Loading dock seals and loading dock shelters are smart additions to any business that utilizes a loading bay on a daily basis. Since the loading dock is such a well-trafficked location, it makes sense to try to find ways to lower the electricity costs inherent in a loading dock, and improve the safety of your facility as well. Although they’ll require an investment up front, they’ll save your business money in the long run thanks to all the benefits they provide.
Let’s dive into all of the ways that loading dock seals and shelters can help your business thrive.
What Are Loading Dock Seals?
Loading dock seals can come in two different types and perform insulation duty for the loading bay or trailer. These will both help to control the interior climate of your loading bay and protect the outer edges of the loading bay doors or entrance.
Compression seals make a foam-filled compression barrier that expands around the sides of the trailer. These form a barrier between the edge of your receiving bay and the edges of an approaching trailer or cargo container.
These can assist you in controlling your internal climate and will therefore lower the energy costs of your business, since your air-conditioner or heater won’t have to work so hard. You can get compression loading dock seals with head pads and curtains to cover the top of the loading bay or trailer and you can choose from several different fabric types.
Inflatable loading dock seals use air inflated material to both help with controlling interior climate, as well as protect your loading bay walls. They do this by expanding as they are filled with air, so they form a slight cushion on the edges of the loading bay or trailer door. You can get these types of seals in a variety of different styles as well.
Summary: Loading dock seals are soft barriers that come in two types and can be personalized according to your specifications. They act as seals between the edge of your loading dock doors and the edge of a trailer.
What Are Loading Dock Shelters?
Loading dock shelters are somewhat similar to inflatable seals but they extend around the entire area of the trailer or receiving bay. They form something of a tunnel between the door of the receiving bay to the trailer, sealing it away from the outside world. Because of this effect, loading dock shelters can protect your workers or product from weather effects like wind, rain, hail, or snow.
Loading dock shelters can also assist with climate control because of this tunnel-like barrier. They take a slightly longer time to set up but offer more comprehensive protection that loading dock seals.
Summary: Loading dock shelters extend from the loading dock doors to encompass the trailer edge and make a miniature tunnel from the loading dock to trailer interior. They can be folded back up, once no longer in use.
What’s The Difference Between Loading Dock Seals And Shelters?
The primary difference between loading dock seals and loading dock shelters is that loading dock seals do not extend very far away from the loading dock entrance and instead form a seal where the trailer edge is about to meet the loading bay edge. These are adept at controlling the climate because they make a tunnel between the loading bay and the trailer of a truck.
Loading dock shelters, on the other hand, extend a little bit further away from the receiving bay and extend all the way around to form a miniature tunnel between the bay and the truck’s trailer. They can be collapsed when they are no longer in use and rest flat against the side of your receiving bay door. They allow for total access to the interior of a trailer and are better at protecting against inclement weather that loading dock seals.
Loading dock seals are slightly better at climate control because they form a tight seal between the trailer and the loading dock door.
Summary: Loading dock seals make a tight seal at the point of contact between trailer and loading dock, and shelters extend to encompass the trailer a short distance away.
The Benefits Of Loading Dock Seals And Shelters
There are several main benefits that you can gain by installing loading dock seals or shelters into your facilities. The primary benefit of both types is that they assist with climate control and can eventually lower your energy bill.
By forming a seal between the trailer and the loading dock door, loading dock seals prevent cold or hot air from mixing with the interior air already in your receiving bay. Loading dock shelters do this as well, to a lesser extent. Because your air-conditioner or heater will have to work less to keep your temperature at a comfortable level, you’ll spend less money on the electrical bill and save money in the long run. Therefore, installing loading dock seals or shelters for this purpose will eventually pay for itself.
Inflatable loading dock seals can also guard your facility walls since they act as a soft buffer between the edge of the truck trailer and the edge of your loading bay door.
Loading dock seals have an additional benefit in that they can protect workers or product from inclement weather. For instance, if you have product that can’t get wet, you can use the loading dock shelter to safely offload them from a trailer without risking them becoming wet from rain or snow.
Your employees will be more comfortable thanks to the temperature control aspects of both of these additions and will work more effectively and efficiently. Happy employees always translate to greater productivity and therefore greater profits.
Summary: Loading dock seals and shelters can help you with climate control, lowering your electricity costs, can protect product and employees from inclement weather, and can protect your facility doors at the point of impact with a trailer.
Order Your Loading Dock Seals And Shelters Today!
Why wait? Since you already know about all the ways that loading dock seals and loading dock shelters can benefit your business, there is no need in waiting. Still have some questions and concerns? We would love to help. Contact us so we can go over what would work best for your operation.
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