A guide for architects, project managers, and quantity surveyors.
Table of Contents
1.Introduction: What Regulations Does Your Resin Floor NEED To Comply With?
2. Part One: British Standards And FeRFA
3. Part Two: BRCGS Food Safety
4. Part Three: Retail Buildings And BRC Audits
6. Part Five: Synthetic Resin Flooring
7. How Advanced Resin Technologies (International) Can Help You
Introduction: What Regulations Does Your Resin Floor NEED To Comply With?
Flooring is one of the most important parts of any building. As such, it is covered by an extensive range of regulatory requirements. These include British Standards, BRCGS Audits, FeRFA, BRC Audits, the RIBA Framework, and the Architects Registration Board. This dizzying array of requirements is enough to make the choice of flooring sound incredibly overwhelming. However, it doesn’t have to be. At Advanced Resin Technologies (International), our experts are here to make the whole process effortless.
This guide is aimed at directors, architects, quantity surveyors, and project managers. It applies to all buildings, including the food, retail, leisure, and medical industries. The guide provides plain English summaries of the requirements of each piece of legislation, provides links to the relevant pages, and explains what you need to do next.
Part One: British Standards and FeRFA
British Standards (BSI) is the UK National Standards Body, and its certification is accepted by the UK Government. FeRFA, the Resin Flooring Association, is a non-profit organisation dedicated to resin flooring. The authority of FeRFA is recognised by all leading bodies, including BSI, BBA, CITB, CSCS, and Build UK. BSI follows FeRFA guidelines in all matters relating to synthetic resin flooring. In short, to comply with British Standards, you need to follow FeRFA rules.
Polyurethane floors, for example, are known for their excellent resistance to both temperature fluctuations and moisture. We always recommend conducting a thorough moisture test before installation, and if high moisture or humidity levels are detected, you may require a moisture-tolerant primer on moisture barrier before installing your floor.
Compliance with BS 8204-6
All synthetic resin flooring must comply with BS 8204-6. This comprehensive regulation, which is based on FeRFA guidelines, covers design, installation, and maintenance. The aim of this is to make sure that your floor is fit for purpose.
The main considerations of BS 8204-6 are the floor’s intended use, the type of loading it will be subject to, any chemicals that it will come into contact with, and the temperatures of anything that touches or is close to the floor. All of these will help your supplier design the ideal synthetic resin finish for the floor’s purpose.
To make this even easier, BS 8204-6 has a list of additional requirements. This list is designed both to help you get the perfect floor for your needs, and to help the supplier. These considerations range from issues such as aesthetics to questions about special health and safety compliance requirements. These start with simple questions such as what colour floor you would like, and extend to include aspects such as slip resistance, UV-tolerance, thickness, and the need to control osmosis. Also included are practical questions, such as time limitations for installation.
A Note On Additional Requirements
You will find that most of the ‘additional requirements’, such as slip resistance, have their own sets of rules and regulations. This is where it is important to turn to FeRFA’s easy-read synthetic resin classifications, which tell you which floor is suitable for which requirement.
FeRFA Synthetic Resin Classifications
There are eight specific types of synthetic resin flooring. These are characterised by their performance characteristics, application methods, intended use, lifespans, appearance, and cleaning methods. The classification system can help installers select which type of floor coating complies with BSI 8204-6.
The eight typologies of flooring are very detailed. You can find a complete guide here. The types of synthetic resin flooring range from Type 1, a very basic floor seal that is intended as a dust-proof coating for concrete, to Type 8, the highest grade, food-safe, impact resistant, anti-static, long-life flooring. In-between these two extremes are floors that cater for varying hygiene, food-safety, and slip resistance standards.
When using the FeRFA guide, it is helpful to begin by considering the purpose of your floor. Most companies want to comply with food safety, which is the next section of this guide.
A Guide To The Regulations Your Resin Flooring Needs To Comply With
This guide is a must-have for architects, project managers, and quantity surveyors, simplifying the complex regulations around resin flooring. Here, you’ll find a breakdown of:
✔ Key standards: BSI, FeRFA, BRCGS, and RIBA.
