Why Install A Dock House On Your Loading Bay
It doesn’t matter whether you work in pharmaceuticals or retail – loading bays need the right installations and equipment to support their safe and efficient operation. Carrying heavy, often sensitive loads can become dangerous to the goods cargo and your staff alike. That’s not to mention the fact that bays can easily become crowded, getting in the way of projects or even creating tripping hazards. This is where a dock house comes in.
Dock houses are stand-alone structures, attached directly to loading bays to essentially create external areas as part of the main space. This piece puts the spotlight on the benefits that additional dock housing units could have on your loading bay operation, focusing on secure movement, enhanced health & safety and more.
Extra warehouse space
The amount of warehouse space in the UK stood at around 690m square feet in 2024, with figures consistently rising in the years prior. There should be plenty of space for everything in your loading bay dock, right? It sounds right, but loading operatives hunt for space like they’re panning for gold.
The addition of a docking house adds some valuable square footage to the bay, allowing teams to keep things better organised, important for an efficient operation.
Adherence to loading bay conditions
The right loading bays should be designed and tailored to fit the existing needs of your warehouse and loading bay.
This means encompassing all requirements of:
- Sealing for hygiene/anti-contamination requirements
- Temperature control for cold stores or pharmaceutical handling
- Weatherproofing to keep wind, rain, sleet and snow at bay
These kinds of stipulations ensure that your loading tasks can continue to operate at a consistent level of quality. Aspects like insulation can also help you to keep your business energy bills down, ensuring that temperature transfer doesn’t result in an overworked HVAC system, whether working in a controlled or ambient facility.
Better health and safety
How are you currently bringing your heaviest loads in? Still making do with the same old loading bay dock levellers for years now? Is your space always crowded with too much stuff? There’s a good chance you need to update your approach to health and safety.
Updating your technology for increased efficiency is a good way to reduce the need for excessive manual handling, in turn reducing the risk of injuries. Similarly, the increase in space touched on earlier is sure to enhance the standard of health and safety. This is because it reduces the number of tripping hazards, as well as boosting visibility across the area.
What to look for in a loading dock house
Now that you know what dock houses can do for your workplace, you need to know the vital features of a good one.
- Lightweight but strong structures that don’t put pressure on the existing bay
- Integration options with seals, levellers, scissor lifts and overhead doors
- Proper sealing to the bay itself
- Quick, smooth and cost-effective installations from the supplier
- Varied insulation and non-insulation cladding options
- Tailored versions of all add-ons or features to suit your business
Perhaps most important is making sure that any provider you purchase a dock house from can offer you consistent and reliable maintenance and servicing.
The best options are designed to last longer working periods, along with handling heavy workloads. However, with lots of goods going in and out, you’re inevitably going to need the odd repair here and there. The best providers will invariably be able offer everything from emergency repairs to the odd bit of preventative maintenance.
Now that you know what to look for, all that’s next is to get started on your search for your perfect solution. Happy loading!
