Raising floors, raising standards

The Access Flooring Association (AFA) is an industry body formed with the objective of introducing and maintaining the highest possible raised access flooring standards. We can provide you with all of the information you need to ensure a safe and effective installation capable of meeting demanding building environments.

The main purpose of an access floor is to give maximum flexibility – and as the name would suggest – underfloor access for the installation of a number of services to equipment and workstations.

Consistent information

In the early days of raised access floors, designers tended to use the flooring manufacturers’ specifications, computer manufacturers’ specifications or various combinations of fragmented information, all of which led to systems being produced which varied in performance from one manufacturer to another.

In the late 1970s, discussions with designers revealed a catalogue of problems that had occurred with raised access floors. It was concluded that most of them could have been eliminated if these products had been manufactured and installed in accordance with a recognised performance specification. Each system is subjected to a rigid test regime and appropriate quality control procedures.

Clear performance specifications

The Access Flooring Association (AFA) collaborated with the various agencies including the PSA to introduce a Performance Specification, which evolved to become MOB PF2 PS/SPU, the de-facto British Standard for raised access floors.

As time has progressed we’ve been the leading voice in the development of a harmonised European standard with the main objective being to ensure that the high standards of quality control and installation procedures offered by the existing MOB PF2 PS/SPU Specification which is used extensively by contractors and property developers is not lost within a maze of European red tape.