{"id":9894,"date":"2021-02-24T07:11:27","date_gmt":"2021-02-24T13:11:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bahrns.com\/blog\/?p=9894"},"modified":"2023-11-14T21:15:32","modified_gmt":"2023-11-15T03:15:32","slug":"what-to-do-to-ensure-loading-dock-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bahrns.com\/blog\/warehouse-dock-equipment\/what-to-do-to-ensure-loading-dock-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"What To Do To Ensure Loading Dock Safety"},"content":{"rendered":"

Striving to achieve the safest work environment should be foremost in the minds of warehouse owners and managers. Safety is essential to assure a workable and friendly environment for employees and also helps assure that the products stored there are not damaged.<\/p>\n

One of the most important sections of a warehouse where safety should be priority one is the loading dock.<\/p>\n

Four things you can do to ensure safety on your loading dock includes:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Invest in proper loading and unloading equipment
\n\u2022 Assure that pedestrians are not close to the truck drive approach
\n\u2022 Check the condition of the flooring
\n\u2022 Use equipment to prevent theft and contamination<\/p>\n

Invest In Proper Loading And Unloading Equipment<\/h2>\n

Dock accidents can occur in a number of ways. For example, a forklift loads or unloads an unsecured trailer resulting in the truck\u2019s movement from the dock. This is referred to as \u201cTrailer Creep.\u201d Another example is when the driver of a trailer starts to leave early thinking that the loading or unloading is complete as a forklift begins to enter. These examples are accidents waiting to happen.<\/p>\n

These problems can be prevented if your dock is equipped with vehicle restraints and dock levelers to bridge the gap between the trailer and dock.<\/p>\n

Other ways to ensure against this from being an issue at your dock is to:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Monitor the load capacity of the dock plate and leveler and account for the weight of the load, forklift, and employee who is moving the load.
\n\u2022 Inspect the equipment for wear, corrosion, or material failure.
\n\u2022 Place the dock plate with at least 8-inches of overlap on each end.
\n\u2022 Assign a certified specialist to inspect the hydraulic dock plates at least once a year.
\n\u2022 Paint the edges of the plate and consider a lip to prevent forklifts and people from falling from it.<\/p>\n

Assure That Pedestrians Are Not Close To The Truck Drive Approach<\/p>\n

Prevent potential accidents from happening by:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Train workers every 6 to 12 months on how to avoid accidents when trucks approach the dock.
\n\u2022 Create and exhibit easy to understand signage to warn workers of the potential of accidents.
\n\u2022 Denote with tape or paint<\/a> the areas in which employees can walk safely.
\n\u2022 Remind workers to walk in assigned areas.
\n\u2022 Invest in a light communication system. Most of these systems use red and green lights that help regulate the movement of employees and machinery.
\n\u2022 Use corner and curved ceiling mirrors in places with low visibility including corners and doorways.
\n\u2022 Assign an employee to stand at the side of the truck to direct drivers away from the dock.
\n\u2022 Always assure that forklift operators and vehicle drivers are visually aware of each other.<\/p>\n

Check The Condition Of The Flooring<\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Trailer parked at a loading dock.
(Courtesy: gg1electrice60 at flickr.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Many dock accidents occur because the floor is damaged or oil, water, or chemicals have spilled onto the floor or rain or snow enters through open spaces. All of this can be the reason for accidents.<\/p>\n

These problems can be avoided by:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Repairing any damage to the floor.
\n\u2022 Monitoring the condition of the floor in the loading dock regularly.
\n\u2022 Keep the floor and dock plates dry, clean up spills immediately.
\n\u2022 If you can\u2019t clean up immediately, then cover the spill with sawdust to assure the workers have traction when walking in the area.<\/p>\n

Use Equipment To Prevent Theft And Contamination<\/h2>\n

When coming up with a plan for preventing accidents, don\u2019t neglect the possibility of theft or contamination. Cargo theft occurs regularly because trailers go unnoticed. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, $30 billion worth of cargo is stolen each year. Contamination happens when there are broken seals in non-climate-controlled environments. You should be aware that open doors expose inventory to external influence and fluctuating temperatures.<\/p>\n

Avoid these problems by:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Using a vehicle restraint to secure a trailer or truck at the dock where it is noticed.
\n\u2022 Bridge the gap between the trailer bed and loading dock floor with a vertical dock leveler. The leveler will help to cover open space and thus maintain temperature and humidity.
\n\u2022 Consider installing automatic vehicle restraint systems, trailer seals, and vertical dock levelers.<\/p>\n

(Source: tmhnc.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Striving to achieve the safest work environment should be foremost in the minds of warehouse owners and managers. Safety is essential to assure a workable and friendly environment for employees and also helps assure that the products stored there are not damaged. One of the most important sections of a warehouse where safety should be … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-warehouse-dock-equipment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahrns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahrns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahrns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahrns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahrns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9894"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahrns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9894\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11849,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahrns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9894\/revisions\/11849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahrns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahrns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahrns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}