Safety is a common topic of discussion for business owners. This is because no business wants to put its workers’ life at risk while on duty. It does not matter if you own a manufacturing plant, warehouse, factory or a distribution center, safety is a universal concern as everyone wants to create a safe and secure workplace. A common area of concern for many companies is their loading dock area. According to a recent study, loading docks are the most common areas in an industrial facility where accidents occur.
This is because the activities that go on at a loading dock can be quite risky for workers, truck drivers, dock attendants, technicians, etc. Logistics have become so fast paced these days with trucks coming and going, there is no room for any mistakes. One of the major causes of accidents in loading dock areas is early departure of the trucks.
If you run a commercial facility and have to deal with loading and unloading trucks on a daily basis, installing truck restraints (also known as vehicle restraints) is important to help minimize the chance of an accident due to early departure. A truck restraint allows you to keep the vehicles in place so that they do not move from away from the dock, until it is safe to do so. Careless parking, vehicle creep and unscheduled truck departures can happen even in the safest of environments, but installing a vehicle restraint system can help reduce the risks of costly equipment damage and physical injury while increasing productivity.
Truck Restraints Offer You a Number of Benefits
- More secure alternative to wheel chocks which are a cheaper more common solution to prevent vehicle creep, but they can go missing and do not have the force that a truck restraint has.
- Vehicle restraints are very versatile as they allow for a wide variety of trucks and trailers to be secured.
- They help to improve driver and worker safety by preventing:
- Early truck department which is when a truck tries to depart from the dock before it is safe to do so.
- Trailer creep is when a truck will move slightly to and from the dock, due to the force of a forklift traveling in and out of the truck.
- Forklift fall off can happen if the truck creeps away from the dock and causes a gap between the dock and the truck.
Many truck restraints can be integrated with stop and go communication light systems to add yet another level of safety.
Providing adequate safety options around the loading dock area helps reduce risk that could turn costly for your business. They add an extra layer of safety for any one that is around your dock and they will be thankful the truck restraints are there. Be sure to contact us for any questions you may have regarding truck restraints or other concerns regarding your warehouse.
