Loading bay equipment suppliers believe that safety is often the top concern for operators, hardly surprising given the relatively notoriously high accident rates in this part of the manufacturing/supply chain. But the concern should not be just about operator safety; it should also include adverse health and safety aspects that can arise not through accidents but long-term, on-going working conditions, leading to many working days lost.
A good example of this is ‘dock shock’ – a jarring that occurs when a forklift crosses between the warehouse floor and the trailer bed, caused by the bumps and gaps on traditional dock levellers. As a source of vibration it is a known, serious health risk but loading bay operators have also expressed concern about the damage to products and loading bay equipment. Health wise, it is an insidious problem, but no less important for that because back pain is estimated to be causing UK businesses £5 bn a year, with each affected worker typically taking 19 days off sick. According to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, shock, as defined by jarring and jolting, causes 36% of all head, neck and back injuries connected with mobile equipment operators.
A primary problem why this health issue has gone unchecked is that there is no one single cause responsible for jarring and jolting. Forklifts themselves may cause excessive vibration or bumps or uneven floors may be the culprit. This is where leading loading bay equipment suppliers, like Caljan Rite-Hite, Hormann, Stertil and Sara should be considered as an advisory source, because the severity of dock shock varies from dock to dock and industry to industry. They will inspect your dock situation and severity of the problem. If the problems require it, they will advise on suitable equipment, which could include some dock levellers and vehicle restraints designed specifically to minimise the problem.
If working conditions can affect health and safety issues so, too, can neglected and/or poor maintenance. This is still very much a problem and can even include maintenance by outside service engineers who do not work for the equipment suppliers or their approved contractors. According to Alan Jenkins, Sales Director of Hormann UK, in his experience the level of maintenance undertaken by most loading bay operators is poor and they generally wait until something fails. Fortunately, there are signs that maintenance is moving up the priority ladder. Alan Hirst, Sales Director of Union Industries, reports a definite increase for service contracts on their doors. In relation to high speed doors specifically, not all users realize that they are covered by machinery regulations, and so require servicing correctly by law at least every 12 months. Alan also thinks that the rise could be ascribed to their lifetime warranty scheme, which covers all the major door components. The contract also means that the doors will be serviced correctly at the right intervals, dependent on the use of the doors.
The loading bay is undergoing changes in other ways that, while not specifically related to health and safety, nevertheless can make the working environment healthier and less costly to run. This is particularly so in relation to energy costs. New legislation, for example, like the Energy Act 2011, is encouraging architects and specifiers to specify improved insulation values for industrial doors as a ‘U’ value. If not considering new-build projects, loading bay operators could call in any leading hardware supplier to conduct a free energy audit, or download free information on it. This could show that a change of doors alone would reap an investment return in under two years and help towards compliance with the Energy Act, due to take effect in 2018. More tolerable working temperatures would also be appreciated by staff, who could become less prone to sick leave.
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