Managing risk of incidents in the workplace has become even more vital as margins get thinner under tough economic conditions and there is no longer room for error, according to Elaine van Rooyen, marketing manager at Andrew Mentis.

“Few businesses can afford safety-related lawsuits during a recession, so opting for inferior quality floor grating is false economy,” says van Rooyen. “Besides, there are building regulations and occupational health and safety standards as well as other legislation to consider.”

She says it therefore makes sense to go straight to a manufacturer who has designed and engineered a quality product with clear loading bearing tolerances for over 40 years. As the largest producer of floor grating in Africa, Andrew Mentis has established an industry benchmark with its Rectagrid RS40 product.

“RS40 is a premium brand formed through a process of compressive pressure locking of bearer bars and transversals to form an exact pitch of 40 mm by 40 mm,” she says. “Our quality controlled process makes sure that the round transverse bar fits tightly through the pierced bearer bar, giving high levels of structural integrity to the product, as well as reducing vulnerability to corrosion.”

It is important for the manufacturing process to allow no cracks or crevices at intersections, as these could also harbour corrosion.

“The locking method at the intersections should be designed to use the full depth of the bearer bar when calculating loads,” she says. “Finally, the grating panels should be flat, square and untwisted to ensure that safety in the workplace is not compromised.”

The company’s world class facility in Elandsfontein near Johannesburg produces floor grating for a wide variety of applications including access walkways in process plants, factories and workshops. With a unique pressure locking system pioneered by company founder Andrew Mentis, the products have been proven over decades of application across different industries.

The company’s experience and expertise also equips it to offer a range of further enhancements to meet customer requirements; for more reliability in corrosive environments, for instance, floor grating can be hot-dip galvanised or manufactured in stainless steel or 3CR12. Due to the strong intersection locking, banding is unnecessary – but facilities are available to provide banded grating where required.