Ground Protection Mats
HERMEQ supplies ground protection mats that give vehicles, plant and pedestrians a firm route across soft ground. The range covers recycled plastic ground mats from 5 tonne light duty boards to 160 tonne roadway panels, interlocking floor matting for walkways and timber bog mats for cranes and piling rigs. Each mat spreads the weight of wheels and tracks over a wider area, so machines stay out of the mud and turf, soil and other sensitive surfaces are spared rutting during construction work and event set-up. Mats ship from permanent UK stock, with next day delivery on much of the range.
Light, medium and heavy duty ground mats
The first choice in the plastic range is the duty class that matches the heaviest vehicle on the route.
Light duty access mats
Light duty access mats are the thinnest boards in the range, made for foot traffic, cars, small vans and lightweight equipment on grass, gravel and sand. They flex to follow uneven turf and lie flat without connectors, so they suit event zones, crew walkways and layouts that change from day to day.
Medium duty and narrow access mats
Medium duty access mats sit between the light and heavy classes and carry service vehicles and compact plant alongside public footfall. Narrow ground protection mats are half the width of a standard board and are the mat to use along building perimeters, garden paths and back-of-house routes where a full size mat will not fit, and they can be trimmed on site around poles and drains.
Heavy duty ground protection mats
The heavy duty class carries HGVs, excavators, dumpers and delivery vehicles on haul roads, compounds and temporary roads. Safe Trak heavy duty mats are the core of this class, with a pedestrian face, a deep traction face and six hand holes for lifting and connecting. Eurotrak heavy duty access mats come in full and half sizes and in a thicker grade, while the heavy duty ground protection mats are tested to 120 tonnes, the highest rating among the hand-laid mats. For yards, car parks and routes worked in poor light, hi-vis ground protection mats in yellow mark the route clearly. Buyers on a budget can also choose used ground protection mats.
Roadway panels for heavy plant
Mega Track roadway mats are large, thick panels for cranes, loaded dumpers and tracked machinery, and they carry the heaviest loads in the plastic range. They connect in a line for an access road or in a grid for a working platform or staging pad, using dedicated track mat connectors. The polyethylene does not conduct electricity, which makes the panels a sound choice near live equipment and overhead lines.
Interlocking floor matting for pedestrians
Interlocking floor matting is a smaller tile that locks to its neighbours with a slot-and-key joint and needs no bolts or ties. It is laid loose over stable ground such as concrete, tarmac, compacted soil or grass for festival floors, marquee and exhibition walkways and pedestrian lanes kept apart from plant, and it also takes light vehicles.
Plastic ground mats or timber bog mats
Recycled plastic mats cover most access work, and timber bog mats are the choice where very heavy loads are concentrated on a small footprint. Plastic HDPE mats are light enough to lay by hand, flex to follow ground contours, carry tread on both faces and lift clean from turf, so they suit vehicle routes, plant access, events and any grass that has to be handed back in good condition. Timber bog mats are thick hardwood platforms for cranes, piling rigs and the heaviest tracked plant, and the timber gives electrical insulation for work around substations and overhead lines.
Within the timber range, Ekki bog mats are strength class D70, the strongest of the hardwoods, and the timber to choose for the highest loads and for acid or chemical-prone ground. Tropical hardwood bog mats in Okan and Dabema give dense, water-resistant hardwood at a lower cost than Ekki. Oak and beech bog mats are strength class D30 and suit crane pads and machine staging areas where the budget is tighter.
Ground protection mats for construction sites and events
Construction access and haul roads
A haul road takes repeated passes, braking and turning, so the class has to match the heaviest laden vehicle on the route and the mats have to stay connected. Lay the run outwards from firm ground, keep it as straight as the site allows, and fix the joints with connectors, heavy duty cable ties or, on slopes and slippery ground, steel U pins. Where an open excavation crosses the route, road plates span it, with the mats laid on the approaches either side.
