the mat. These kinds of mats are extremely hard wearing.

Electrical Mats

Electrical matting is paramount to the safety of those working on live high voltage & low voltage switchboard apparatus. They should always be placed in areas where operators or maintenance staff are exposed to the risk of accidental electric shock. Electrical mats are made out of a special type of insulating rubber ranging in grade from 450 volt to the BS921 approved 650 volt grade. Placing electrical mats down conforms to BS EN 61111 2009 with regards to safe methods of work.

ESD & Grounding Mats

Static can be harmful to office equipment, especially computer equipment. When working on computer repairs and maintenance it is important the technician is properly grounded to stop the transference of static to computer chips, memory and the motherboard. ESD mats, matting and grounding mats help dissipate static.

In summary mats play an important part of keeping workers and employees safe.  Not only do they increase productivity and reduce the risk of injury but they are also known to increase employee morale too.

 

Author Bio

Neil Maycock writes articles for Floor Mats Direct