BREWERY – CHICAGO, IL – LINE STRIPING/EPOXY COATING

Surface Solutions turns a standard OSHA regulation project into 1,250 linear feet of custom design line striping.

In most any food and beverage facility, whenever foot traffic and motorized traffic meet, OSHA regulations stipulate that pedestrian walking lanes and equipment areas be clearly defined by floor marking. Such is the case for a brewery in Chicago. Not only does the brewery tanker receiving area need clearly defined foot traffic lanes and tanker parking, the line striping itself needs to match the custom color of the brewery’s hand railings and other features of the facility, such as doorways.

Surface Solutions gets to work quickly, installing 850 linear feet of 6-inch line striping and 400 linear feet of 4-inch line striping that matches the striking green color perfectly, then gives the tanker receiving area top-of-the-line protection with an epoxy coating.

From surface prep and chalking the lines to the final coat of epoxy, this floor marking project takes only one day to complete.

We applied a two-coat epoxy fast set coating and delivered clean lines,

PRODUCT

Line Striping/Epoxy Fast Set Coating

MARKET SECTOR

Food & Beverage

LOCATION

Chicago, IL

CUSTOMER

Brewery

PROJECT FOOTAGE

850 L’ 6-inch striping/400 L’ 4-inch striping

PROJECT TIME

1 Day

Floor Marking Prevents Accidents & Injury

OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration/United States Department of Labor) issues safety standards and guidelines for companies to protect employees and property from accidents and potential injury. Information on “Walking-Working Surfaces” falls under OSHA Standard 1910.22:

• All places of employment, passageways, storerooms and service rooms shall be kept clean and orderly and in a sanitary condition.
• Where mechanical handling equipment is used, sufficient safe clearances shall be allowed for aisles, at loading docks, through doorways and wherever turns or passage must be made. Aisles and passageways shall be kept clear and in good repairs, with no obstruction across or in aisles that could create a hazard.
• Permanent aisles and passageways shall be appropriately marked.

Floor marking itself should include all of the information needed for employees to understand its purpose. This means that occasionally, words, symbols or SKUs need to be printed on the floor marking or line striping to improve the visibility of hazardous areas. If aisles and passageways are not clearly marked or identify safe pathways or highlight dangerous areas, OSHA can issue a citation to the company. An average fine for each individual “Walking/Work Surface” violation can be as much as $1,600 or more.

Additionally, many companies mark their floors:

• To visually organize the workplace
• To mark locations in a uniform manner
• To allow employees to quickly identify areas and potential hazards based on a color scheme
• To enhance workflow in addition to providing safety benefits

OSHA Requirements for Type of Line Striping

To clarify how the types of floor marking or line striping comply with OSHA guidelines:

• Floor marking lines used to delineate aisles may be any color so long as they clearly define the area considered as aisle space
• Lines may be composed of dots, squares, stripe or be continuous, as long as they clearly define the aisle area
• Recommended width of floor markings designating aisles is two inches or more
• Recommended width of aisles is a minimum of four feet, and at least three feet wider than the largest equipment that will be in the aisle

The two most common methods of floor marking are painting and using floor marking tape. Both comply with OSHA standards.

Where to Use Floor Marking

Use floor marking where two or more types of traffic exist and in any location where safety hazards are present, specifically to identify safe areas and to separate people from hazards. Line striping should not only mark existing aisles and passageways, it should establish safe aisles and passageways that do not exist without the floor marking. Pedestrian pathways for walking safely through a facility are typically located where dangerous equipment is out of reach, or to avoid hazards such as high noise areas, dangerous equipment, forklifts, vehicles and the like.

Floor marking can also designate “off-limits” areas by marking off the hazardous areas, leaving all other areas open to foot traffic. OSHA expects that companies train employees to recognize and understand the meaning of the floor marking scheme being used.

Color Designations for Floor Marking

OSHA regulations are non-specific as to what colors should be used for what purpose. No government-mandated standards defining color for marking floors are currently in practice; however, the most important consideration is that use of color be consistent. Establish a floor marking color coding scheme and follow that standard throughout your facility.

Commonly Used Color System for Marking Floors

Yellow – marks aisles and pathways; indicates areas where caution is required.

White – general purpose striping such as around equipment and storage locations

Red – designates the locations for firefighting equipment, hazards or red tag areas; recommended for single use only.

Orange – organizational marking to indicate materials being held for inspection.

Floor Marking – Non-Safety Applications

Using floor marking to help keep a facility organized and productive is not regulated by OSHA; however, it is government-mandated that floor marking used for other purposes, such as productivity and organization, to designate storage areas for specific items or types of items, to identify machine locations, temporary lay-down areas, assembly areas or the locations of emergency equipment, not cause confusion and degrade safety.

Get a look at other successful industrial flooring system installations completed by Surface Solutions by visiting our Work Showcase.

About Surface Solutions

Recognized as a top UCRETE® Master Contractor since 2012, Surface Solutions is an independent industrial floor contractor specializing in seamless, polymer flooring systems utilizing the most trusted brands in the industry. From testing to consultation and complete installation services, Surface Solutions is your premier source of non-toxic, safe and environmentally friendly flooring systems, offering turnkey installations using only in-house personnel. All installations come with a complete single-source warranty.