BYAL Floor System
7016754621 • May 11, 2018
Combat "Sweating Slab Syndrome" with Southeast Sealing, Inc.
Southeast Sealing is a certified installer of the BYAL Floor System . This system was developed to help manage “sweating slab syndrome”, which anyone who has been around a warehouse or industrial facility in the South is most likely familiar with. “ Sweating slab syndrome ” is what happens when concrete slabs and other materials reach dew point temperature. As warm, moist air enters the area and diffuses throughout the structure, it condenses on any surface that is at or below the dew point temperature. Salt deposits on the surface of the slab can also cause this syndrome. The hygroscopic nature of salt will act to attract moisture from air onto the surface of the slab. Sometimes this salt can even draw water from within the concrete. Beyond the obvious safety concerns from a slippery floor, a sweaty floor can also result in damage to the inventory and machinery.
Fortunately, Southeast Sealing’s BYAL Floor System is designed to improve traction and will minimize the accumulation of surface moisture and soluble salts. Because the BYAL Floor System will increase the skid resistance of most concrete floors, the chances of slip and falls are significantly reduced. Additionally, equipment such as forklifts and personnel carts operates more safely and reliably.
Fun Fact : In 1990, Southeast Sealing, Inc. applied the BYAL Floor System to the Atlanta Zoo's Rhino Barn. Their Rhino had been slipping on the wet floor, but the Zoo sent us a note saying "he is quite happy now and no longer slips.. [we] appreciate the energy that you and your crew donated. It is through the efforts of people such as yourself that has enabled the zoo to provide a better home for the animals".
Above are photos of our 1980s fleet of Tennant 527 and 528 floor scrubbing machines. Although long since retired and replaced, these concrete floor cleaning machines served our clients in warehouse and manufacturing facilities in the Fulton Industrial District, Marietta, Kennesaw, Decatur, Norcross, Gwinnett County, as well as throughout the Southeast.
Thursday, December 12, Southeast Sealing attended the 20th Annual Prologis Holiday Event. Prologis provides logistics real estate solutions to the world and are leaders in the industrial real estate manufacturing industry. Southeast Sealing has been providing services including warehouse floor cleaning, coating, sealing, and joint repair to name a few for Prologis for decades. We are very proud to be one of their go-to flooring contractors. Each year at their Holiday Event, Prologis makes an effort to provide fundraising for a charitable organization. This year, they contributed to Easter Seals North Georgia. This organization was founded to provide therapy to children rehabilitating from polio. Since then, the organization has expanded its services to meet the needs of children with disabilities and other special needs living in North Georgia. Prologis collected donations, gift cards, toys, and other needed items for the children of Easter Seals. The annual Holiday Event is always a great way to catch up with fellow contractors and vendors and also to meet new people. This year, Southeast Sealing even won some beautiful boxes full of treats during a raffle!
Over the weekend of October 3-5, 2019, Michael attended the ARDEX Americas LevelMaster Elite 25th Anniversary trip to Miramar Beach, Florida. ARDEX hosted the event at the Hilton Sandestin, and provided a fun weekend full of networking, food, and fun in the sun (like a deep sea fishing trip).
It came as no surprise that Southeast Sealing, Inc. was once again honored by Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of Georgia with a Platinum Level Safety Training and Evaluation Process (STEP) award as well as the Georgia Safety Award of Excellence. Southeast Sealing, Inc. continues to achieve these levels of safety excellence awards year after year, and we are so grateful for our team and our crew’s continued efforts. The STEP award recognizes member companies that employ effective safety practices on their job sites. Southeast Sealing, Inc. has won this award every year for over 25 years. STEP companies are up to 770 percent safer than non-STEP companies with total recordable incident rates as much as 87 percent lower. Georgia Safety Awards of Excellence are awarded to companies who have had no employee fatalities, with lost time and DART rates half the national average or less. Southeast Sealing, Inc. takes pride in our continued efforts toward maintaining the safest operations.
