Page 8 - OHS, January/February 2022

INDUSTRIAL SAFETY
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Loading docks are one of the most critical and dangerous links in any supply chain. WBY WALT SWIELIK
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arehouses, distribution centers and manufacturing facilities are inherently dangerous places. Almost all essential industrial operations carry some form of risk, whether they occur at a loading dock, the
plant’s interior or anywhere in between. Protecting workers, and the goods and equipment that are part of these processes, is one of the most fundamental aspects of any facility manager’s job.
The cost of accidents is high, in every respect. Plants with bad safety records can have trouble attracting employees and often suffer low employee morale, an intangible that is widely understood to hinder productivity. The tangible cost of accidents is even more daunting. Between workers’ compensation, damaged product, fulfillment or production delays and downtime, the National Safety Council projects that workplace injuries accounted for a loss of $171 billion in the United States in 2019. Not surprisingly, many facilities are upgrading their equipment to help reduce existing risks. Forward-thinking facilities are going a step further, however, by investing in smart equipment and controls that can help them make data-informed decisions around safety protocols and training to ensure employees return home safely at the end of every shift—today, tomorrow and in the future.
Industrial Internet of Things
and Dock Management Software
Loading docks are one of the most critical and dangerous links in any supply chain. Often the busiest area of a facility, they are a constantly shifting jigsaw of human and machine activity with semi-trucks, forklifts, pallet jacks and AGVs interacting. The growth of online commerce is only increasing the pace of those interactions. It is no wonder that almost 25 percent of all industrial accidents take place in the shipping and receiving zone.
Internet of Things (IoT) technology is moving rapidly into the world of industrial facility management. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) applies various sets of hardware working together to enhance the manufacturing industrial process. This focus allows companies to increase energy efficiency, streamline communication, enhance productivity and monitor events. Real- time and historical safety events can be communicated to safety managers through text and/or email alerts. Through an analysis performed by the IIoT platform, this data helps companies identify trends, training opportunities and employee behavioral improvement through data-driven decisions.
There are various IIoT platforms able to tap into tremendous amounts of data provided by smart equipment at the loading dock and inside the plant. Some go beyond capturing data to provide managers with operational insights that eliminate risky patterns and procedures. Such data analysis can help managers determine if intersections in a facility are becoming too congested or if a mistakenly opened dock door are isolated incidents or recurring problems that need to be preemptively addressed before a devastating accident occurs.
Facilities with newer equipment that have sensors might already have the capability to tap into an IIoT network. When used to its full potential, this smart equipment can be IIoT- enabled to provide invaluable data.
Starting with a Push of a Button
For facility managers to tap into the power of IIoT, they need to have the right equipment in place. Starting at the loading dock, this equipment includes a vehicle restraint to secure a trailer, a loading dock leveler to bridge the gap from facility to trailer during loading/unloading and loading dock doors to help maintain environmental control.
These pieces of equipment serve functions that were once manual. Vehicle restraints can now automatically engage rear impact guards (RIGs) instead of workers having to place wheel chocks. Hydraulic loading dock levelers can be lowered or raised with a push-button instead of workers having to use a pull-chain. Loading dock doors can be operated with buttons instead of manually being opened or closed.
Using logistics equipment at the loading dock once required hard labor. Now it can all be operated with the push of a button. And through additional advancements, it can all be operated much more safely, too.
Interlocking Controls and Safe Sequence of Operation
The development of programmable, interlocking controls at the loading dock has helped make a notoriously dangerous part of any facility into a much safer one. By linking the vehicle restraint, dock leveler, overhead dock door and dock barrier together, dock controls can be programmed to work only in a safe sequence of operation. This allows facility managers to prevent accidents due to improper usage—saving facilities money and costly downtime in the long run.
Integrating multiple loading dock operations into a simple, centralized control system makes it easier for loading dock attendants to perform docking operations safely and quickly.
8 Occupational Health & Safety | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022
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