Social Distancing Markings and Their Importance

Social distancing markings are vital for enforcing safety measures in businesses amid rising COVID-19 cases. They mainly include floor tape, shapes, signs, posters, and banners. These visual cues guide movement, mark queues, and remind people to maintain a safe distance. Customization is key to address each space’s unique needs.

With cases once again on the rise, there’s never been a better time to discuss the importance of social distancing markings.

This is a completely new concept for businesses everywhere, so it’s understandable that its implementation might not have been perfect so far, and anyway, the team here at Northern Marking are on hand to provide a general overview and some useful tips.

Types of social distancing floor markings

Most of the social distance markings that will be used in businesses across the UK are simply floor markings.

They are cheap to buy, relatively unobstructive and still manage to get the point across clearly. Let’s take a look at the different types of social distancing floor markings:

Floor tape: coloured tape is perfect for social distance marking as it lasts a long time without being permanent, and you might be able to do a whole building with just a couple of rolls. Here are some of the methods that you can use to create effective markings:

• Mark out aisles or pathways with long strips of tape. This is great for creating one-way systems which stop employees from bumping into or passing each other unnecessarily.
• You can use horizontal strips of tape to create queues with people spaced 2 metres apart. Messages can be printed on the tape such as ‘wait here’ to act as a constant reminder.

Floor shapes: you don’t have to use a single roll of tape for everything. Floor shapes allow you to mark out key areas, such as workstations or waiting areas, with crosses or circles to make things as simple as possible. You could even invest in footprint markings or directional arrows which can be used in conjunction with your one-way system to make things as clear as possible.

Floor signs: while tape is great for making basic outlines in a shop floor or office, floor signs can be used to provide context or key reminders. For example, in office kitchens or breakout areas that can often get busy, floor signs can be used to remind employees to keep their distance.

Wall markings for social distancing

While floor markings are essential to provide basic information regarding where to walk and where to stand, wall markings are useful to provide constant reminders to employees or shoppers, particularly in the early stages when everyone is still getting used to things.

Here are some of the things that you can use:

• Posters and infographics: given that we’re constantly being bombarded by walls of text about hygiene and distancing, posters and infographics can be a great way to present this information in a more engaging and easily-digestible way.
• Banners: banners are highly visible and can be placed at the entrance of a shop or building to give employees and visitors an initial reminder about keeping their distance. This is extremely important for people who will be entering the building for the first time and are unsure of the rules.

Of course, it’s important to understand that all of these measures have to be adapted to suit the needs and quirks of the space in question. Some spaces may need more floor markings than others, such as workspaces, while some places might need more wall signs to warn new visitors, such as retail spaces.

Northern Marking is based in Manchester, but provides services to clients in the following areas; Warrington,  Bolton, Stockport, Leeds and beyond. Northern Marking is a leading road marking company, providing the following services; line marking, school & playground markings, warehouse markings, electric car parking space marking, line removal, white lining and car park markings.

As an independent, local council-approved road marking contractor, you can put your faith in Northern Marking to carry out any line marking project to the highest standard, no matter how big or small the project might be.

With 12 years of experience in the industry, you can expect a quick turnaround, a superb level of aftercare and high-quality products. For more information, get in touch today for a free quote.