Ergonomic Flooring: What Is It and Why Do You Need It?

What Is Ergonomic Flooring?

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), ergonomics is the art of fitting the work to the worker to help workers stay healthy and reduce or eliminate the risk of work-related injuries such as musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). People who work in physically demanding industries—healthcare, hospitality and general manufacturing, to name a few—are most at risk for developing MSDs such as tendinitis and lower back injuries. Ergonomic flooring can significantly reduce this risk by providing a softer surface to walk and stand on.

Benefits of Ergonomic Flooring 

Ergonomic flooring helps improve the experience of employees and customers in a variety of industries. The top benefits of ergonomic flooring include:

Comfort 

Ergonomic floors are soft and flexible underfoot, providing a more comfortable working environment for workers in physically demanding jobs. 

Productivity

Discomfort and pain negatively impact employee performance, damaging your organization’s overall productivity. Installing anti-fatigue flooring reduces tiredness and work-related MSDs, letting your employees work longer with less pain.

Noise Reduction 

Ergonomic flooring is soft, helping it absorb percussive sounds like footsteps, machine vibrations and conversation. Dampening loud noises creates a more productive environment by eliminating distractions and reducing stress-inducing sounds.

Increased Morale 

By improving comfort and absorbing excess sound, ergonomic flooring boosts employee morale and, for public-facing industries, creates a pleasant customer experience.

Safety 

Ergonomic flooring reduces the risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders, but it has other properties that can make your environment more conducive to employee safety. Slip-resistant ergonomic floors lower the risk of employees falling on the job.

Cost Savings 

When you reduce the risk of workplace injuries, you can save your organization money on health-related expenses such as workers’ compensation and employee absenteeism. Combined with increased productivity, your organization’s profitability could grow significantly.

Industries That Require Ergonomic Floors

Potential applications for ergonomic flooring are endless. The industries that most benefit from ergonomic flooring include:

Healthcare

Ergonomic floors for hospitals strike a perfect balance between comfort and safety in healthcare environments. Doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals spend most of the day standing during medical procedures and walking between appointments, so having a flexible surface underfoot helps them maintain some of their energy. Additionally, the noise dampening ability of ergonomic flooring reduces stress for patients, facilitating the healing process.

Pharmaceutical 

Pharmaceutical labs require sterile conditions to protect researchers from pathogens and enable them to develop safe, effective medications. Seamless ergonomic floors are highly sanitary and easy to clean, making them an excellent choice for laboratory environments.

Education 

Students—and instructors—need a distraction-free environment. Ergonomic floors absorb sound, helping learners remain focused on course material. They also help instructors maintain student engagement by letting them stand in front of the class and move through the room with ease for the duration of the lesson.

Retail 

Ergonomic flooring improves the shopping experience for customers by reducing noise and providing a comfortable, aesthetically appealing surface to walk on. Additionally, the low maintenance needs of ergonomic floors make it easy for store employees to keep their workplace looking clean and fresh even during high traffic periods. 

Hospitality 

Whether they’re waiting tables or cleaning hotels, workers in the hospitality industry spend most of the day on their feet. Slip-resistant ergonomic flooring boosts productivity by enabling employees to move quickly without worrying about falling and getting injured, while the flexible material fights fatigue.

Ergonomic Resinous Flooring Options from Sherwin-Williams 

Resinous flooring—also frequently called seamless or epoxy flooring—is a type of poured flooring system consisting of multiple layers. Each layer serves a specific purpose, creating a system designed to perfectly meet the demands of each use case.

At Sherwin-Williams, we strive to develop high-quality flooring systems for every industry—SofTop™ Systems, our family of ergonomic flooring systems, is one of the newest additions to our lineup.

SofTop™ Systems: Industry-Leading Ergonomic Flooring

SofTop™ Systems is acoustic, ergonomic and hygienic flooring for healthcare, education and other commercial and institutional facilities.

In addition to its ergonomic properties, the following features make : SofTop™ Systems an excellent choice for any environment that experiences heavy foot traffic:

●       Low Maintenance:  SofTop™ Systems feature a seamless design that removes the hard-to-clean cracks and surfaces that harbor harmful pathogens and debris. Additionally, the long-lasting finish requires less frequent polishing and upkeep than more traditional flooring options.

●       Hygienic: In addition to being easy to clean, SofTop™ is highly chemical-resistant. In testing, it demonstrated that it could withstand the rigorous sterilization protocols required by the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. As a result, the system is ideal for controlled environments like cleanrooms and biosafety labs, which must be able to handle routine sanitization from harsh chemicals.

●       Durable: We specifically tested : SofTop™ Systems for strength—with high impact resistance, tensile strength and rolling load, these systems can handle the demands of busy hospitals as well as laboratories with specialized equipment. 

●       Visually Appealing: We wanted to help healthcare businesses create more welcoming environments, so we created various color options and blends. The systems are also UV-resistant, so your chosen colors will remain vibrant for many years to come.

●       Sound dampening:  SofTop™ Systems have the ability to reduce noise, allowing care providers and researchers to work in a distraction-free environment. This property also softens the noise of a busy hospital, reducing stress on patients and facilitating a more effective healing process.

●       Slip-resistant: SofTop™ Systems  feature a textured top coat that creates a safer floor for people who need to move quickly while on the job by significantly reducing the risk of slipping and falling. Slip-resistant flooring is a beneficial choice for various businesses, from restaurants to hospitals to manufacturing plants.

●       Easy installation: Our flooring systems are developed to cure at an accelerated rate with fewer installation steps, helping businesses minimize downtime and get back to service faster.

Install Ergonomic Flooring with Sherwin-Williams 

At Sherwin-Williams, we strive to provide our customers with innovative, high-quality flooring systems that will last for years to come. Reach out to us today to tell us about your project and get more information on our ergonomic flooring solutions.