“Concrete Cracks. It’s Really Not a Big Deal.”

Of course, concrete cracks. We all know it. But like most problems, it only gets worse if you don’t address it. If you have a bearing on the brink, worn belt or broken sprocket, you’d change it to prevent any potential damage or failure that might lead to lost production time. Unfortunately, the plant infrastructure doesn’t always get the same attention or elicit the same response.

It takes a long time for a crack to become a problem. Looks like there’s nothing happening. That’s why these cracks are discounted and are left to run their course. Eventually some leading to damaged finished products, slab undermining, environmental concerns or even safety issues. Taking just a little time and very little material, you can address these cracks while they’re small

Repairing a foundation is the best way to reduce the chance it gets worse and eventually fails to do its job. But, when would you do it? You put it off because you don’t think you have the time or the expertise to do it yourself. Well, it really easier than you think. You just have to have the right material in the right packaging to pull it off.

Take a look at the most common foundation repair products and their ease of use:

Product Selection Guide for Equipment Foundation Repairs

In food and beverage facilities, one of the most important tasks is cleaning and sanitation. Trench and drain maintenance are an often overlooked – yet critical – aspect of keeping your floors clean and up to USDA standards. With the constant clean up, your trench or drain is constantly wet with water, cleaning chemicals, and waste. Unfortunately, with all that water flow, a damaged trench goes unnoticed and it may begin to leak into the surrounding soil. All of that water has to go somewhere so it runs downhill.

The leaking trench creates a void. As these voids form, it reroutes the water causing your trench to be undermined. Once this happens, your trench is vulnerable for a collapse. If a vehicle or an employee travels over the trench, not only is the trench damaged but an employee could be severely

Maintaining your trench drain in your facility is a necessity. Damaged trench drains could lead to unpleasant odors and allow bacteria to grow. With all the USDA regulations, cleaning, flooding, or rinsing your trench is a daily routine. This means there is not a lot of time for this area to be dry for repair. Fast application, rapid installation, and quick curing are three things you are going to want to reduce time out of service for your trench and to ensure a complete repair. Doing it yourself means you can make the repairs on your own time and stay on budget without having to hire a contractor. Luckily, there are materials that you can easily apply while the trench is still wet.

Here are a few myths about the materials commonly used to repair trenches:

Myth 1: “Materials can’t bond if the concrete is wet.”

When choosing the best slip resistant flooring system, there are several things a maintenance professional must take into consideration. You want to choose the correct system, because after all, you’re spending money, time, and effort to ensure safety to the employees that will be on it. Also, you want to make sure the system you put down will be durable enough to take the abuse.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself when choosing the right flooring system for your facility:

1. What is the existing surface that is in place?
   • The most popular floor surfaces in food and beverage facilities are urethane cement, an epoxy system, or maybe you have metal plates. The current surface dictates the type of flooring you will choose. If an epoxy system is in place, you will want to select

As you know, industrial environments can be filled with hazards just waiting for someone not paying attention. And your Food and Beverage plant even has some unique challenges of its own.

On a daily basis, your floor is exposed to hot oils, blood, sugars, food acids, animal fats and the ever-present hot water washdown. One of your most common problems maintaining a floor that is slip resistant in the mist of all those slick substances.  Production areas, coolers, locker rooms, etc., there is always the possibility of an employee slipping or falling and getting injured. Not having a slick resistant floor can cause real safety concerns for everyone involved. The 3 biggest issues that are most often with creating a slip resistant surface is labor restrictions, time, and cost. Let’s cover some common myths about applying

Let’s face it, everyone would like to resurface or coat their worn-out processing equipment but most people don’t think they can do it. But, having a contractor come in and do the work is going to be too expensive. And you’ll have to work around their schedule. Most maintenance professionals just don’t know how easy it is.

Myth 1: “Applying a coating is too difficult. Besides, I don’t have the equipment.”

But it’s a lot easier than you ever imagined. For touch-ups, it could be as easy as using an aerosol. Larger areas can be brushed. Spraying is an option but only if you can move the equipment outside since the overspray will be airborne.

Myth 2: “Paints and coatings aren’t USDA approved for my application.”

Steel-it coating systems meet and exceed the standards that are

One thing you can count on in any Food and Beverage plant is that your processing equipment is constantly in use. With the everyday wear and tear and constant cleaning, your equipment can take a real beating. Maintaining your processing equipment is key to your company’s income. Having to replace equipment and losing production time could cost a lot of money.

Much of the equipment in a food processing plant or beverage manufacturing facility is mounted on fabricated steel frames. Hot water, detergents and even food acids/sugars that come in contact with your processing equipment can fuel a rapid increase in corrosion. This accelerated corrosion process will definitely shorten your equipment’s lifespan.

Harmful to your Processing Equipment

• Fatty Food Acids
• Sugars

Walk in coolers, freezers, and cold storage areas are integral parts to your facility’s productivity. Just like the processing area, these areas of sub-freezing temperatures are also subject to floor damage from normal wear and tear. If these cracks, spalls, or chipped floors go unfixed, it could lead to delays in production or even create a tripping hazard. Most repair materials cannot be applied in ambient temperatures and tend to lose their shore hardness. Selecting the correct application is just as important as the actual repair. Below are a few simple rules to follow when selecting a cold storage repair material:

4 Things to Consider When Selecting the Correct Materials for Repairing Floor Joints in Cold Storage Areas

1. Materials that can be applied in ambient temperatures

You’ve spent the money to get the right flooring for your production areas. It’s perfect. Now you have to maintain it’s like new condition to make sure it can do the job of protecting your concrete floors. 

The new surface will be subjected to impact, normal wear, dragging pallets, cleaning chemicals and high temperature water. These conditions will attack the new surface and will eventually compromise some part of it. It’s not what you want to happen, but it will. The key is to address the failures immediately. Any damage left un-repaired could get worse given the harshness of the service.

These areas can be a path to water getting under your flooring leading to bacteria growth that could cause the flooring to fail.

Take some simple steps to make sure you have a plan