Proper selection and deployment of warehouse safety equipment can play a significant role in protecting building occupants, reducing risk of facility/equipment damage and lowering your insurance premiums.

Warehouse safety products, in the context of this post, include items designed to safeguard people, equipment and building infrastructure. What follows is a highlight of select products with an explanation of how they contribute to a safer operating environment.

Dock Door Guards

High traffic through and around loading dock doors creates a high potential for collisions. Roll-up door tracks are particularly vulnerable to collisions due to their proximity to the door opening. Thin gauge metal door tracks are poorly suited to withstand even minor impacts and damage to the door track can cause significant down time on your loading dock. Door dock protectors, also known as track guards, are heavy-gauge, Z-shaped metal profiles that affix to building walls or the floor in front of the tracks and provide excellent protection against impact to the door tracks.

Dock Barriers

With a standard dock height of 48”, falls from loading docks present a significant hazard. While fixed guarding is not a practical method to prevent falls from the dock, dock impact barriers do provide a suitable method to guard the opening. Dock impact barriers are high strength, movable barriers, designed to guard against falls from dock level. Some barriers will stop a 10,000 lb. load moving at 4 mph, while the simple design provides easy opening/closing of the barrier to gain access to docked trailers.

Dock Bumpers

Outside a facility, one of the largest risks to property and equipment come from moving trucks and trailers. Collisions between trailers and docks can cause costly damage to trailer, building and dock equipment. Dock bumpers are a simple solution to protect against damaging collisions. The bumpers provide a physical stop, absorbing the impact and transferring it to the surrounding building. Dock bumpers help to guard your docks, dock levellers and other loading dock equipment. They are available in variety of dimensions and materials to suit your application.

Dock Guide Lights and Communication Lights

Dock guide lights and communication lights help drivers navigate your loading dock area and improve communication between the driver and warehouse personnel. Dock guide lights are positioned around dock door openings and provide a high visibility reference to help drivers properly align their trailers with the dock openings, reducing the instances of collisions and improving docking efficiency. Communication lights are signal lights located outside the bay doors, positioned for easy visibility by drivers. The red and green communication lights, controlled by warehouse staff, show a driver when it is safe to move their trailer. This can prevent accidents caused by unanticipated trailer movements while employees are accessing the trailer.

Column Protectors, Guardrails, Bollards and Bollard Covers

Column protectors, guardrails, bollards and bollard covers work together to protect your facility from damaging impacts. Column protectors and guardrails provide physical protection within a facility. In addition to protecting against impact, the protectors also enhance visibility of the hazards, helping to reduce instances of collision.

Bollards are pipe segments designed for attachment to or insertion into the ground. They provide a barrier against impact and are well suited to protect high-traffic or sensitive parts of a facility. Bollard covers can mount on the bollard to reduce vehicle damage from impacts and to enhance the visibility of the bollard.

Your McKinley representatives are happy to educate you on how warehouse safety products can improve the safety inside your facility. Put our experience to work for you. Contact your representative for assistance in identifying safety products for your facility.