Designing in safety
December 1st 2004

According to sara Loading Bay Specialists, pressure to reduce vehicle turn-around times during the loading/unloading process can have health and safety implications. The company believes in designing in safety at the outset, and when dealing with an architect or contractor on a new build will spend a considerable amount of time discussing health and safety issues.

sara’s aim is to reduce the possibility of accidents in and around the loading bay and, although it will always be a team effort for dock and vehicle operators, sara’s extensive experience in loading bay design can help ensure that any operational problems will be highlighted and not carried forward into the design stage.

The company advises against purchasing ‘off the shelf‘ loading bay equipment without taking key elements into consideration.

Reputable dock equipment suppliers will look at the overall operation and recommend equipment fit for the optimal solution with safety as the priority consideration.

Risk assessments should be carried out at all stages. Some key areas to consider are: the leveller platform and type of load; external dock gradients; the interface between the vehicle and the building face; the means of communication between (vehicle) drivers and loading bay operatives; and the door and dock seal area.

sara has included many key features in its ‘total package’ of loading bay equipment, which offers added safety benefits such as: 1. Thicker steel on dock platforms and lips.

2. Dead man controls on levellers to give dock operator total and safe control.

3. Vehicle sensing lips that will detect any unexpected departure of the vehicle and arrest platform movement.

4. Overall leveller design that exceeds BS.EN1398.

5. Dock doors with obstruction detecting motors for both opening/closing actions.

6. Integrated control and signalling systems through composite control panels.

7. High intensity LED traffic lights to reduce accidents.

All items of equipment on the loading dock should be interlocked and operating in sequence with the customer’s operational requirements.

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