Did you know that over 1.18 million
people work at storage facilities and warehouses in the United States? As based
on the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), dated March 2019, these workers are
laborers, tractor and forklift truck operators, and freight stock, material
movers, and handlers.
As more number Americans who work on
these facilities grow and so are the number of workers who get injured in
work-related hazards and accidents. In the related reports by BLS statistics,
these warehouses environment can be dangerous for workers.
Why is a loading dock a danger
zone?
According to statistics from BLS, in
2017, the latest in its warehouse injury statistics record- 22 fatalities at
warehouses and storage facilities in the United States.
However, the statistical number of
cases involving days away from work (DAFW) at a storage facility and warehouse
workers increase by almost 3,000 cases between 2016 and 2017. In 2018, the
total was 17,390.
Additionally, warehouse injuries
occur when manual handling, or lifting, forklifts, conveyor belts, material
storage, and loading dock areas.
What are the types of warehouse
injuries?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
listed below the most common warehouse injuries in a variety of ways:
- Forklifts
- Caught In-between
- Falls
- Hazardous Materials
- Hit by Something
- Loading Dock Areas
- Overexertion
- Trips and Slips
- Truck Accidents
What are the safety tips?
Accidents can be prevented by
avoiding the conditions that lead to hazards. Knowing the occurrence or
identifying the location of accidents is vitally important in preventing these
hazards from happening in the first place.
1. Loading Dock Doors
With the fast-paced movements in the
loading areas, dock doors are the most susceptible parts of the loading areas,
from fast-moving forklifts. Vulnerable from collisions damaging them, or their
ability to seal the doorway has been compromised. The resulting defect or
deformity creates a space-gap in-between which gives moisture entry into the
facility.
Temporary solutions like “flex
panels” may help, but with many occurrences and they don’t last long enough.
However, most facility managers find impact doors as solutions. They are
designed and engineered to stand up to the occasional impacts and bumps from
product loads, forklifts, and even trailers.
Ensuring safety is critical in
high-speed industrial door environments. Passport Door and Dock System’s
high-performance doors is an effective, intuitive, and completely
customizable safety communication technology designed to increase threshold
safety:
2. Stopping Air Entry into your
Facility
While standard pit-mounted dock
levelers may provide trailer access for forklifts, the pit cut into the
concrete allows space in between for moisture to seep through.
Economical solutions like company
Serco Energy Guard™ a combination of seals and assemblies that provides
effective sealing in between gaps around the rear and sides of the dock
leveler, making a more superior and efficient perimeter seal at our Wilmington Industrial Fan Service Area Offices.
Serco Energy Guard™
- Primary Seal
Assemblies
- Secondary Seal
Assemblies
- Rear Hinge Seal Assembly
- Vertical Seal
Assemblies
- Triangular Shaped Seal &
Pocket Design
3. Door Seals and Shelters Change
Things
Successful loading dock companies use
door seals and shelters to keep moisture away from their loading dock areas,
which provides closing the gap between the dock wall and the
trailer.
Dock seals are designed with
fabric-covered foam pads that compress whenever the trailer backs into them, preventing
entry of debris and other dirt. While dock shelters create a covering around
the perimeter of the trailer and allowing full entry into the trailer interior.
Our Wilmington HVLS Fan service
area office in Raleigh, Durham, Fayetteville, Greensboro, Greenville,
Wilmington, Cary, NC, and surrounding cities, offers a variety of dock Shelters
and dock seals models:
Dock Shelters:
Dock Seals:
- Serco S2200 Ultra Shelter
- Serco S3200 Snap-back Dock
Shelter
- Serco S420 Rigid Frame Dock
Shelter
- Serco R620 Mechanical Rail
Shelter
4. Proper Circulation of Energy
Air
Warehouses are susceptible to precipitation or
condensation, where wet dock floors become accident-prone areas causing
accidents and hazards like injuring workers, damaging products, and reducing
productivity overall.
Our Wilmington Serco HVLS Fans works
to lessen the production of moisture in the air and helps keep floor drier and
safer for your workers. As based on its acronym, these fans move big amount of
air at low speeds, removing moisture and drying the facility floors.
Passport Door offers four HVLS fan
models to choose from: SERCO ATEC HVLS Fans, Serco ATEC Fan, KELLEY ATEC HVLS
Fans, and EXPERIENCE C-CLASS models:
- SERCO ATEC HVLS Fans – designed with airfoil
style five-blade design, these high-volume low-speed fans work hard to
circulate efficiency and positively impact many areas within your
facility.
- Serco ATEC Fan – The Serco Advanced
Technology for Environmental Control HVLS fan, or simply, the ATEC HVLS
fan is an advanced HVLS technology through controls, improved airflow, and
energy savings.
- KELLEY ATEC HVLS Fans –
These fans are designed to balance the internal environment with a gentle
mass of air or “floor jet,” which creates a more even temperature to
protect product integrity and prevent potential product spoilage.
- EXPERIENCE C-CLASS – A customizable Entrematic
C-Class commercial fan, its lightweight, low-profile design makes it
versatile enough to mount in a variety of spaces.
Passport Door and Dock System
One-Stop-Shop for Commercial door and
loading dock equipment includes 24/7 Parts and Service.
- Full fleet of service and
installation trucks
- Fully stocked warehouse
- Team of factory trained and
fully qualified service technicians- some with over 25 years of experience
- Team of knowledgeable
coordinators to take your call
OEM PARTS AND ACCESSORIES
- Minimize Downtime
- Maximize Productivity
- Stocked Inventory
- Parts Availability
PLANNED MAINTENANCE PROGRAM
- Protect Your Investment
- Reduce Lifetime Ownership
Costs
Preventing Wilmington, NC. loading dock
accidents and hazards are difficult and complex. However, by choosing the right
and proper equipment from the largest distributor in the world for the leading
manufacturers of dock equipment and hi-speed doors company for your loading
dock specific needs and requirements, you can achieve your goal from day one
and avoiding the 25% of preventable accidents from happening.
Passport Door and Dock Systems, a division of
DuraServ Corp, has been serving the Central and Eastern North Carolina
commercial door and dock needs from their Angier,
NC headquarters, and branch in Farmville,
NC since 1995. Between the two locations, Passport Door and Dock
Systems can keep the commercial docks and doors in the Raleigh-Durham corridor
working safely and efficiently.
To know more about us, please contact us directly at (919)
639-0334 and (252) 753-6100.
You can make a service
request or visit us personally at our Service Areas: North Carolina, Angier,
Farmville, Raleigh, Durham, Fayetteville, Greensboro, Greenville, Wilmington,
Cary, NC, and surrounding cities.