Why do schools need entrance matting?
From pre-schools up to universities, when there is a large amount of footfall in and out of a building, it’s important to get the right entrance matting that can not only handle and endure the constant footfall of student’s feet but also be safe and prevent hazards such as slipping. Not all educational buildings require the same sort of matting, but there are some traits required for entrance matting across all schools. We have entrance matting that caters for different types of schools, helping to maintain a safe environment for students.
Matting with bi-level construction that both scrapes and stores soil and moisture helps keep dirt and moisture from tracking further into the building and causing added expense, potential trip and fall hazards, and damage of interior floor surfaces.
In summary, entrance matting is a vital part of a building’s soil management and asset protection program.
Safety and Aluminium
Safety is a huge factor for schools irrespective of age of student. Nurseries and primary schools (those with younger children) need even greater care – after all, children are notoriously accident-prone, especially as they enter or leave or building. An effective entrance matting system can help to make floors safer. Sometimes schools shy away from custom-made systems as they are used to seeing aluminium entrance matting and those with younger children, sometimes feel that a softer surface is preferable.
At COBA Europe, we have a number of entrance mats that can combat this dilemma. We have the Premier range of PVC entrance tiles for example. One option within this range is Premier Rib. The PVC base tile is made from 100% recycled PVC and it has ribbed rubber inserts for slip-resistance – it can be used at the point of entry and is slip-resistant, making it ideal for schools with younger children. Of course, this can be supplemented by other carpet surface mats such as Premier Plus Tiles, or one of our huge range of loose lay entrance mats.
Size, Installation, Cleaning and Maintenance
With busy buildings such as schools, colleges and universities, it’s important to be able to get entrance matting that is easy to maintain. It should also be taken into account that the bigger the school, the larger the entrance matting will have to be in terms of floor coverage. It also needs to be sufficiently durable to cope with the foot traffic. Disabilities would also need to be considered when installing your entrance matting. If you have students that are in a wheel chair the circumference of the wheel needs to be wiped clean, thus requiring a larger size.
Dudley College took advantage of our Premier Track tiles. With the ability to link together to cover all floor sizes, the tile system helps to make floors safer through increased slip resistance and makes for easy installation, cleaning, moving or replacing.
Once the proper entrance matting is selected and installed, it is important to follow the recommended maintenance procedures in order to get the optimal performance and longevity from your matting.
Professional and Attractive
It is also important for the entrance matting to look professional, attractive and suit the appearance of the rest of the school.
Here at COBA Europe, we are able to provide a number of different entrance matting styles. These include the versatile Plan.a, which is available with three different surface options, such as Alba and Needlepunch inserts or a PVC scraper.
Entrance matting doesn’t have to just be in dark colours such as black, blue or grey. We offer a range of matting that can come in all sorts of colours.
Logo Mats
While Logomats are attractive and can prove to add a professional look to your building, standard loose lay Logomats are generally more suited to medium-duty use. However, we do also offer Logomat Precision, a heavy-duty option for entrances subjected to more rigorous wear and tear, which is a premium custom-made to order entrance mat product.
It is important that educational buildings also have the right entrance matting in order to not only effectively remove dirt and moisture from entering the building, but to also prevent health and safety hazards such as slipping and tripping.
The City of Glasgow College ordered our Plan.a entrance matting which is ideal for heavy amounts of traffic, but the college also took advantage of COBA’s ability to integrate an inlaid, custom-printed Logomat into the system. The result was an entrance that was both practical and professional.
From pre-schools up to universities, educational buildings are very busy environments that maintain a stream of heavy footfall each day, so it is important to choose an entrance matting that is not only professional and attractive but also safe and easy to install and maintain. COBA Flooring has a number of entrance matting systems that are ideal for the education sector. If you would like to shop the range, please click here.
