Safety equipment is prophylactic. This word comes from the Greek and means 'an advance guard', so safety equipment is there to prevent something untoward happening. In a loading dock, there are any number of potentially untoward happenings which, should they occur, could have far-reaching consequences. Given that a loading dock is, by definition, host to very large, very heavy moving objects, a recipe for disaster exists.
The loading dock's personnel represents the weakest link in this particular chain. Though not necessarily large or very heavy, people move too so ensuring they can get about in safety is paramount. One structure that can help here is expanded metal deck mesh. The loading dock's deck has to be strong enough to cope with the weight it must accommodate but it also has to be non-slip, which is where an expanded metal surface comes into its own. The deck's being well above floor level means that access to its working surface must be reliably strong and safe. Among the various kinds of safety equipment, access steps figure prominently. Such items must obviously be secure and capable of bearing the relevant loads. However, the requirement also includes the provision of handrails, as well as railings that protect the edges of the deck. Safety chain is a worthwhile addition, to close off those areas that are left open when the loading dock isn't occupied by a truck or van.
Having ensured that the loading dock personnel can't take steps into the unknown, it makes sense to cater for the vehicles that facilitate loading and unloading. Forklift trucks are heavy, can carry far more than any individual person and can move faster. While the abovementioned expanded metal deck mesh can take the weight of a moving laden forklift, it is flat. How then do you stop a forklift from slipping off the edge of a loading dock's deck, or from being driven over it by mistake? Simple, fit fork truck raves. These substantial steel structures delineate the edges of the loading dock at a low level, keeping forklifts on the straight and narrow.
Now for the heaviest and most potentially damaging of the loading dock's occupants. The road vehicles that carry goods come in a range of sizes but all are heavy, and obviously mobile. Protection bumpers and head rail raves can prevent vans and trucks from going beyond where they are welcome. This, however, is not just a matter of loading dock etiquette. More than one loading dock worker has been injured through being caught between a moving truck and a loading dock.
Where a trailer, brought by a lorry cab unit, no longer has the support of the cab unit in a loading dock, it is essential that its leading end be secured. This is a task for a stabilizer trailer jack, a strong, wheeled support that takes over the cab unit's job when the trailer is at rest.
Loading dock safety is a wide subject. However, these items of safety equipment are a few of the things that, by being present, can prevent accidents. Making sure they are there, and using them without exception, will enhance the safety record of any loading dock.
Chase Equipment are a leading international supplier of loading dock equipment. See our website at Chase Equipment for more information.
