However automated a warehouse may become, it still needs people. Warehouse operators have a duty of care to their staff, keeping them safe and free from injury which in return will result in a successful and productive warehouse. With warehouses requiring strict temperature and humidity control, high speed shutters have become essential. Most high-speed doors have sensors fitted to stop them accidentally closing on a person, but people still crash into doors more often than doors hit people. If someone hits a soft breakaway door, the door can easily collapse out of its hinges before returning itself back to the guide rail. If there are additional sensors that view the entire plane of the door rather than simply below it, staff driving forklifts towards the door don’t need to stop to gain access.

This article was first published in the July 1st 2020 issue of Warehouse & Logistics News, subscribe to the magazine by clicking here.

Progress has been made since our last doors and curtains feature two months ago, which reported that the Door & Hardware Federation (DHF) had launched a digital training facility in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Now, DHF has announced that training dates at its Training Academy have been published to the end of 2020 for anyone interested in safety training for their staff, engineers and operatives.

When a major UK supermarket faced water ingress and temperature control in its chilled food warehouse, BID Group were called in. Engineers formulated a solution and the customer awarded a contract to BID Group to remove the existing dock shelters and supply and install 99 new dock shelters.

St. Modwen Industrial & Logistics has recently completed Phase 1 at St. Modwen Park Gloucester, a 58 acre site housing three separate units that total 174,000 sq. ft of warehouse space, one of which has already been occupied by a leading heating specialist. As part of a £1million contract to provide logistics products for 16 different sites throughout 2019 and 2020, Hörmann UK has been a leading supplier for Phase 1 at St. Modwen Park Gloucester, providing and installing a range of its diverse loading solutions. This includes seven Level Access Doors and 13 Loading bays that feature with Dock Shelters, Dock Levellers, LED Traffic Lights and Dock Bumpers.

Union Industries, the high-speed industrial doors manufacturer, is supporting the food production and distribution sectors during the Coronavirus crisis with enhanced service and maintenance capabilities. During the COVID-19 emergency when pressure is on the food industry, particularly companies involved in temperature-controlled warehousing, to meet supply requirements, Union Industries has deployed 16 field-based service teams to support the sector. One example was a food distribution centre, which had experienced damage to one of its doors. Union Industries’ service team was on site within hours with the parts to ensure the door was back in operation.

Whether supporting the warehouse industry in the midst of the crisis or adapting training facilities as the country moves beyond it, we applaud the attitude of the doors sector during this challenging period.

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