Forklifts and tugger trains
Forklifts and tugger trains on high-frequency routes involve larger wheels, heavier loads and turning movements between warehouses, outdoor areas, production and packing.
Contamination Control
Reduce contamination carried by wheels and soles
Wheels, soles, rollers and trolleys can carry contamination farther into the facility on every shift. If the route is not controlled, the floor is cleaned after dirt, particles or moisture have already crossed the boundary between areas.
Contamination moves with traffic
In factories, warehouses, food areas, cleanrooms or packing spaces, the cleanliness boundary is not always the main door. It may be the transition from receiving to production, warehouse to packing, one hall to another, low-care to high-care, an AGV/AMR route or a point shared by people and mobile equipment.
A good review starts with the route: who crosses, what they carry onward and where transfer can be reduced before it reaches the sensitive area. Only then does it make sense to compare mechanical cleaning, a liquid-based hygiene station, polymer matting or a route-specific combination.
Which traffic types can carry contamination
Pallet trucks and trolleys
Repeated small-wheel and trolley traffic can carry the same dirt through short crossings near packing and processing areas.
AGV and AMR routes
On these predictable routes, check wheel contact, vibration, guidance and coordination with the equipment supplier.
Soles and work footwear
Points where people and mobile equipment use the same cleanliness boundary but transfer particles in different ways.
Rollers, casters and small wheels
Smaller contact patches, lower loads and vibration change how these wheels cross the selected surface.
Mixed traffic
Situations where wheel contact, footwear contact and any hygiene step should be assessed separately even when they use the same transition.
Which directions fit the route
In practice, selection starts from what reaches the floor and how traffic crosses the boundary between areas.
Dry mechanical cleaning
Relevant when the main transfer is physical dirt: dust, sand, grit, particles, powders or moisture on wheels, soles or rollers.
Liquid-based hygiene station
Relevant for hygiene transitions where wheels or soles need a controlled process with liquid, disinfectant solution, drainage and internal checks. This is where ProfilGate aqua applications belong.
Polymer contamination-control mats
Can support entrances with particles, footwear, small wheels or trolleys when the mat’s washable surface fits the traffic and cleaning routine.
Position the solution on the real route
The system must sit where traffic actually passes through it, with enough contact length and no easy bypass. Otherwise transfer remains in the flow.
How to choose the right method for the route
The real route and the daily routine the site can maintain determine whether the right choice is mechanical cleaning, liquid hygiene, polymer matting or route correction.
The route that carries contamination
Clarify where traffic comes from, where it goes, what wheels, soles or rollers cross the area and whether traffic can pass straight with enough contact. If the intended route can be bypassed easily, the first decision is about placement, not the product.
What must be reduced and who maintains it
Dust, sand, grit, powders, moisture, foreign matter and hygiene risk do not require the same response. For liquid hygiene, chemistry, drainage, cleaning, dosing and internal checks matter; for polymer contamination-control mats, washing and daily ownership matter.
Transfer between areas in practice
Large wheels, small wheels and soles need different control methods at transitions between areas; polymer mats fit where traffic and the washing routine allow it.
Useful resources for this category
Polymer contamination-control mats
How to choose polymer-mat length and position
A guide to choosing polymer-mat length, width and position from successive sole contacts, wheel rotations, traffic and cleaning.
Wheel and tyre cleaning systems
Wheel cleaning in a new factory: choose the point before routes and floor details are final
A guide to integrating wheel cleaning before doors, floors, drainage and routes are fixed.
Wheel and tyre cleaning systems
CC Matting Heavy Duty: when the transfer point needs ISO Class 5 material documentation
How to use CC Matting Heavy Duty documentation when the area needs ISO Class 5 material, particle control, clear cleaning and quality traceability.
Local and international references
Solutions for wheels, rollers and soles
These products cover the most common transfer points: large wheels, small wheels, soles, trolleys and mixed traffic. Configuration is selected against the real route, contamination type and how the point will be cleaned and checked.
