About Me

Talking About Welding Equipment and Techniques

Hi there. I’m Nina. Welcome to my website about welding. The process of welding together metal takes a lot more than a hot iron and some metal wire. There are many different machines and practices people use to carefully and skillfully weld together metal. With the right techniques, you can create truly beautiful welds that hold up to the test of time. The strong metal welds are often stronger than the two metal pieces they join together. I would like to use this site to talk about the different types of welding equipment, techniques and safety gear used for this exciting industry. Thanks for visiting.

Latest Posts

Talking About Welding Equipment and Techniques

Equipment Considerations For Keeping Your Truck Dock Safe

by Matias Keranen

Truck docks come with various types of hazards. At any given time, there's a multitude of people loading, unloading, driving lifts, and maneuvering through rows of goods. It's not a good idea to take dock safety lightly. There's a plethora of truck dock equipment out there that can increase safety. Here's a few you should consider for your dock operations.

Dock Levelers Bridge the Unsafe Gaps

Dock levelers bridge the gap between the truck and loading dock. It increases both functionality and safety. While a dock leveler can help, it's important you choose the right leveler for your truck dock. There's several different types.

  • Mechanical
  • Hydraulic
  • Vertical
  • Air
  • Edge-of-dock

Your budget and amount of dock traffic will dictate which types of levelers will work best for you. Even among the different types, there's different brands and configurations. So choose your leveler carefully.

Safety Gates Can Prevent Falls and Other Accidents

It's not very difficult for someone to accidentally walk or stumble off the edge of a truck dock. Safety gates can keep the dock doors secure when they're not in use. It's not just for people on foot; they can also keep forklifts from backing off the edge of the dock as well.

There's several types of safety and fall prevention gates.

  • Liftgates
  • Rotating dock gates
  • Dock nets
  • Swing gates
  • Cantilever gates

Your choice of gates will depend on the size of your budget and the size of your dock doors. You will also need to make sure your crew knows how to operate the gates as well.

Guard Rails Can Help Protect People and Property

Many docks make heavy use of yellow tape to designate lanes and safe areas. However, there's nothing truly preventing someone from wandering into the wrong lane or a forklift from veering off the path.

While you should certainly designate which areas are which, you should separate them with guardrails. Actual railings will stop both people and forklifts from veering into possible hazards.

Truck Restraints Can Stop a Truck from Accidentally Moving

Truck restraints can help to prevent the possibility of trailer/dock separation accidents. These accidents can happen in many ways.

Vehicle departure – When a truck tries to leave prematurely

Vehicle creep – When a truck slowly rolls forward or moves in any way accidentally

In either situation, the movement of the truck away from the dock can create an immediate hazard. The sudden gap that results from the movement can lead to injury and even fatalities. Truck restraints can lock the trailer to the dock to prevent such a situation from happening.

Is Your Truck Dock Secure?

You must provide a safe environment for your staff and your goods. These suggestions for truck dock equipment should represent just the beginning. There's a lot of other things you can do. You should always seek to add extra layers of safety to your dock whenever you can. Contact a company like American Material Handling, Inc. to learn more.

Share