3 Tips to Prevent Damage to Products in the Loading Dock
ShareThere are various ways that products can be damaged while being shipped out from a manufacturing plant or distribution center or received at a warehouse. If this is a problem with your company, then you could be wondering what you can do to prevent it. These are a few tips that can help.
1. Make Sure Your Loading Dock Equipment is in Good Condition
For one thing, you should know that locking dock equipment and material handling equipment failures can cause damage to products. Plus, failures can also cause accidents that could result in injuries to your employees. Therefore, one of the main things that you will probably want to focus on is making sure that your loading dock equipment is in good condition. For example, investing in a new loading dock leveler, new handcarts, and other new equipment can be a better idea than continuing to use old equipment. Then, focus on maintaining your equipment and inspecting it regularly so that you can make repairs when necessary that can prevent both product damage and accidents.
2. Ensure the Area is Shielded from the Elements
Another thing that you should consider is how products can be damaged by the elements, such as rain when coming in and out of the loading dock. Putting a cover over the loading dock area can be a good way to prevent items from damaged and can make things a lot more comfortable for your employees when they are working as well. Additionally, make sure that the doors to your loading dock are properly sealed so that water does not seep in from the door area, and keep loading dock doors closed when they are not in use.
3. Focus on Proper Employee Training
If your employees don't handle your products properly, then there will be an increased chance of products being damaged. Plus, improper handling can also result in slowed productivity and even accidents. Therefore, hosting regular employee training to ensure that your employees know what to do when loading or unloading in the docking area is very important and can help prevent all of these problems.
When you are bringing products into your warehouse or shipping products out to your customers, the last thing that you probably want is for your products to be damaged while in the loading dock. Of course, this is a possibility, but if you follow these three tips, you can help prevent this from happening. For more information, check out a website like http://www.commercialhardwaregroup.com.