A visual communication strategy is not complete without floor tape! Although a simple tool, the possibilities of floor tape are virtually endless. It can make spaces easier to navigate, alert workers to hazards, improve organization, boost safety, and much more. Industrial floor marking tape has a number of uses in a facility and below we have gathered common and creative ways an organization can employ floor markings in their own facility.
- Traffic Direction: Warehouses and workplaces with large open spaces can make traveling through them confusing and dangerous. Floor tape is an excellent way to create lanes designated for vehicle traffic as to ensure operators know where they should be driving. Additionally, floor tape can be used to make crosswalks, so forklift operators are alerted to pedestrian traffic.
- Hazard Identification: Workplaces often deal with a number of dangers, including hazardous areas. Areas in a building that contain a high amount of electrical energy or storage areas for toxic chemicals can be identified with hazard-striped tape to immediately alert workers of potentially dangers spaces.
- Organization: Whether you’re running a Lean workplace or just looking to tidy up the space, using floor marking tape makes it easy. Some organization applications include outlining product and storage areas with floor tape to denote different stages of the production process, creating permanent homes for equipment and tools, or to separate work cells.
- Walkways: In addition to creating lanes for controlling traffic, floor tape can also be used to create designated walking paths for pedestrians. Some facilities even opt for adding a lane specifically for visitors as a way to ensure those unfamiliar with the workplace are kept in safe areas.
- Emergency Assistance: Even if employees are well trained, people can often panic in emergency situations and not remember what needs to be done. One way you could use floor marking tape to be helpful is by taking photoluminescent (glow-in-the-dark tape) and use it for emergency routes. You could also utilize floor markings that will help to lead workers to important equipment like fire extinguishers, first aid kits, and more.
When developing your visual communication strategy, be sure to note all of the areas that you want to install floor marking and what type of floor markings would get you the best results. Consider using a color-coded floor tape system for even better communication and ensure all workers are trained on the new system. Remember, your floor marking strategy doesn’t have to end with tape. Many floor tape applications can greatly benefit from the additional use of tools like industrial floor sign and floor marking shapes.
Additional Resources
- Floor Marking for Forklift Traffic– creativesafetysupply.com
- Floor Marking for Warehouse Traffic– floormarkingpro.com
- Floor Marking for Warehouse Traffic– forkliftsafety101.com
- Floor Marking Colors for the Workplace– facilityfloortape.com
- Industrial Floor Tape vs. Industrial Floor Paint– infographicsdirectory.org
- Floor Markings for Safety– safetyvisuals.com
- Pipe Marking Made Simple and Easy– pipemarking.net
- A Guide to Safety Labels– safetylabelmakers.com
- 5S – Setting in Order– kaizenforums.com