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​Loading docks are critical points in any facility, and ensuring their durability and efficiency is essential. In the Midwest, 99% of the dock doors are what is known as sectional doors. While these doors may look like the doors in your garage at home, which are also sectional doors, they can be purpose-built or upgraded. New doors can be relatively inexpensive to purchase however the entry level sectional door with basic hardware is low-cycle and more comparable to your door at home. Residential or even some medium-duty commercial doors are not built to withstand the rigorous demands of a loading dock.
Whether you have existing doors or are replacing some old dock doors here are five key upgrades that can make your loading dock door bulletproof, focusing on increased dependability, less downtime, improved safety and lower lifetime cost of ownership:

1. Upgrade to Three-Inch Rollers and Track:
   • Provides smoother operation and reduces wear and tear on the door mechanism.
   • As an industry standard three-inch rollers are used on larger doors but their durability and value are even greater on smaller doors, like the typical dock door
   • Larger rollers distribute the weight more evenly, minimizing strain on the door and track.
   • Reduces overall cost of ownership because they cannot pop out of the track like a two-inch roller can. This eliminates nuisance and costly service calls that result from “a roller has popped out of the track.” For two-inch rollers service calls are plentiful!
   • Have a higher cycle count, up to 10x that of a two-inch roller for a longer life, lower cost of ownership resulting in less downtime for repairs.
2. Upgrade to a Solid Spring Line Shaft:
   • Offers better stability and reliability compared to a hollow shaft.
   • Ensures smooth and consistent door operation, reducing the risk of sudden failures or malfunctions.
   • Easier and more accurate to adjust by the service technician, enhancing dependability.
   • Particularly important for high traffic loading docks, reducing downtime and lowering the overall cost of ownership.
   • Required if installing a wall-mounted operator
   • Offers the option to install a split-coupler for more accurate adjustments, left to right, allowing for a better door seal
3. Upgrade to Higher Cycle Springs:
   • Designed to withstand more opening and closing cycles before needing replacement.
   • Reduces downtime for maintenance and repairs, ensuring a more reliable door.
   • Handles the demands of a busy loading dock, improving performance and longevity.
   • Cost-effective way to ensure the door remains functional and efficient for years to come, ultimately lowering the lifetime cost of ownership.
4. Install Track Guards:
   • Protect the track from impact, preventing damage and ensuring smooth operation.
   • Track guards act as a barrier, absorbing the force of impacts that could otherwise damage the track.
   • By preventing track damage, track guards help maintain the door's alignment and functionality, reducing the need for repairs and maintenance.
   • This upgrade enhances the overall safety and dependability of the loading dock door.
5. Install Electric Door Openers:
   • Operate the door consistently throughout the path of travel, greatly reducing wear and tear on the door.
   • Electric door openers provide a controlled and uniform movement, minimizing the risk of mechanical failures.
   • They enhance the efficiency of the loading dock by allowing for quicker and more reliable door operation.
   • This upgrade contributes to lower maintenance costs and increased dependability, ensuring the door remains functional for a longer period.
   • Increased safety as operation is as simple as pushing a button. No need to touch a moving door with many pinch points.

By implementing these five upgrades, you can significantly enhance the safety, durability, reliability, and efficiency of your loading dock door. These improvements not only reduce maintenance costs but also ensure the safety and security of your facility, ultimately reducing the overall operational costs and enhancing productivity. The small upfront costs are a fraction of the service call and maintenance costs on doors without the upgrades.

The conventional thought process around the loading dock area has seen a conceptual shift in thinking over the past several years. Many of our clients have changed over from mechanical levelers to hydraulic, either via equipment replacement or a hydraulic conversion. With a hydraulic conversion we take the springs, levers, brakes, and chains out and replace them with hydraulic components. Why?

In discussing this with clients, there were many reasons, but three of them were shared by all.

1. Safer for your employees
   • Pushing a button versus pulling a chain, or multiple chains with below dock service
   • Easy to use with consistent operation
   • Eliminate walking down the leveler to avoid putting employees at risk
2. Better seal
   • As the leveler is now dead weight, not spring-loaded, it rests securely with no bounce when walked over, resulting in a positive seal
   • Improved employee comfort with weather seal properly applied & installed, the wind gusts are eliminated
3. ​Less down time
   • Hydraulics are more dependable than springs, levers, brakes, and chains
   • Avoids employee frustration with tools that do not work properly 

We know retaining and attracting employees is a challenge, so attention to both big and small issues is important. Providing employees with safe, reliable tools which allow them to work safely and confidently is what they’re looking from you as their employer. Not sure where to start? Request a facility needs assessment.

​In today’s ever-growing corporate world, smaller independent dock and door distributors are appointed by larger companies. While there can be advantages to this for the client, there is one disadvantage, especially in today’s supply-chain challenged world. When manufacturer’s own the local distributor, the client’s choice becomes severely limited. Just because the manufacturer offers different models, this doesn’t truly provide the client with multiple choices as the intended applications for those door models are different. See part two of this series for the importance of correct equipment application.

