After your build or renovation is complete, you will want to protect the durability and look of your flooring investment while offering safety and comfort through an entryway carpet system.
The wrong entryway system in your newly installed project can send the wrong message, spoil first impressions and also lack the required functionality.
Image: Mohawk Group
The entrance of a building should not only build a positive lasting impression from a design perspective but offer an entryway product, which offers a non-slip surface to protect customers, employees and manage risk.
Mohawk Group offers a Walk Off entry system called Tuff Stuff II which helps to capture residues from inclement weather and dirt at the door of your facility, while protecting your flooring investment.
“Soil and moisture are the main causes of premature wear and eventual replacement of floor covering,” says Susan Quinn, Account Executive of Toronto-based, Mohawk Group. “Tuff Stuff tiles can reduce these residues by up to 91%.”
Tuff Stuff was designed to protect facilities from elements like snow and sand, while providing a safe, non-slip surface in high moisture areas. Tuff Stuff uses what is called ‘scraper’ yarns in the carpet tiles that comprise the Walk Off system. Each square yard can hold up to 5.6 lbs of sand, which is 2.4 times its normal weight. It is also able to absorb 7.3 lbs of moisture per square yard, which is 3.07 times its normal weight.
Image: Mohawk Group – Tuff Stuff Walkoff Entryway Carpet System
“Tuff Stuff hides the dirt quite significantly and the entire system looks aesthetically pleasing. It’s a much more presentable solution,” says Quinn. “Our Tuff Stuff product is a carpet tile and laid directly to floor and offers a very fluid, no transition kind of look which differs greatly from a carpet runner or a carpet matting solution. Also, from a facilities manager perspective it will save money in maintenance fees because it’s easier to clean and maintain and a lot more durable.”
For general maintenance the modular systems can be easily cleaned by vacuuming. If a specific area becomes damaged, individual tiles can simply be swapped out or repaired.
The entire system is laid as a carpet tile and the fibre that comprises these tiles is made with Duracolour, which is stain free, sustainable and offers water-only stain removal to remove 96% of all common stains.
In addition to low maintenance, the tiles themselves are made with 30% recycled content: 25% pre-consumer & 5% post-consumer which reduce both cost and impact on the environment.
Beyond maintenance, Quinn also explains that this system helps Mohawk clients avoid the liability of slip and fall incidents caused by slippery entryways in their facilities by providing the higher traction, moisture-absorbing technology.
Traditional matting systems when combined with hard surface flooring can pose a slip hazard when wet or soiled with residues from outdoors. Area mats and runner matting systems can bunch or ripple and can often result in a tripping hazard.
Source: Mohawk Group
Slips and falls can be costly. Commercial insurer CNA Commercial Property and Casualty identifies lack of slip resistance as the number one cause of slip and fall accidents. The insurer claims 570,000 slips, trips and falls cause 15 percent of the 3.8 million disabling workplace injuries each year, as well as an estimated 5,100 workplace fatalities. Property owners can be held liable for all direct and indirect costs associated with these incidents.
Furthermore, according to the University of Florida Extension, Preventing Injuries from Slips, Trips and Falls: At an average cost of $28,000 per injury, total liability exposure for the direct costs of slip and fall accidents approaches $16 billion dollars per year. Indirect costs can be as high as $940,000 per incident, increasing liability by more than 3,300 percent.
In addition to providing mitigation from risk, protection of long term investment and ease of maintenance, all Tuff Stuff Walkoff Systems from Mohawk are warranted for fibre wear, backing material and performance for 10 years or the lifetime installation of the product.
If your entryway system needs an upgrade or update items to consider when installing a new system are:
- Soil and moisture capture/barrier
- Safety
- Risk
- Ease of maintenance
- Long-term investment
- Aesthetic appeal
For information about entryway system installation, please contact info@darwinfisher.com
For more information about Mohawk Tuff Stuff II please see Mohawk Group.