There are two kinds of docks – the haves and the have nots. The haves are those docks outfitted to protect workers at the busiest of times. The have nots are those docks that are not equipped to maximize throughput and minimize risks.

Not only are docks inherently busy places, but danger can come from so many different directions. That's where levelers, vehicle restraints, doors, shelters, seals, and guards come into the picture.

Lift trucks can run off inadequately protected docks, and sometimes do. Furthermore, over-the-road trailers not secured at docks with vehicle restraints do from time to time prematurely drive away from docks with a lift truck and driver still on board. As Mike Purtle of Sysco Food Services says, loading dock safety and productivity go hand in hand (see box at bottom of page).

Meanwhile, seals, shelters, and doors provide environmental protection of workers moving loads at the docks. And by keeping the environment out and heat or air conditioning in at the facility, the right dock equipment saves on those costs. Some estimates run as high as $500 per dock that can be saved each year in heating and cooling costs with properly sized seals and shelters.

But just having the key types of equipment in place at your docks is only part of the answer. The other part comes from keeping all the equipment well maintained so that it can do the job it was intended to do.

For instance, a heavily worn seal or shelter will let the elements in. The same is true for doors that don't fit properly because they have been damaged but not repaired. A poorly maintained leveler puts at risk the people using it. The same goes for vehicle restraints.

Keeping your docks performing as they should requires a timely review of their operation. Ideally, this doesn't happen the day after an accident occurs, either. Instead, you should have in place a standard program to evaluate your dock performance and make accidents even less likely.

Checking on the maintenance level of the various pieces of equipment already in place is one aspect. It is also important to evaluate the adequacy of the equipment for the job at hand, especially as over-the-road trailers change. For instance, trailer widths, heights, and lengths have all changed over time and are not consistent in all states. If your dock was tailored for trailers of one size, you need to be aware of how any changes may be affecting your dock equipment and its efficiency.

Fortunately, you have many options in dock equipment today that can be matched precisely to your operations.

As the first line of defense between the building interior and the outside, doors come in many different forms to suit your requirements. Materials include steel, fabric, and plastic. Some roll up while others open to both sides either automatically or manually. Vinyl strip doors remain in place, allowing lift trucks, people, and loads to pass between the vertically hanging strips.

In high-traffic docks especially, door damage is common. As a result, knockout or breakaway door designs allow pins to pop out of the door tracks. A simple pull on the affected panel pops the pins back into the track, and the door returns to service. Some models have a break-away bar at the bottom of the door that snaps it back into place.

Seals and shelters are designed to provide a tight fit between the back of a trailer and the dock area.

Basic seals are fabric-covered foam pads mounted to both sides and the top of the dock opening. In some cases, a head curtain is used instead of the top pad. When the trailer is backed into position, the seal compresses.

Like a seal, shelters mount around the dock opening. But instead of foam pads, a shelter consists of a rigid, three-sided canopy that the trailer actually backs inside rather than up against. Fabric-covered flaps seal the gap between trailer and building. Both seals and shelters are available in inflatable designs too.

Providing a good bridge from the building's floor into the back of the trailer is where levelers fit in. These large steel plates are mounted in the dock floor and are operated manually or powered by hydraulic systems, electric motors, or inflated air bags.

With manual designs, a worker must walk out onto the spring-activated leveler to initiate its positioning and then to walk it into place. Powered levelers move into place automatically.

Levelers come in many different capacities, widths, and lengths. It is important to match them to both the dock and the trailers being serviced. Otherwise, productivity and safety will be in jeopardy.

To add still another element of safety to the dock area, guards or safety lips can be installed to either the end of the leveler or inside the door. The equipment protects lift trucks and their drivers from driving off the dock when the door is open and no trailer in place. Safety lips are typically a few inches high and will stop a lift truck traveling at 5 miles per hour.

Vehicle restraints mounted on the outside wall of the building under the dock leveler secure trailers in place. Restraints hook onto or otherwise block the trailer's rear impact guard or ICC bar from the time of arrival until the scheduled departure. Other types of restraints block movement of trailer tires or a barrier against the guard.

When used singly or all together, these types of equipment are sure to increase both the productivity and safety of your docks.