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Playing the safety card

Donna Hannaway explores how contractors can combine safety and functionality with contemporary design.

SAFETY flooring is a crucial part of any interior flooring scheme, ensuring those using a space are kept safe from potential slips or trips. That said, low-slip potential doesn’t have to mean a compromise on design.

Whether it’s in healthcare, education, leisure and hospitality or retail environments, safety flooring plays an essential role in protecting occupants from potential slips, trips and falls; especially in higher risk zones such as changing areas, toilets or kitchens, or any area with higher risks of spills or contamination on the floor.

Traditionally, safety flooring can often be a more functional specification within a wider flooring scheme, with architects and facility managers often feeling they must compromise on design to meet the required safety regulations. However, thanks to recent production advances and the rise of contemporary designs, this is no longer the case, with many safety flooring collections now containing an extensive selection of choices.

These can range from on-trend colour palettes to realistic wood and stone designs, such as Forbo’s range of HSE-compliant Step safety vinyl.

With a clear and sharp visual appearance and designs commonly associated with high end aesthetic solutions such as luxury vinyl tiles, all while guaranteeing R10 or higher slip resistance rating and a <36 pendulum test value, safety flooring can now be easily incorporated as part of a wider design brief, paired alongside other solutions to form beautiful, integrated flooring schemes.

This can be especially beneficial for commercial applications, as your customers will be looking to ensure every aspect of their design is in keeping with their brief or branding.

It’s clear the safety flooring market has evolved, with new designs allowing specifiers to meet aesthetic and safety requirements. Being aware of these new options when recommending flooring to a customer can help them to not only achieve a safe space, but a beautiful one too. With more than 50 years’ experience, Forbo’s Step safety vinyl is available in a wide range of designs, including realistic wood, stone and colour to dementia-friendly designs.

A trusted name in the market, Forbo is dedicated to creating healthier indoor environments with a focus on the safety, hygiene and wellbeing of individuals. Reflecting this commitment, Forbo’s Step safety flooring is 100% phthalate-free, manufactured in a factory using 100% renewable electricity, incorporates an average of 24% recycled content and has one of the lowest embodied carbon ratings for a safety flooring on the market, as well as meeting all HSE and European safety norms.
Forbo also offers Surestep Fast Fit, which can be installed adhesive-free. As well as reducing downtime by over 50% and helping contractors to meet tight deadlines on commercial projects, it allows the end-user to easily uplift the flooring for reuse or recycling at its end of life.
www.forbo-flooring.co.uk/step
Donna Hannaway is head of marketing UK and Ireland, Forbo Flooring Systems

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