Where equipment safety is paramount, options often provide an excellent opportunity to improve upon a products basic offering. Warehouses are prone to accidents and health and safety personnel as well as industrial engineers realize the benefits of including every option in order to avoid unnecessary injuries and product damage.
Take the loading dock for example; this is a heavily travelled area of any logistics warehouse and the scene of several accidents a year across all industries. This can be radically improved upon simply by employing the added safety measures many options provide.
Consider the loading dock leveler: they come in many varieties but each has the potential to harm an employee or damage goods when not properly installed or operated. Simple, yet effective precautions available through optional parts include the hydraulic roll-off-stop-leveler; which keeps forklifts safe from the drop zone by extending the leveler lip above the leveler when parked. This stops forklift roll-off when the overhead door is open, preventing injury to the fork truck driver, the truck itself and any product that the fork lift might be carrying.
Mechanical fall-safe legs are an excellent option as well, as they limit the mechanical dock levelers ability to travel below level, should the truck trailer pull away from the dock prematurely. The mechanical fall-safe option comes with a manual means of deactivation for instances where the dock leveler requires below level access.
Another option includes the hydraulic auto-return function. This option allows the dock leveler to automatically reposition itself to the stored position once the truck departs.
There are many safety consideration built into these loading dock products, but options give you the choice whether to improve upon those industry standards in the attempt to further protect your employees and property.