Ins and outs of industrial floor resurfacing

FacilityManagement.com, a leading industry resource for facility managers and building teams, recently published an article that shares highlights of an industrial floor resurfacing project completed by Painters USA. Written by an EHS (Environmental Health and Safety) specialist in the manufacturing industry, the article describes some of his considerations in vendor selection and time management for a business-critical facility.

When shutting down is the best option

The scope of the project required a month-long shutdown of a plant that made one of the company's most profitable products, costing tens of thousands of dollars for every lost production day.

Yet shutting down was deemed the best option for getting the floor resurfaced safely and effectively while ensuring long-lasting results.

Equipment removal allowed for:

• A proper mil (one thousandth of an inch) thickness of the coating across the entire floor, in a consistent manner.
• The opportunity to leverage the planned downtime by also cleaning and refurbishing their machinery.
• Longer-lasting outcomes, eliminating the need in subsequent months or years to touch-up trouble spots while accommodating the possibility of future line changes or other changes to the facility space.

The facility shutdown was not enthusiastically greeted by everyone.

To reduce the impact on business profits and strain on customer relationships, the company made the decision to stockpile product inventory in advance of the planned downtime. This allowed them to fulfill their delivery obligations, maintain and build customer trust, and show their commitment to keeping their facilities in optimal condition.

Selecting the best floor coating vendor

When it came to vendor selection, the details shared by the EHS manager describe the approach that Painters USA takes with all clients:

• Finding a solution that manages various, often competing, priorities like operational considerations, financial impact, and workplace safety.
• Prioritizing the "must-have" over the "nice-to-have," in this case how one vendor under consideration had included the addition of an aggregate, while Painters USA focused on a coating that would stand up to the specific chemicals used in their manufacturing process.
• Inspecting and assessing the floor for expansion joints and other considerations that must be addressed in order to avoid flooring failure.
• Proper surface cleaning and preparation and addressing concerns like dust mitigation and proper waste removal.

Meeting facility maintenance deadlines

The shutdown was planned for the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The facility maintenance team asked us to arrive the Monday after Thanksgiving to complete our floor resurfacing work in five days. That would leave the remaining weeks for reinstalling the equipment and returning to normal operations before the new year.

To keep the work on track, our project manager met with the client's project manager every morning to discuss the prior day’s work, review progress, and agree on expectations for the day ahead. By the end of the week, the flooring was finished, clearing the way for the remainder of the project to get completed on time.

Learn more

Read the entire article at FacilityManagement.com

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