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Concrete Construction Article PDF - Understanding Specifications For Superflat Floors
Concrete Construction Article PDF - Understanding Specifications For Superflat Floors
Concrete Construction Article PDF - Understanding Specifications For Superflat Floors
M cations in the Un i t e d
States now include the
F-number system to
identify surface tolerances. There
are two basic floor categories: ran-
dom traffic and defined traffic.
The vast majority of the floors in
the United States are classified as
random traffic. Forklift or pedestri-
an traffic is able to move across the
surfaces of these floors in any di-
rection. Random-traffic floors typ-
ically are found in warehouses,
manufacturing plants, schools,
hospitals, and shopping centers.
Defined-traffic floors are usually
only required for specialized appli- As building owners become aware of the benefits of superflat defined-traffic
cations, such as very-narrow-aisle specifications for concrete floors, the popularity of these specifications will
(VNA) warehouses, where forklifts continue to grow.
travel the same path, day after day.
Cu r re n t l y, fewer than 1% of the For a contractor to successfully flat specifications; very little can be
floors constructed in the Un i t e d construct a superflat floor, the floor found on the subject in American
States are classified as defined must be properly specified. How- Concrete Institute or ASTM stan-
t ra f f i c. Howe ve r, their popularity ever, one of the most common mis- d a rd s. This lack of information
is growing as owners become takes is for specifiers to call for ran- usually causes confusion.
more aware of the benefits associ- dom-traffic tolerances when Lift-truck manufacturers publish
ated with them. In VNA ware- superflat tolerances are needed. recommended floor tolerances to
h o u s e s, forklifts tra vel 6-foot- This mistake usually results from a ensure the proper operation of
wide aisles between storage racks their equipment. This information
with the aid of rack-mounted rails often adds to the confusion. Unlike
or a wire guidance system embed- random-traffic floors which have FF
ded in the floor. The lift-truck di-
CURRENTLY, FEWER THAN 1% and FL requirements, superflat is a
mensions are approximately 5 OF THE FLOORS CONSTRUCTED minimum tolerance and should be
feet wide and 7 feet long. While IN THE UNITED STATES ARE written as follows:
moving down the aisles, these lift CLASSIFIED AS DEFINED
trucks can raise their forks to re- Example: Fmin 100
TRAFFIC. or
t ri e ve or place products at va ri o u s
l e ve l s. For these forklifts to per- Fmin 60
form as intended, defined-traffic The higher the number, the flat-
floors must be extraordinarily flat misunderstanding of requirements ter and more level the floor. The
and level, or superflat. or an attempt to save money. Un- most common tolerance is Fmin 100,
fortunately, almost no information with Fmin 50 being about the lowest
What Are Superflat Tolerances? is available to the writer of super- number used.
Since the lift truck travels the same Many VNA lift trucks will oper- f l o o r s. In other word s, an Fmin 6 0
route over and over, the smoothness ate satisfactorily on a floor mea- floor cost the same to build as an
of the wheel paths in superflat aisles suring less than Fmin 100. In the ear- Fmin 100 floor. As superf l a t - f l o o r
becomes extremely important. Al- ly days of superflat specifications, c o n t ractors have gained experi-
though superflat slabs are placed in a contractor’s construction meth- ence over the years, they have fine
long, narrow strips approximately 15 ods and associated costs we re tuned their pro c e d u res and can
feet wide, tolerance only needs to be about the same for all superf l a t n ow offer cost savings for lowe r-
confirmed in the wheel tracks.
Changes in wheel elevation and the
rate of change must be specified and F MEASUREMENTS
MIN