Essential Loading Dock Equipment Can Increase Warehouse Productivity

If you ever wanted to improve the efficiency of your warehouse, and maximize the man-hours used each week to load and unload the delivery trucks, you might want to consider purchasing the best quality made loading dock equipment. The entire process required to optimize your docking productivity can be simplified with a few proven-effective pieces of equipment.

Many companies realize that they need create better procedures to reduce the amount of time it takes every day the transfer cargo on an off the delivery trucks at their facilities. Every day, when trucks arrive with goods that need to be unloaded and stored the same ineffective procedures often take too long increasing employee expense while it minimizes productivity.

Sheltering Goods from Inclement Weather

During the summer months when business hours for receiving deliveries are typically the hottest part of the day, the doors to the dock remain open nearly all the time. This increases the amount of energy costs to keep the interior area of the dock cool for the men and women working in the warehouse. During the summer season, it often rains, adding potential risks to damaging the merchandise being unloaded.

As a simple solution, companies stall dock seals and shelters to form a barrier against the outside environment when the semi-truck backs the trailer up to meet the dock. This helps to reduce utility costs and provide comfort to the operator and workers while unloading the trucks.

Stabilizing Working Platforms

As a way to prevent the trailer from rocking, when the forklift and pallet jacks remove cargo, is to use trailer stabilizing jacks to hold the trailer firmly in place. Jacks work well on a variety of uneven surfaces to quickly adjust the trailer, creating a level platform. Additionally, by using wheel chocks (wedges), in front and back of the tires, can minimize movement of the trailer while the forklifts empty it out.

When Platform Heights Are Not the Same

Companies realize that using dock levelers can maximize the efficiency of unloading taller trucks. A dock leveler will allow a forklift to move from the ground floor of the dock up to the higher level of the trailer. Built to handle heavy loads, these dock levelers are often crafted with hydraulics that allow easy height adjustment. Most also have extended lip to ensure a safe crossover platform during the unloading procedure.

Dock boards also work well on uneven platforms. Like a hydraulic dock leveler, they provide a wide accessible lane into the delivery truck or semi-trailer. Dock boards are crafted as a simple piece of heavy constructed metal, but are lightweight enough to be carried by hand.

A Yard Ramp

The ultimate piece of loading dock equipment is a yard ramp. It extends the capability of the warehouse to perform loading and unloading away from the dock. Some are built as a permanent platform with an extended ramp, while others are portable in design, and build with wheels for easy maneuverability. A portable yard ramp can be positioned in a place quickly, at nearly any location, on virtually every type of hard surface.