Warehouse Floor Marking: 2,400m Safety Lines Campbellfield
The Challenge: Safety Audit in Four Days, Forklift Lanes Invisible
A warehouse manager in Campbellfield called us at 7pm on a Friday. Their Monday morning safety audit had been moved up to Tuesday. The forklift lanes? Faded beyond recognition. Pedestrian walkways? Barely visible. Their Safe Work Australia compliance was at serious risk.
The warehouse runs 24/5, shutting down only on weekends. They had exactly one window: Sunday night, 8pm to Monday 6am. Ten hours to mark 8,000 square metres of warehouse floor.
We've done emergency jobs before, but this one had extra pressure. The auditor was specifically checking floor markings after a near-miss incident the month before. Failing meant potential shutdown orders.
We assessed the site Saturday morning, walking the floor with the operations manager. By lunch, we'd sent a fixed-price quote. By 2pm, they'd approved it. Our crew was on site by 8pm Sunday.
Our Approach: One Night, Full Floor, Zero Excuses
With only ten hours, every minute counted. We brought a crew of six and enough equipment to run two marking machines simultaneously.
Surface Assessment
The concrete floor was in reasonable condition, but roughly 40% had oil contamination from hydraulic leaks. A previous contractor had painted straight over contaminated areas. Those markings had peeled off in sheets. We allocated the first two hours to surface prep: degreasing problem areas with commercial alkaline cleaners, then allowing 30 minutes drying time before marking.
Material Choice
For a working warehouse floor with forklift traffic, we recommended two-pack epoxy paint. It's more expensive than standard floor paint, but it bonds properly to concrete and resists abrasion from forklift tyres. The investment pays off when your lines last 3-4 years instead of 12 months.
Layout Planning
We pre-planned the entire layout using the warehouse's existing drawings, marking out forklift lanes at 3 metres width (enough for two-way traffic), pedestrian walkways at 1.2 metres, and designated zones for storage, loading, and hazardous materials. Every measurement was confirmed with the operations manager before we started painting.
The Overnight Shift
8pm start. Two teams working from opposite ends of the warehouse, meeting in the middle. Yellow for forklift lanes (2,400 linear metres). White for pedestrian areas (800 linear metres). Blue for storage zones. Red and white hatched areas for the loading dock. By 5am, we were applying the final stencils: FORKLIFT, PEDESTRIANS ONLY, NO STANDING. By 6am, we were loading equipment. The operations manager arrived at 6:30am to a completely transformed floor.
The Results: Audit Passed, Safety Restored, Operations Uninterrupted
Tuesday's audit went smoothly. The inspector noted the fresh, compliant floor markings and commented that the warehouse had clearly taken safety seriously. Zero recommendations. Zero deficiencies. Audit passed.
The operations manager told us later that near-miss incidents dropped significantly in the first month. Forklift drivers had clear lanes. Pedestrians knew exactly where to walk. The loading dock area was properly marked with hazard zones.
Six months later, those markings still look almost new. The two-pack epoxy is doing its job.
Results Highlights
Case Study FAQs
Preparation and parallel work. We had two marking machines running simultaneously, starting from opposite ends. Our crew of six split into two teams. We'd pre-planned every line using warehouse drawings, so there was no measuring delays on the night. Surface prep happened in the first two hours while the initial areas dried.
Forklifts destroy regular floor paint within months. Two-pack epoxy chemically bonds to concrete and handles abrasion far better. It costs more upfront but lasts 3-4 years instead of 12 months. For a busy warehouse, the total cost is actually lower when you factor in fewer repaints and less production downtime.
We used commercial alkaline degreasers, applied generously and scrubbed into the concrete. Then we allowed proper drying time before painting. The previous contractor skipped this step, which is why their markings peeled off. Proper surface prep isn't exciting, but it's the difference between markings that last and markings that fail.
Safe Work Australia requires clear traffic management in workplaces where vehicles and pedestrians interact. This means designated lanes for forklifts, separated pedestrian walkways, marked loading zones, and hazard identification. There's no single prescriptive standard, but AS 4024.1 series provides guidance on safety colours. We follow best practice using yellow for vehicle lanes, white for pedestrians, and red/white for hazards.
Absolutely. Most of our warehouse jobs happen during shutdowns, overnight, or on weekends. We're set up for after-hours work with our own lighting and equipment. We'll work around your schedule to minimise production impact.
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