Properly Outfitted Loading Docks

“Terrorists realize that America’s strength stems largely from its economic vitality,” says Dean Olson, a terrorism expert who holds an MA from the Naval Postgraduate School, Department of Homeland Security. “They pursue an overarching attack strategy focused on weakening America’s economic strength…contaminating food can help terrorists cause economic crises in our agriculture and food industries.”

Loading docks with unsecured trailers are susceptible to theft. Furthermore, a common practice that puts companies at risk is when the security seal on a trailer is broken, or put in place by non-company personnel on the drive approach. Security or surveillance may not be as present on the drive approach, which means food could be easily stolen, poisoned, and used as a terrorist weapon.

Automatic Vehicle Restraints: First Step in Food Chain Security

Restraints that automatically secure a trailer or vehicle when it backs up to the dock are the first step in establishing food chain security. Automated restraints not only enhance employee safety by ensuring the trailer can’t be mistakenly pulled away when a forklift is still inside, they also help prevent theft and reduce contamination. An automatic restraint wraps around a trailer’s rear-impact guard (RIG), securing the trailer to the loading dock. In addition to preventing trailer separation accidents, a tight connection reduces white space where dirt, debris, insects, and other environmental contaminants can enter a building. Additionally, some automatic restraints can be integrated into building management or security systems, providing another level of security and protection against external tampering.

The most advanced automatic vehicle restraints offer a RIG/restraint vertical engagement range of 9 to 30 inches. Some models can even help secure intermodal overseas container chassis, which are increasingly common across the food industry supply chain.

Bridging the Gap from Dock to Trailer

Once a trailer is secured at the loading dock, the next step is linking the gap between the loading dock floor and the trailer bed. A vertical-storing dock leveler is considered the gold standard for maintaining cold chain integrity, environmental control, and security. Unlike a pit-style leveler, a vertical leveler (when in the stored position) allows the loading dock door to close directly on the pit floor—rather than the leveler itself—reducing energy loss by minimizing outside air infiltration. This also helps to protect the dock door from damage and helps reduce dust, debris, rodents, and other contaminants from entering a building. Additionally, vertical dock levelers improve security by minimizing points of entry at the loading dock. And finally, the vertical design makes it easy to clean or wash down the pit floor when the leveler is in the upright and stored position.

Although a number of companies offer vertical dock levelers, food facility managers should consider a variety of specific features before committing to an installation. First, look for a “drive through” application that allows trailer doors to be opened inside the facility. Opening and closing trailer doors inside the loading dock, rather than on the drive approach, helps to ensure cold chain integrity by minimizing outside air exchange into a cold environment. Equally as important, drive through applications allow loading dock staff to place or remove the trailer’s seal from inside the building. This reduces the chance of theft or tampering.

Certco Inc. of Madison, Wis. is one wholesale food distributor that recently made the switch to vertical levelers in a drive-through application, and is happy it did. Based on its experience with other storage facilities, Certco switched away from its previous dock/leveler design when building a new 133,000 square foot freezer warehouse. By installing vertical levers in a continuous pit, drive-through application, it successfully created an uninterrupted cold chain for products moving in and out with dock personnel having control over the trailer doors, which now open inside the building after the trailer is positioned at the loading dock.