ProfilGate b
Traffic type
Forklifts, trucks, pallet trucks and mixed wheeled traffic
Place of application
Outdoor access routes and internal passageways
Dirt type
Coarse and fine dirt
Cleaning process
Dry mechanical cleaning
Tray depth
55 mm / 65 mm
ProfilGate xs
Traffic type
AGV, AMR, FTS and very narrow rollers
Place of application
Traffic inside
Dirt type
Fine dirt
Cleaning process
Dry mechanical cleaning for narrow wheels/rollers
Tray depth
55 mm / 65 mm
ProfilGate i go (i55 go) - stainless-steel cleaning path
Traffic type
Pedestrians and handcarts
Place of application
Staff entrances and internal passageways
Dirt type
Coarse and fine dirt
Cleaning process
Dry mechanical cleaning of soles and handcart wheels
Tray depth
55 mm
ProfilGate i aqua
Traffic type
Forklifts, pallet trucks, pedestrians and mixed traffic at hygiene transitions
Place of application
Outdoor access routes and internal passageways
Dirt type
Microbiological contamination addressed through a wet disinfection process
Cleaning process
Mechanical cleaning with a wet disinfection stage
Tray depth
45 mm / 55 mm
CCM Heavy Duty - polymer contamination-control mat
Material documentation
ISO Class 5 material documentation
Load resistance
130 kg/cm2
Thickness
2.9 mm
Weight
3.3 kg/m2
ESD
10^10 Ohms
StepGate I - mechanical wet sole-cleaning station
Cleaning process
Mechanical wet sole cleaning with cleaning solution or disinfectant
Recommended daily traffic
Up to 30 people per day
Contamination
Mud, oil, grease and lubricants
Dimensions
820 x 980 x 1180 mm
Weight
86 kg
Neptun HCS1 - HEUTE sole cleaning
Cleaning process
Wet hygiene sluice with controlled access
Persons per hour
< 200
Contamination
Mud, oil, grease and lubricants
Dimensions
1620 x 935 x 1670 mm
Weight
213 kg
Do you have a route where marks, particles or moisture move toward a sensitive area?
Request a route contamination review
Send the origin area, destination area, traffic types and visible floor signals. These details show whether the route needs wheel, sole or roller cleaning, a liquid-based hygiene station, a polymer contamination-control mat or route correction.
Frequently asked questions
Many transition points are used by forklifts, pallet trucks, trolleys, AGV/AMR and people. If the review only looks at large wheels, it may miss soles, small wheels, rollers or pedestrian traffic using the same cleanliness boundary.
The choice starts with who or what crosses the area and what contamination is carried further: dust, moisture, grit, particles, foreign matter or hygiene risk. Sometimes the answer is wheel cleaning; sometimes it is footwear cleaning, mixed-traffic control, route correction or a different control point.
- in food production, people, trolleys and pallet trucks may share the same transition before processing;
- in automotive, particles may be carried from logistics into technical-cleanliness areas by both mobile equipment and footwear;
- in cleanrooms or controlled environments, the boundary between areas should be treated as a transition point, not only as a door or mat.
Once the real route is understood, the discussion can become more specific: wheel cleaning, sole cleaning, hygiene entrances, polymer mats, AGV/AMR routes or a combination of these.
Floor cleaning happens after dirt has already entered the area. Route control asks where the transfer can be reduced before wheels, soles or rollers carry particles into the sensitive zone.
If the same area needs repeated cleaning and the marks always follow the same traffic flow, the same route is repeatedly carrying contamination.
The two are not alternatives. Floor cleaning remains necessary, but a well-positioned control point can reduce how much contamination reaches that floor in the first place. This matters especially where visible cleanliness, fine particles, audits or product quality are part of the decision.
A liquid-based hygiene station becomes relevant when the crossing point has real hygiene requirements and the facility can manage liquid, chemistry, drainage, cleaning, maintenance and internal checks. This is where ProfilGate aqua applications belong, not dry systems.
It is a different branch from dry cleaning, not simply a stronger version. Microbiological claims must be tied to the product, chemistry, concentration, procedure and the customer’s own validation.
The review also needs a clear process owner after installation. Without ownership for liquid, dosing, drainage, cleaning and checks, a hygiene station can look good on the layout but fail to stay controlled in real shifts.
In automotive and engineering production, particles are not only about visual quality. ISO 16232 and VDA 19.2 help frame discussions around technical cleanliness, logistics, personnel, equipment and recontamination during production.
A route-level control point can support a defined, verifiable technical-cleanliness discipline where wheels, footwear or mobile equipment carry particles toward sensitive areas.
Connect the control point to the facility’s technical-cleanliness programme and verify which particles may enter, where they affect quality and how the process is checked internally.
A first review can start with photos from both directions, a simple sketch and a short description of the route: where traffic comes from, where it goes, what wheel or footwear types cross, how often and what contamination is visible.
Information about turning, braking, bypassing, available space, floor condition, drainage, current cleaning, audit observations and recurring transfer points also helps narrow the choice.
- photos of the transition point from both directions;
- traffic types: forklifts, pallet trucks, trolleys, AGV/AMR, pedestrians or mixed traffic;
- what is visible on the floor: dust, sand, moisture, wheel marks, particles or foreign matter;
- whether there are hygiene, ESD, technical-cleanliness, audit or zone-separation requirements.
A full audit is not needed before the first conversation. A realistic route description helps separate cases for mechanical cleaning, liquid-based hygiene stations, polymer mats or control-point positioning.