Tell'em you're using portable parrafin heaters and then accept LPG as a fall-back position! Joanne, your insurer cannot forbid you to use LPG heaters. They can impose conditions on your policy, withdraw cover or charge additional premiums but they do not have the power forbid. Unless you have a very high fire risk business (flammables and readily combustibles all around) you should be able to come to some arrangement whereby you effectively manage the increased fire risk presented by portable LPG heaters. Your insurance broker should be able to sort this out with the insurers. Solutions may include fixing the heaters in position, in clear space, ventilation and appropriate storage of spare cylinders. If they can't then they're not earning their fees! Long term solution is to get some reliable heating in place as per the Workplace Regs and their long-standing predecessors! Sorry, no info on mats.

Acknowledging the other posts and in answer to the original post - have you tried that company that sounds as if it came out of the Ark (o)? If you do decide you need 500 (do you really have 500 workstations/positions?) then I am sure that you would be able to negotiate a bulk discount. I have no connections other than having bought from them in the past.

Hi Joanne My previous company used to manufacture car seats and supply Honda in Swindon (That was aprox 600 strong) anti fatigue matting worked very well. I used to use http://www.wearwell.com/ and they were extremely helpful (not the cheapest, but were very competitive) I dont think different footwear is the answer as not one type of footwear will suit all. If you get matting then everyone has the same level of protection and it sends a message to the workforce that you have their best intrests at heart. Another company I had some samples from were http://www.stratasales.com/ They were cheaper, but went for Warewell as a personal choice based on the reliability of the sales person. Regarding the comment about making trip hazards, this was not the case as the matting is attached to the floor by press stud rivets. If they became loose (rarely) the near miss reporting system meant this was reported and rectified. Hope this helps.

Thanks all for your contribution - a lot more helpful than a google search :) As you can appreciate - with over 500 stations, it's a costly process, so I have to investigate several options. Thanks again.