While their importance often goes unspoken, the right kind of flooring can make or break your business, especially in the medical or pharmaceutical fields. When dealing with products or services that directly affect the health of the public, there’s no such thing as “good enough.” Falling below regulations and standards could lead to potential fines or even having your business shut down entirely.
Sometimes those who own or operate medical or pharmaceutical facilities are looking first for the most cost-effective option. But investing now in a high-quality floor coating specialized for your industry can save you money and headaches in the long run.
Here are factors to keep in mind when selecting flooring for your facility:
Preventing contamination
When workers spend their days handling chemicals or laboratory samples, it’s vital to have a floor that reduces the risk of contamination for the sake of product safety, accurate results, and worker well-being.
If a substance is spilled on the floor, you want to be confident that it can be cleaned up completely. Unfortunately, untreated concrete or the grout between tiles are porous substances, meaning liquids can soak into them and become nearly impossible to remove. Worse, trapped liquids can eventually release chemical vapors into the room, or even breed bacteria.
To prevent this scenario, you’ll want flooring that is absolutely impervious to liquids—such as a protective epoxy or urethane coating—so that spills can be wiped up completely from the surface of the floor.
Preventing chemical damage
If your facility handles caustic chemicals, you’ll need flooring formulated to resist chemical damage in case of a spill. You don’t want a single accident to leave weakened spots in the flooring that can compromise the floor’s ability to ward off contamination (see above). Floor damage can also create an uneven surface that can trap debris or even pose a tripping risk for employees.
Protecting sensitive equipment
If your business regularly uses sensitive electronic equipment for diagnostics or for data storage, a simple static shock can cause major damage to its increasingly delicate sensors and hardware. Budget flooring such as carpet or vinyl does little to prevent the buildup of static charges as workers move across the room.
In addition to precautions involving rubber mats and shoes, you can protect your data by using a specially designed electrostatic dissipative (ESD) floor coating.
CPC Floor Coatings is Here to Help
In most cases, budget flooring simply isn’t a good investment for health-focused industries. It’s far better to minimize risk—to your data, your employees, and your customers—with a specialized, durable floor coating option.
Not sure exactly which coating is best for your situation? If you’re in the Southeastern U.S., an expert at CPC Floor Coatings can give you free consultation to help you determine which solution will work best for your facility and your budget. We provide quality craftsmanship partnered with unparalleled customer service. Give us a call at (864) 855-0600 or contact us online to speak with a flooring expert today.