Back in the day, Southeast Sealing Inc. would take the crew to Mexico Beach, FL for a fishing trip to thank them for a year of jobs well done. They would board a fishing boat named Charisma and spend the day at sea. The fish they caught were taken to a local restaurant, prepared, and served to the crew for dinner.
Southeast Sealing, Inc. recently completed a project just south of Metro Atlanta in the McDonough, GA area. Our customer wanted a battery charging area in their warehouse, where they could charge large batteries without worrying about acid spills on the floor. Check out the step by step process below:
Wet Concrete Floors In metro Atlanta, as well as throughout Georgia and most of the Southeast, many warehouses and industrial properties struggle with wet concrete floors. This is frequently referred to as “sweating slab syndrome”. Wet warehouse floors and industrial floors create serious hazards for people, machinery, and investors. Wet concrete floors can lead to serious and costly slip and fall accidents. Slip and falls are the number one cause of workers compensation claims. Furthermore, they are the main cause of injury resulting in lost days from work. Forklifts, handling equipment, racking, and inventory can become damaged. We have worked on sites where wet, slippery floors have resulted in a loss of traction and the two forks of a lift truck actually penetrated an office wall. Fortunately, the occupant was not injured. In another instance, a lift truck was not able to stop and crashed into a demising wall. It shifted the wall and resulted in extensive damage to inventory in the adjacent unit. One of our clients even had a lift truck that slid out a dock door and crashed onto its side in the parking lot.
Southeast Sealing, Inc. has been a certified Ashford Formula installer for over 35 years. We have installed Ashford Formula flooring all over the United States. Ashford Formula is a chemically reactive liquid that penetrates the concrete, solidifying the concrete surface components into a solid mass. It produces a permanently denser, harder, penetration and abrasion resistant concrete surface. Ashford Formula is inorganic, nontoxic, VOC free, colorless and odorless. · Ashford Formula densifies concrete surfaces into a solid mass by penetrating the concrete and chemically filling the pores from within. · Ashford Formula chemically hardens the concrete surface, increasing the abrasion resistance by 32%. · Ashford Formula reacts immediately, chemically stabilizing the finished concrete surface. It also accelerates and enhances hydration of the portland cement, helping the concrete reach its design properties. · Application of the Ashford Formula is a one-time, permanent application. This eliminates the need for expensive re-application materials, labor costs and facility downtime. Routine surface cleaning is all that is required for long-term maintenance. · Ashford Formula combines with calcium hydroxide, becoming an integral part of the concrete, thus completely dust-proofing the surface. This reduces maintenance costs and protects inventory and equipment from concrete dust. · Over time, Ashford Formula treated floors will develop a permanent and attractive sheen. Rather than eroding with traffic, the floor surface actually begins to self polish. Note: Open or porous surfaces, or floors with poor surface integrity may not achieve these results.
Maintaining clean warehouse and industrial floors is important for a number of reasons. Most importantly, a clean floor is a safer floor. Keeping a floor free of dust, dirt, and petroleum fluids will promote a healthier work environment. Safety is greatly improved by reducing the possibility of slip and fall accidents. Secondly, a clean floor contributes to better employee morale. When employees see that management takes care of their facility they take note. A clean floor reflects light better and brightens the work environment. A brighter workplace is a safer and overall more positive workplace. Thirdly, a clean floor will enhance your facility’s image. Clean and well maintained floors are often an important marketing tool that will help you covey a commitment to quality in everything you do. Also, clean floors reduce dust and help to avoid dirty boxes and product reaching your customers. Sensitive machinery, electrics, etc. can also benefit from keeping warehouse and industrial floors clean. Dust collecting on the floor can harm these machines, so keeping them dust-free will help preserve them.
This image was taken in the late 1970s of a Tennant 520. This ride-on floor scrubber had an air cooled engine and was groundbreaking in the cleaning of industrial and warehouse concrete floors. While this machine has been long since retired, Southeast Sealing, Inc. still utilizes Tennant's latest machines and scrubbers.
