Properly Outfitted Loading Docks

“I am very pleased that we used vertical levelers in this configuration for the freezer building’s docks,” says the facilities maintenance manager, Tom Ellis. “They are a huge improvement in terms of food safety, sanitation, and energy efficiency.”

It’s also important to look for a vertical leveler that provides the smoothest path between the facility floor and the trailer. This helps reduce “dock shock” or whole-body vibration to forklift operators going in and out of the trailer, as well as damage to product and equipment. The most advanced levelers can reduce dock shock by incorporating a constant-radius rear hinge that reduces the bumps and gaps at the rear of the leveler, as well as two-point crown control and optimized lip chamfer at the front of the leveler reduce the speed bump effect normally felt by forklift drivers as they enter and exit the trailer.

Properly Sealing the Dock Perimeter

A dock seal or shelter creates an environmental barrier between the back end of the semi-trailer and the inside of the loading dock. This connection helps companies control their environment by keeping wind, rain, dust, bugs, and other contaminants outside the building, while preventing the escape of valuable energy from inside the building. An effective dock sealing system also helps prevent weather-related product damage and contamination, protecting and securing the integrity of products as they move in and out of a facility during manufacturing, processing, and shipping. Seals and shelters can also provide deterrence against theft at the loading dock by sealing gaps that could otherwise be passageways for thieves to move product.

For maximum protection, it is important to equip all dock door openings with a system that closes the gaps that are created when a trailer is backed in for loading or unloading. This includes securing the tops, sides, and bottoms of the openings when the trailer is in place. Foam compression dock seals, or full-access dock shelters that seal trailer door hinge gaps, together with a full-coverage, under-leveler sealing system, are recommended in most applications. Further attention is often needed at the top and corners of the trailer where frequent gaps remain. A weighted header seal with corner-sealing ability provides the best means to securely seal these areas.

Leading seal and shelter designs on the market today offer solutions that allow effective sealing on all four sides. Top-of-the-line sealing products can guarantee protection against burning from the heat of trailer marker lights; provide state-of-the art materials to provide the longest wear; and offer custom designs to match the specific, unique needs of individual customers.

Some of the newest dock shelters have been specifically designed with the food industry in mind. In particular, some designs now allow the trailer doors to be opened inside the building for security purposes (drive-through applications), while still maintaining a tight, consistent seal on all four sides of the trailer. Special design features ensure tight sealing against trailer sides, across the full width of the trailer top, and at the corners without interfering with trailer doors being opened and closed after the trailer has been parked at the dock. This shelter design complements the vertical storing dock leveler design to enhance security at the dock.

The Role of High-Speed Doors

Once inside the facility, it is important to maintain cold chain integrity so frozen and refrigerated products aren’t compromised. One of the traditional approaches to this was to install heavy, insulated, rigid doors with a high R-value on all cooler and freezer openings. While these side-acting doors do a good job of keeping the cold in (fighting conduction), they have a downside—they are typically slow moving, resulting in longer door cycle times and thus, higher rates of air infiltration, which hampers inside temperature control. Additionally, their slower speed means workers must either wait for the door to open or leave it open for extended periods of time. Furthermore, traditional hard-core doors are susceptible to forklift damage. Unless a damaged cooler/freezer door is quickly fixed, there can be substantial energy losses. Thus, for high-traffic openings, energy losses due to the door being open or sealing poorly (infiltration) can represent a significantly larger cost component than energy losses due to conduction. The highest R-value imaginable isn’t worth a nickel if the door isn’t closed.