| Light pedestrian access |
Welded or press-locked grating with moderate bearing-bar depth and standard rectangular openings. |
Common bearing-bar sizes include approximately 25–30 mm depth and 2–3 mm thickness; typical openings may be around 30–40 mm. |
Check the clear span, support spacing, concentrated foot loads, and required deflection limit. A smaller opening improves walking comfort and reduces the risk of small objects falling through. |
Maintenance walkways, platforms, mezzanine access, plant rooms, and inspection routes. |
Request a load table based on the actual span rather than selecting by bearing-bar size alone. Confirm edge banding, fixing clips, and panel dimensions. |
| Frequent pedestrian traffic |
Welded grating with closer bearing-bar spacing and serrated top surfaces where slip resistance is important. |
Common bearing-bar spacing is approximately 30–40 mm center-to-center; serrated bars may have a notched or toothed upper surface. |
The design should address uniform pedestrian loading, local point loads, vibration, and deflection. Serrations improve grip but can make wheeled equipment harder to move. |
Stair treads, bridges, elevated platforms, production areas, and service corridors. |
Confirm the required slip classification or project specification, walking direction, nosing detail, and compatibility with safety footwear. |
| Hand carts, pallet trucks, or wheeled loads |
Close-mesh welded grating with increased bearing-bar depth and a smooth or lightly serrated surface, depending on traction needs. |
Smaller openings, often about 19–30 mm, help reduce wheel interference. Bearing-bar depth and span must be selected from a calculated load table. |
Wheel loads are concentrated and can be more critical than distributed loads. Check wheel size, axle spacing, load position, impact factor, and local bending. |
Warehouse platforms, loading areas, plant-floor crossings, and maintenance routes used by carts. |
Provide the maximum wheel load and contact footprint. Do not use a pedestrian-only load table for wheeled traffic. |
| Heavy equipment or forklift traffic |
Heavy-duty welded grating, reinforced panels, or a solid plate system where wheel loads exceed the grating’s practical capacity. |
Bearing-bar depth, thickness, span, and support condition must be engineered for the actual axle and wheel loads; no universal bar size is suitable for every forklift. |
Consider static wheel load, dynamic impact, braking, turning, repeated fatigue cycles, support reactions, and panel uplift. Deflection and permanent deformation require specific limits. |
Industrial floors, access bridges, heavy-duty service platforms, and equipment transfer zones. |
Obtain signed structural calculations or certified load tests. Confirm that the supporting steelwork and fixing system are also designed for the traffic. |
| Drainage and wet environments |
Open welded grating with serrated bearing bars, adequate drainage openings, and rounded or protected edges where practical. |
Open-area percentage depends on bearing-bar and cross-bar spacing. Larger openings improve drainage but may be unsuitable for small wheels or small objects. |
Include slip resistance, liquid flow, cleaning access, debris retention, and corrosion allowance. Avoid designs that create standing water around supports. |
Food-processing areas, wastewater facilities, wash-down zones, cooling-tower platforms, and outdoor walkways. |
Specify surface roughness, drainage direction, cleaning chemicals, chloride exposure, and required passivation or electropolishing treatment. |
| Marine, coastal, or chloride exposure |
316 or 316L stainless steel is generally preferred over 304 or 304L when chloride exposure is significant, subject to the corrosion assessment. |
Typical equivalent designations are 304/304L: EN 1.4301/1.4307 and 316/316L: EN 1.4401/1.4404. Low-carbon grades are often selected for welded assemblies. |
Material selection does not eliminate corrosion risk. Crevices, salt deposits, poor drainage, weld contamination, and contact with dissimilar metals must be controlled. |
Marine terminals, coastal plants, desalination facilities, offshore service areas, and salt-handling locations. |
Request material certificates, welding procedures, passivation records, surface-finish details, and a plan for isolation from carbon steel or aluminum. |
| Food, pharmaceutical, or hygienic area |
304L for many general hygienic environments; 316L where chlorides, aggressive cleaning agents, or process chemicals justify the higher corrosion resistance. |
Use smooth, cleanable surfaces with minimized crevices. Electropolishing may reduce surface roughness and improve cleanability when specified. |
Evaluate chemical concentration, temperature, cleaning frequency, surface contamination, weld quality, and the possibility of product trapping. |
Processing rooms, cleanable platforms, drainage channels, equipment access areas, and sanitary service walkways. |
Define surface finish, weld smoothness, passivation, cleanability, allowable lubricants, and documentation requirements before production. |
| Stair treads and access ladders |
Serrated grating stair treads with a clearly visible nosing, end plates, and fixing holes prepared for the supporting stringers. |
Common tread widths are project-specific; the tread should include a defined front nosing and an opening size suitable for the applicable access standard. |
Check concentrated foot loading, slip resistance, nosing visibility, rise-and-run geometry, handrail clearance, and the connection to the stair structure. |
Industrial stairs, fire escapes, plant access towers, platforms, and exterior maintenance stairs. |
Review the project’s applicable access standard, such as EN ISO 14122-3, and confirm tread dimensions, edge marking, and fastening details. |
| Floor openings and falling-object control |
Close-mesh grating, kick plates, toe boards, or a secondary barrier beneath the grating where tools or small objects could fall. |
Opening dimensions should be selected from the site safety requirements; smaller openings may affect drainage, weight, and cleaning access. |
Evaluate object size, personnel below, wind uplift, removable-panel security, and the need for continuous support around penetrations. |
Walkways above work areas, process plants, public-facing service zones, and multi-level industrial platforms. |
Provide a reflected layout showing openings, cut-outs, removable panels, toe boards, handrails, and access hatches. |
| Corrosion-resistant finish and fabrication quality |
Pickled and passivated stainless steel for general fabricated grating; electropolished finish for applications requiring enhanced smoothness and cleanability. |
Common finish descriptions include mill finish, pickled/passivated, brushed, and electropolished. Finish roughness should be stated where hygiene is critical. |
Heat tint and embedded iron from fabrication can reduce corrosion resistance. Welds should be properly cleaned and treated according to the specification. |
Any site where long service life, appearance, cleanability, or low maintenance is important. |
Check PMI or material certificates, dimensional inspection, weld quality, passivation documentation, surface condition, and packaging that prevents contamination. |
| Panel installation and maintenance |
Use removable panels with stainless steel clips, bolted clamps, or other approved fixings; provide banded edges around cut-outs. |
Panel length, width, bearing direction, support-seat width, clip spacing, and allowable installation tolerance should be shown on the fabrication drawings. |
The bearing bars must span between supports. Cross bars are not normally intended to carry the primary span load unless specifically designed for that purpose. |
Platforms with frequent inspection, removable access areas, pipe galleries, and equipment service zones. |
Confirm orientation arrows, support locations, lifting points, fixing quantity, anti-rattle details, replacement procedure, and spare-panel requirements. |
