Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Floor flatness testing determines how flat and level your floor is regarding its intended use and how closely it adheres to the specified floor standard.

Face Consultants use the latest in digital floor flatness testing equipment to check surface regularity.

Read more about floor flatness and levelness here

• If you have taken over an existing warehouse and the intended use is now different to its existing, the floor would require testing to make sure it is suitable for the new operation and to see what alterations may need to take place.
• Ideally, before investing in new Materials Handling Equipment (MHE), you would need to make sure that your warehouse floor is suitable for the operation of these machines and, if not, look at possible remedial works.
• New floors also require testing for flatness and levelness to check they have achieved the specified tolerances.

We can check flatness to any specified international floor flatness standard; Concrete Society’s TR34, ASTM E1155, ACI Fmin, BS 8204, DIN 15185, DIN 18202, EN 15620:2008* and VDMA.

Flatness of a warehouse floor is crucial for safe and efficient logistic functions. A floor that is not flat and level not only disrupts productivity but can also affect a driver’s health and safety and the longevity of warehouse Materials Handling Equipment (MHE). This may result in unnecessary repair and maintenance costs.

Ultimately, the type of MHE used and the warehouse layout (whether MHEs move randomly throughout the warehouse or are confined to defined pathways in Very Narrow Aisles (VNA)) determines the required flatness of the floor.

• Flat Floor – refers to the short wavelength characteristic, typically checked over a distance of 600mm; a floor that is flat is not necessarily level.
• Level Floor – refers to the long wavelength characteristic of a floor, typically checked over a distance of 3m and to datum; a floor that is level is not necessarily flat.

• Free Movement (FM) refers to areas where Materials Handling Equipment (MHE) operates in undefined paths and can move in all directions within the facility.
• Defined Movement (DM) refers to areas where MHE operates within a fixed defined path within the facility. These facilities implement a Very Narrow Aisle (VNA) system.

This is dependent on the type of robotics considered, whether Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS), Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR), Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV), Collaborative Robots (Cabots) etc.

We can work with robotics manufacturers to create specific floor standards suitable for their automated systems. Many of the existing floor specifications in place for automated systems have been configured by Face Consultants.

Find out more about the flooring services we offer for G2P automation and robotics systems here.

This is dependent on the number of tests and/or surveys that are required. As a rule of thumb, we at Face Consultants can survey approximately 4000 square metres of free movement (FM) floor area or approximately 800 linear metres of defined movement (DM) aisleway in a day. However, this is dependent on the location of a site and travel time.

This will vary depending on each circumstance but, in general, a total shut down of a facility is not always required. We can operate in phases, surveying and testing sections of a facility that have been made available to us before moving on to another.

For defined movement surveys, the same can be applied, closing off one or more aisles at a time for us to survey

Where limits are exceeded, it may be possible to grind the high areas of the surface to help achieve compliance. We can discuss options available once a survey has been carried out.

Once your floor has been surveyed or tested a fully comprehensive report will be issued electronically.

Each report can vary depending on the type of test or survey carried out but will generally include:

• Contract details
• Description of work
• Survey or test location plan
• Survey or test data
• Conclusion (in most cases)

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) scanning is used to measure floor slab thickness, locate reinforcement and structural supports, as well as identify voids.

GPR Scanning is non-destructive, cost-effective, and non-invasive. It is quick and easy to do and ideal for scanning large areas. The data provided, however, needs to be interpreted by experienced floor surveyors.

Read more about GPR Floor Scanning here.

A floor profiler is a digital device used to measure the flatness of a floor surface.

View CoGri Engineering’s range of digital floor profilers: https://cogri-engineering.com/floor-flatness-profilers/

No, we do not sell our profileographs but alternatively offer a wide range of floor tests and surveys using the appropriate Profileograph. Please visit: https://face-consultants.com/floor-flatness/

However, we do sell other floor testing equipment, visit: https://cogri-engineering.com/floor-testing-equipment/

We ship worldwide.

We operate worldwide with offices based in the UK, mainland Europe, Middle East, Asia, Australasia, Africa, and the USA.