Demo Day

By Khathu Phasha, MD

A practical note on demo day planning for plants that need cleaner handovers and clearer floor prep.

Seeing a floor system on paper is not the same as seeing it under forklifts, washdown or foot traffic. Demo Day is our note on sample panels, test patches and site visits that help plant teams compare finishes, texture and cleanability before a full application.

Demo Day is written for plant teams who need to judge a trial panel under site conditions, not from a data sheet alone. We note what was seen on working surfaces in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape, including wash water, tyre marks and cleaning residue. If this note fits your handover, send the page slug through the contact form.

Checks before a trial patch

• Area isolated for the sample
• Photo taken before prep starts
• System page linked to the test area
• Site contact named as used on plant paperwork

Read the matching system page after this note. Demo Day tells you how to compare a sample panel on site, while the catalogue entry covers build-up, thickness and intended use. Put together, they help a buyer ask better questions during a plant visit.

How Demo Day fits an Oric plant run

Demo Day is about getting a plant area ready for a practical floor demonstration without muddling access, prep or handover. It covers the basics that help buyers, operators and installers look at the same patch of floor and judge it properly. Use it when the demo must answer real site questions, not brochure ones.

Start with the substrate, the shift gap and the traffic expected during the trial. Highveld dust, Durban humidity, washdown cycles and generator changeovers can alter texture, cure behaviour and visibility on the day. We write for plants in Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town and smaller industrial nodes where a test patch must answer site-specific questions.

Take a reference photo before grinding, masking or cleaning begins. Keep a small card at the bay with the date, product name and area marked for review. That record helps the next shift judge the same panel against the same starting condition.

Site conditions worth testing for

Plan around OR Tambo freight schedules, Crown Mines production windows and the tighter access rules common at smaller Gauteng sites. Most trial areas sit inside active operations rather than empty shells. If there are old repairs, paint lines, cold-room thresholds or forklift turning points, include them in the brief.

Coastal air can leave moisture on a slab before the crew starts, while inland dust can settle on the panel during open-door loading. Power cuts may interrupt lighting, extraction or cleaning water supply, which changes how the sample is judged. A showroom visit can help with finish comparison, but plant conditions still need to be seen on site.

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