The choice between fibreglass, steel, and performance versus cost can be bewildering when it comes to installing floor gratings, says gratings, stair treads and safety handrails manufacturer Vital Engineering MD Dodds Pringle.

While steel offers more strength than synthetic products, fibreglass is a very robust, low-maintenance product, which reduces the maintenance cycle considerably, he explains. “These products are best used on conveyor walkways, among other areas, taking into consideration load-bearing requirements and ensuring that the product is in line with all relevant industry specifications.”

Pringle explains that, more often than not, the decision between steel and fibreglass is cost driven, which can pose a threat to safety on site and to human assets of the company.

“In our experience, the safety of the human asset is unfortunately sometimes the last consideration when buying floor gratings. The choice of material that people have to walk on should not be driven by cost, but by many other factors, above all, safety. There is not enough knowledge in the market surrounding the importance of gratings,” says Pringle, who is passionate about educating the market about safety on site in relation to the design and installation of floor gratings.

He states that the company is proud to be the first South African gratings, handrailing and expanded metal manufacturer to have obtained ISO 9001 design accreditation and to have held this certification for over 19 years.

As a specialist in this field, Pringle says Vital Engineering has decided to step into the breach and provide practical advice for industry on the critical issues of safety, quality and design specifications when it comes to the choice of gratings customers should make.

One of the steps the company has taken to create safety awareness is to distribute a CD to customers detailing the correct gratings installation and performance specifications. The CD provides installation guidelines and has been used extensively in the construction site context for induction purposes.

“For example, there needs to be some education to prepare the market for the transition between steel and fibreglass products, and that it is a design issue. He adds that the products are not able to take the same load, but, then again, each has its own advantages.”

Pringle states that the company’s value offering is to be a part of the design process to guide its customers in ascertaining the best performance specifications.

While fibreglass may recently have become a popular choice in gratings, there is considerable uncertainty about its strength, notes Pringle. He states that this is where design specifications come in, demanding proper research into specific South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) requirements and performance requirements, which are based on factors such as load harshness and the type of operating environment.

“The risk involved in buying gratings according to the lowest price is due to quality and safety specifications not being adhered to,” he emphasises, adding that this can result in other related costs, such as injury on site and downtime.

Despite the rising input costs of steel manufacturing in South Africa, Vital Engineering remains committed to sustainability in the industry by refusing to compromise on a quality output and retaining safety as its focus, avers Pringle.

Further, he states that the ongoing challenge is the competition the industry faces owing to lower prices in the international market. To separate the company from the competition, Vital Engineering offers its clients ‘value-adds’, which include lowering the cost of installation while increasing maintenance efficiencies. He states that the company’s input materials are 350WA grade, which offers greater strength than commercial-grade material.

Pringle boasts that Vital Engineering runs full checks on load requirements, according to the client’s drawings, to ensure compliance from a performance safety point of view and in relation to SABS requirements.

“While the trend is towards cost-driven decision-making, as the largest manufacturer and supplier in the gratings sector in South Africa, Vital Engineering considers it of paramount importance to educate the market about the importance of prioritising safety and performance above cost advantage only.”

In conclusion, Pringle states: The company hopes that its efforts will help increase awareness about safety on site and that looking after human capital should take precedence over cheaper gratings materials of inferior quality, which could prove more costly in the long run on a number of important levels.”