Most companies employ maintenance workers to help keep the building safe, functional, and in good condition. These workers often play an important role in maintaining flooring surfaces and reducing safety hazards throughout the property.
Part of a flooring inspector’s job involves speaking with everyone who participates in the company’s floor safety plan. This process often includes interviews with business owners, supervisors, maintenance personnel, and cleaning crews.
In many cases, maintenance workers provide some of the most valuable information during an inspection. They often know the history of the flooring, past repairs, recurring problems, and the daily maintenance procedures used throughout the building.
Maintenance workers are in charge of taking physical care of and ensuring the physical condition of the flooring. When trained properly and given the authority to make repairs or replacements as needed, building workers can be the first line of defense when it comes to floor safety and keeping walkways safe. However, maintenance workers can also be the ones to exacerbate floor problems or even outright cause them.
Here are 3 of the most common errors that maintenance workers make when it comes to floor care:
1. Failure to follow the manufacturer’s specifications.
Maintenance workers may believe they are taking proper care of the flooring. However, without training on the manufacturer’s recommendations for maintenance and repair, they can accidentally create additional problems.
Many flooring products require specific cleaning methods, maintenance schedules, and approved repair procedures. If workers do not follow those guidelines, the flooring may wear prematurely or develop performance issues.
Skipping recommended maintenance procedures or ignoring maintenance schedules can also contribute to unnecessary flooring damage. In some cases, improper maintenance practices may create problems that otherwise could have been avoided entirely.
2. Using the wrong cleaning agents.
Maintenance and cleaning crews can introduce problems to hard flooring surfaces when they use cleaning agents that the manufacturer has specifically warned against. Whether the cleaning chemicals are too harsh or not doing a good enough job, poor cleaning practices can leave the flooring slippery or sticky, opening the door for problems.
3. Too much water.
Depending on the flooring material, using too much water can introduce big problems with moisture, swelling, mold, and more. The working and cleaning teams should only use enough water to get the floor clean. Excess water can cause problems when it seeps between floor boards, tile, or linoleum and cause water damage underneath.
There’s a real benefit to training workers and cleaning crews on the proper way to take care of flooring at the workplace. Business owners can use the services of a flooring inspector to create a floor care and safety plan that will not only lengthen the life of the flooring but also reduce the risk of slip and fall accidents.
To get more information on how a flooring inspector can help reverse problems caused by maintenance workers, please contact Rob McNealy at Flooristics.
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