Cranes, piling rigs and heavy plant
A crane or piling rig puts its weight through a small footprint, so the job calls for a working platform rather than a route. Timber bog mats or roadway panels laid as a pad spread that load, and the pad should extend beyond the tracks or outriggers on every side, on ground levelled before the mats go down.
Events, festivals and grass car parks
Event ground carries the public, so walkway surfaces need grip in wet weather, edges have to lie flat and vehicle lanes are kept apart from footfall. Light and medium duty mats cover most walkways, car park lanes and back-of-house routes, and they lift clean at the end of the event so the turf can recover.
Driveways and domestic access
Domestic jobs bring mini diggers, dumpers and skip lorries across lawns, block paving and soft verges, often through a narrow side access. Digger mats have a high profile tread that grips under wheeled and tracked machines.
Load ratings, sizes and tread
Load ratings and ground conditions
Every rating in the range depends on the ground beneath, because the mat spreads the load and the ground still has to carry it. Listed classes assume reasonably firm ground. On soft, wet or waterlogged ground, choose the next class up, and on long programmes allow for ground that softens through the winter.
Size, weight and handling
The standard ground mat is the 8x4 format, 2.4m x 1.2m, which two people lay by hand using the moulded hand holes, with no machinery needed. For planning an order, the ground protection mat calculator turns an area into a mat count.
Pedestrian and vehicle tread
Heavy duty mats have two working faces: a finer non-slip face for pedestrians and a deep traction face for vehicles. The traction face goes up on plant and vehicle routes, and the pedestrian face goes up on walkways and routes used mainly by the public. Light and medium duty mats pair a diamond non-slip top with a smooth underside that rests on turf without marking it.
Accessories for ground protection mats
Ground mat stillages
Ground mat stillages are steel frames that hold up to 25 mats, stack on pallet feet and have forklift guides, so a stock of mats can be stored in the yard, loaded onto a lorry and set down on site in one lift.
Outrigger pads
Stabiliser feet on cranes, MEWPs and lorry loaders need a pad under each foot, even when the machine reached its position along a matted route. Outrigger pads spread that point load and come in economy and orange hi-vis versions, the latter for public and pedestrian areas.
Grass protection mesh, rubber grass mats and grids
Grass that takes traffic for months, or every season, is reinforced with products that stay in place. Grass protection mesh rolls out over mown grass in grades for pedestrians, cars and heavier vehicles. Rubber grass mats let the grass grow through on paths and play areas, and grass grids give permanent, permeable reinforcement for overflow parking and fire access lanes.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between ground protection mats, track mats and bog mats?
Ground protection mats, track mats, ground mats and ground protection boards are names for the same portable panels, usually made from recycled plastic and laid to give vehicles and pedestrians a firm surface over soft ground. Bog mats are thick timber mats in hardwoods such as Ekki, oak or beech. They are used mainly as working platforms for cranes, piling rigs and heavy tracked plant.
How many ground protection mats do I need?
Divide the area to be covered by the area of one mat, then add mats for turning areas, bends and any widening at gates. The ground protection mat calculator on the HERMEQ store works out the number for light, medium and heavy duty mats and prices the result.
How do you join ground protection mats together?
Heavy duty mats have moulded hand holes that take steel connector caps, linking neighbouring mats through the shared holes, and for short-term access they can also be laid loose. Interlocking floor matting locks with its own slot-and-key edge and needs no fixings. Light duty mats come without connector holes, which can be drilled where a fixed layout is needed.
Do you sell used ground protection mats?
Yes. HERMEQ sells used Safe Trak ground protection mats that have been on one job. They are dirty but undamaged and keep the same pedestrian and vehicle tread faces as new mats.
What are plastic ground protection mats made from?
Most of the plastic mats are made from recycled high density polyethylene (HDPE), the largest roadway panels from recycled UHMWPE and the interlocking floor matting from recycled plastic. The material absorbs very little water and does not rot, so the mats can be reused job after job. At the end of their working life the mats can be recycled.