✔ Design, installation, and performance requirements.
✔ Applicability to industries such as food, retail, and medical.
To get your FREE guide, simply fill out the form to the right!
Part Two: BRCGS Food Safety
Flooring that is used in food preparation and processing areas requires special considerations. These are dependent upon the type of food processing, the machinery involved, and the premises. To ensure full compliance with health, safety, and hygiene, synthetic resin flooring for food production is governed by BRCGS certifications.
About BRCGS
The British Retail Consortium Global Standards (BRCGS) is the most widely accepted food safety standard. It offers certification as proof of hygiene and suitability standards. Certification with BRCGS is crucial for all facilities operating in the food industry.
Requirements For BRCGS Food Safety Certification
In relation to synthetic resin flooring, there are several BRCGS mandates. The BRCGS stipulates that flooring must be easy to clean, and must not be damaged by cleaning chemicals and processes. Should damage occur, the flooring must be easily repairable to prevent contamination. To achieve these standards, the flooring surface must be seamless and non-porous, making synthetic resin an ideal material. Resin flooring can be manufactured to have high levels of durability and chemical resistance. It can also be finished to ensure suitability for heavy-duty cleaning and heat resistance.
Types Of FeRFA Flooring That Qualify For BRCGS
FeRFA has eight classifications for synthetic resin flooring. Of these, only Type 1 is not suitable for food processing areas. The other seven types are suitable for different food safety requirements. The choice of synthetic resin flooring therefore depends upon other considerations within the food-processing area. For example, Type 2 is only suitable for some cleaning chemicals, and does not offer static resistance. This makes it unsuitable for environments where static-producing processing equipment is required. Type 3 only has limited use in areas that are permanently wet. Type 4 is limited by its high-slip potential, making it unsuitable for some food processing environments. Even so, they may be the right solutions for some installations.
To play it safe, FeRFA recommends Type 8 synthetic resin flooring for food processing areas. Ticking every single regulatory box, Type 8 is a heavy-duty screed flooring that can withstand very high-pressure cleaning. Its excellent chemical resistance, excellent hygiene rating, low slip potential, and impervious qualities make it ideal for a full range of food-processing applications. An additional advantage of type eight screed flooring is its average lifespan of 10-12 years, which offers good return on investment.
There are many overlaps between food safety requirements and retail spaces. This guide now turns to retail buildings, BRC Audits, and the legislation overlaps.
Part Three: Retail Buildings and BRC Audits
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) is a trade association that focuses on improving UK retail businesses. The BRC is the overarching body of the British Retail Consortium Global Standards (BRCGS), which was discussed in Section 2 in relation to food safety certification. Many of the standards relating to BRCGS also relate, more generally, to BRC. This is because many retail spaces involve food preparation areas.
What Is A BRC Audit?
The BRC audit is a method of verifying food safety and quality. The three primary factors are safety, quality, and operational criteria. Within these three main topics are ten requirements. Firstly, a continual commitment to improving safety and quality. Secondly, a detailed food safety plan. This must be supported by the third requirement, which is the conduction of regular internal audits. Points five and six relate to the organisation and documentation from suppliers, while the sixth states that you must “employ appropriate and effective hygiene regulations.” Regulations seven through to ten relate to the separation of allergens, the installation of a good layout, correct labelling, and employee safety training.
Flooring choice and BRC Audits
Flooring is directly related to BRC food safety audit requirements 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8. For example, the quality of the floor is important for continual improvement of safety and is part of your food safety plan. Equally, the facility floor plan and organisation is something that can be clearly marked with the correct resin colour design. Perhaps most importantly, the quality of the floor relates to how easy it is to clean, making it crucial for adherence to hygiene regulations.
Applicable Premises
The main focus of the BRC is on food safety in retail environments, especially supermarkets, shops, restaurants, and hospitals. However, BRC safety applies to the supply chain as a whole, and can therefore be relevant for factory environments and any environments where food is produced and stored. Retailers may use a BRC audit to evaluate their suppliers. Equally, retailers may find themselves subject to a BRC audit.
