Warehouse Striping 101
Striping is an important part of any warehouse, even smaller ones with few employees. Learn more about striping and how it can help your business.
Why You Should Stripe
Fresh, easy-to-see striping provides many benefits when it comes to daily operations. First and foremost is that it increases safety. Having set patterns of traffic flow and clear zones can prevent injuries and accidents. The striping will also clearly mark the most dangerous areas, such as areas near dangerous equipment, so that workers don't enter the area without first practicing caution.
Striping also improves the overall flow of traffic. For example, you can set up one-way aisles in storage warehouses to prevent bottlenecks from everyone trying to move items down one aisle. Further, clear striping and flow design will make it easier for vendors if they must navigate your warehouse.
Signs It's Time to Stripe
If you don't currently have striping, it's time to add stripes for traffic flow once you have more than two employees in the warehouse at any given time. The more employees or vendors on site, the more striping can help manage things. Striping is also important if there are any hazardous areas within your warehouse, both around equipment and in loading zones, as these must be clearly marked.
For warehouses with existing striping, re-striping is necessary if the old striping has become so faded it's no longer noticeable. You should also re-stripe every time the layout of the warehouse changes or when new equipment is set up in permanent locations. Whether you need full or partial re-striping depends on how faded the old stripes are and how extensive the changes will be.
Basic Striping Methods
Striping is done with a durable tape, an epoxy floor paint, or a thermoplastic. Tape striping is best used for warehouses where the configuration is likely to change in the near future, simply because tape is easier to remove. Epoxy paint is the industry standard. It's durable, long lasting, and available in a variety of colors and reflectabilities. Thermoplastic works well if you want a permanent solution and foresee no future striping changes. The striping is melded to the floor using heat, which helps it last for years.
When striping is done for the first time, the contractor will work with you to develop the traffic flow plan. They will then create a blueprint of the striping for your review. Once you give the go-ahead, the project can be completed in less than a day, in most cases.
Contact a commercial warehouse striping service for more help with the entire process.