Even if the “lead times” for new equipment are acceptable, what if there is a part failure and the part isn’t available? With high-speed doors and fire doors, this can be a larger issue as there is likely not an aftermarket option due to proprietary parts or regulations not allowing anything but OEM parts to be used.

Partnering with a service and equipment supplier that can offer both the variety of multiple manufacturer choices and the ability to service multiple manufacturer brands will allow your facility to thrive in through supply chain challenges.

What challenges are you facing with your facility? Schedule a call to see if we can help.

A foundational understanding of when to replace equipment is built by having a clear accounting of:

1. Current equipment conditions
2. Equipment quality vs. the application and cycle usage
3. Performance in every environment to determine the life expectancy
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Ideally, a maintenance program is in place that includes a detailed inspection with proper asset configuration. This includes date of manufacture and the needed details to build this foundation of information. “Lead time increases” vary greatly in the dock and door industry, so knowing what to expect is important. For example, many (not all) dock leveler manufacturers are facing “lead times” nearing 1-year, consequently ordering equipment will need to be done much sooner than in the past. In addition, the employee, raw goods, manufacturing shortages, and shipping delays are likely and should be expected. Factoring in the uncertainties listed above for equipment purchases/updates is a great practice.

Typically, you don’t have failure before your new equipment arrives, and if it arrives early that’s OK. If you’re still skeptical about ordering early, ask yourself these questions:

1. What is the cost to your organization caused by down equipment?
2. How does down equipment affect your relationship with your client’s or partners?
   
   

Compare the amounts from the questions above with the cost of buying an asset a few months earlier and consider the total in costs when you don’t take “lead times” into account.

No one likes surprises, why create one more?

P.S. See more tips like this on our LinkedIn page.

As we head into the fall and eventually winter, we start to focus on keeping warm. Keeping the cold air from blowing through our doors. Keeping the temperature in that sweet spot of not too hot and not too cold. But what about water? Not just from fall rainstorms but from melting snow and ice.

We know. It’s September. Are we really talking about snow and ice? Yep. We are.

Winter in the Midwest is hard. It can be brutal on your loading dock equipment and bottom line. It’s cold. It’s warm(ish). It’s sunny. It’s snowing. All of that can cause chaos with your loading dock equipment. Melting (and then refreezing) snow and ice pose serious safety concerns and performance problems at your loading docks.

Safety Concerns
Slippery docks are dangerous to your employees and visiting drivers alike. The potential for someone to slip and fall greatly increases if your docks are not properly sealed and water or ice is present. Forklifts going in and out of trailers will transfer water throughout your facility, creating even more chances for someone to slip and fall. This can lead to injuries, time off, workers comp – all of these can be avoided by paying closer attention to your loading dock and the potential for water infiltration.

Compliance Concerns
Ever smelled a stagnant swamp or bucket of water?  Standing water can become a breeding ground for harmful bacteria.  Bacteria poses numerous threats to the health of your staff and food facilities can be a major violation of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) requirements.   FSMA requires you to have a food safety plan in place that includes an analysis of hazards and risk-based preventive controls to minimize or prevent the identified hazards.
A pest infestation can be another violation, especially in food and pharma facilities.  Any gaps in your seals or equipment can lead to issues with requirements and compliance.

Performance Problems
Have you ever tried to pry something off the ground that good ole’ Mr. Winter has frozen?  Say your garbage can after it’s been sitting for a week with constant thaw and freeze.  Not a whole lot of fun and sometimes an unsuccessful venture.  Now imagine that at your loading docks.  Imagine melted ice and snow working its way down into your metal loading docks and thawing and refreezing.  Over and over again.  Many repairs we perform during the winter could be prevented by properly maintained and sealed equipment.  A nagging or small issue in July can become a big problem in December

So, what should I do?

1. Be proactive. Schedule your Proactive Maintenance sooner rather than later. Find the small problems before they become big ones. If you don’t currently have a maintenance program in place, now is a great time to set one up – contact us today and we will get you started.  If you are part of our program, work with your Account Manager to address any issues found during your last inspection.
2. Dock seals.  Look at your dock seals.  If you can see rips or tears, they need to be replaced.  If you can see foam, they need to be replaced.  Besides helping (along with dock bumpers) to protect your building from damage they are also an integral part of keeping that opening sealed.  The correct seal or enclosure that is tailored for your facility, your trucks, and your budget are available through us.  Contact your Account Manager for details or check out our website for more information
3. Consider installing HVLS, HVHS, or Dock fans.  Don’t underestimate the value that proper air movement can provide to your facility.  Energy savings, employee comfort, and safety are just a few.
4. Consider snow removal equipment for your fleet and incoming trucks.  The Yeti could be just what you need
5. Rain units provide another level of protection against water ingress.  They help divert waterway from your building and provide excellent barriers to water run-off from the tops of trailers

Check out our other blogs on facility modernization and safety for more ideas on how to improve your facility and your bottom line.

As always, we hope you find this information useful and you find something that you can do in your facility to help prevent the winter blues. Please contact us with any questions or concerns.