Preparing for a BRC food safety audit
The more boxes you have already ticked on your on-going health and safety plan, the easier it is to prepare for a BRC food safety audit. The flooring is always something that is carefully inspected in an audit, so the best way to prepare for this is to ensure that your floor meets both the BRCGS food safety standards and the BS 8204-6 standards. Ultimately, this means keeping your FeRFA Guide close at hand, as this ultimately details which flooring is suitable for your purposes.
This guide now focuses on what architects need to do to ensure compliance in their designs. It may also be helpful for anyone who is thinking about replacing an old floor, as many architectural regulations relating to sustainability are likely to become incorporated into FeRFA in the future.
Part Four: Regulations Specially For Architects: RIBA Framework And The Architects Registration Board
What is the RIBA framework?
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a global professional architectural body and registered charity. The main emphasis of RIBA is on sustainable architecture, with ethics and environmental awareness underpinning the core philosophy. In its efforts to promote architectural excellence, RIBA has developed an eight-stage Plan of Work. This incorporates conservation, cost, fire safety, health and safety, inclusivity, planning, procurement, and sustainability. It also has a specific Plan for Use Strategy. Produced in tandem with the Usable Buildings Trust and BSRIA, this emphasises the improvement of environmental, occupational, and operational values of buildings.
Design and specification
Flooring is relevant to each of the eight stages of the RIBA framework. Specifically, the choice of floor needs to be designed in tandem with its Plan for Use. Affected elements include compliance with fire safety, hygiene standards, accessibility, and issues such as slip resistance.
Most public buildings have their own British Standards outlining these requirements. For instance, leisure facilities are covered by BS EN 15288–2, as Type 1, 2 or 3, which describe the health and safety requirements for different zones in a leisure area. As already discussed above, any areas that involve food preparation are subject to extensive legislation of their own. As such, the design and specification of a building must consider all aspects of its Plan for Use, and have flooring that is designed accordingly.
Quality assurance and risk management
One of the major benefits of RIBA certification is its dual focus on quality assurance and risk management. By angling its focus towards the safety of a public space, it helps architects to fulfil their duties under the Architects Registration Board (ARB) six-step Code of Conduct. Flooring is particularly related to standards 2, 3, and 4, which are public interest, competence, and professional practice respectively. To satisfy both the RIBA framework and the ARB standards, the greatest ally is FeRFA. FeRFA’s categorisation of flooring into eight comprehensive types makes it very straightforward for architects to select the ideal synthetic resin flooring for each zone of their building design.
Part Five: Synthetic Resin Flooring
Synthetic resin flooring has multiple benefits that satisfy the rigorous demands of various regulatory bodies. Synthetic resin is one of the best materials for creating an impervious barrier, giving it an excellent hygiene score. Resin flooring is particularly praised for its design flexibility. This flexibility enables designers to tweak the flooring to fulfil precise specifications, such as impact resistance, slip resistance, chemical resistance, and static resistance. As such, synthetic resin flooring can be quite literally moulded to fit the requirements of any potential space.
A note on sustainability
Many synthetic resins are also inherently sustainable, thereby satisfying the demands of RIBA in particular. Many synthetic resins are derived from plant oils, and are applicable for BREEAM ESG certification and LEED environmental certification. Synthetic resin floorings are usually designed to safely biodegrade should they ultimately end up in landfill; although the majority of floors have a healthy 8-10-year lifecycle, further satisfying sustainability goals. For all industries – and for architects in particular – this consideration is paramount, with 37% of global carbon emissions being attributed to the construction industry.
How Advanced Resin Technologies (International) can help you
At Advanced Resin Technologies (International), we understand the importance of ticking every regulatory box involving flooring. As members of FeRFA, we only work with leading manufacturers, giving us the unique freedom to pick and choose from the market to create tailored solutions for our clients.
The best way to ensure that your resin floor is fully compliant is to ask an expert. Please book your free site survey today to find out more.