Forklift tyres can carry dust, sand, moisture and foreign matter from outdoor areas into warehouses and production. Choose the active cleaning system around the route, traffic level and maintenance routine.
Forklift tyres can carry dirt well beyond the building entrance. In many facilities, the marks appear along routes between the warehouse and production, from hall to hall, towards packing or before an area with technical cleanliness requirements.
The forklift is often the most visible vehicle, but the same route may also be used by pallet trucks, trolleys, AGVs/AMRs, pedestrians and equipment running on small wheels or rollers. The route shows which tyres, wheels or soles need cleaning and where contamination can be intercepted.
The route, tyre characteristics, contamination type and maintenance routine determine the model, effective cleaning length and installation method. They also show whether vehicles can drive straight across the system and whether the routine will work in daily operation.
Where forklifts come from, where they go and how heavy the traffic is all matter. A route used a few times per day is different from an aisle with almost continuous traffic. If operators can bypass the cleaning area, the traffic-management plan also needs attention.
Tyre diameter, width, tread material, load and speed affect contact with the system. It also matters whether the vehicle can drive straight across the full cleaning length or turns, brakes or changes direction there. These details affect the effective length, installation and on-site performance checks.
Fine dust, sand, grit, powders, moisture and foreign matter behave differently. Dust, grit and particles call for mechanical cleaning and maintenance. Microbiological requirements may call for disinfectant liquid, drainage, chemical management and internal verification.
The system needs more than free floor space. The site requires room for recessed or ramp-mounted installation, straight entry and exit, drainage where liquid is involved, and a named person responsible for cleaning and maintenance. Performance will decline if the daily routine is not followed.
These 12 images cover distinct jobs: industrial tyres, castors and trolleys, dry and wet routes, surface contact, hall integration and the CC Matting polymer contamination-control mat.
ProfilGate: active cleaning on the route
Active brushes suit dust, grit, moisture and coarser dirt carried by forklifts, pallet trucks, AGVs/AMRs and other mobile equipment. ProfilGate aqua adds a liquid process where the area procedure calls for that stage.
Contact length, wheel type, contamination, traffic frequency and the cleaning routine determine the configuration. Supplier test results describe defined conditions and still need to be checked against the real route.
CC Matting Heavy Duty: polymer contamination-control mat
CC Matting Heavy Duty fits routes where fine particles are the priority and wheels, castors, trolleys or heavy traffic can cross the polymer mat in a straight line. The supplier states suitability for forklifts, motorised pallet trucks and heavy trolleys, with point-load bearing of 130 kg/cm².
The contact zone is laid out without turning, twisting or braking on the mat. Load, shear, substrate, contact length and washing routine all need checking. For mud or coarse dirt, compare an active cleaning system instead.
A guide to integrating wheel cleaning before doors, floors, drainage and routes are fixed.
How to use CC Matting Heavy Duty documentation when the area needs ISO Class 5 material, particle control, clear cleaning and quality traceability.
Why SEVENSEAS added CC Matting: washable, reusable polymer contamination-control mats with documentation checked against the application’s hygiene or ESD requirements.
Are wheels, castors or trolleys carrying dirt further into the flow?
It becomes relevant when forklifts move from outdoor areas, goods-in areas or warehouses into production or packing halls, automotive manufacturing areas, cleanrooms or other zones with technical cleanliness requirements.
Dust, sand or moisture marks appearing after each shift help identify the door, loading bay or corridor where the route and cleaning-point location should be assessed.
Floor cleaning removes contamination only after it has entered the area. If the route and traffic remain unchanged, the team repeatedly cleans downstream deposits without addressing how they are being carried in.
Place the cleaning area before dirt reaches the sensitive zone. Route, travel direction, available space, bypass risk and maintenance responsibility all shape the installation.
The figure indicates the scale of reduction observed in the test. Fraunhofer IPA analysed ProfilGate cleaning efficiency under defined conditions, with sand contamination and repeated contact on soles and tyres.
Always present the figure with its test conditions: contaminant, number of passes or wheel rotations and the conditions under which the system was crossed. Site fit depends on tyres, route, contamination and the system cleaning routine.
Dry mechanical cleaning and wet disinfection are separate processes. A dry system removes physical contamination such as dust, sand, particulate matter and foreign material carried on tyres or wheels. Microbiological reduction requires a wet configuration with disinfectant liquid, drainage and chemical management, supported by a defined procedure and internal verification.
The ProfilGate aqua results reported by IBELIN were obtained under a defined microbiological test setup using a specified liquid and procedure. For HACCP, IFS, BRCGS, GMP or cleanroom applications, the cleaning point must be incorporated into the site’s hygiene procedure, validation plan and internal verification.
Treat the location as a mixed-traffic route. The forklift may be the most visible vehicle, but pallet trucks, trolleys, AGVs/AMRs, pedestrians and equipment on small wheels or rollers may use the same route. Wheel type, load, vibration, turning and frequency can change the selection.
The chosen configuration must match what actually passes over the system: large forklift tyres, small trolley wheels, footwear or a mixed route.
In automotive and component manufacturing, floor appearance is only one signal. Particles and dirt carried on wheels can reach zones where technical cleanliness, flow discipline and particle control matter for quality.
ISO 16232 and VDA 19.2 provide methods and guidance for assessing technical cleanliness and particle contamination in automotive production. The cleaning point still has to connect to the actual route, the site procedure and internal verification.
Sizing starts with the route in both directions, the source zone, the receiving zone, visible marks and available installation space.
