Rite-Hite, the Loading Bay safety and environmental control business, has launched a new initiative to help customers protect their facilities, and their costs, throughout the winter months.
The ‘close up for winter’ campaign urges customers to think about their current operations and any gaps – literally and metaphorically – in their current thinking. It highlights in particular the challenges of maintaining an efficient Loading Bay operation over the winter period and the steps businesses can take to reduce lost energy and increase employee safety and wellbeing.
It is supported by a free Energy Loss and Savings Analysis service, providing warehouse, logistics and distribution service operators with a full breakdown of the potential savings they can realise at the Loading Bay and throughout the facility.
Thorsten Mauritz, the Marketing Manager for Rite-Hite in Europe, says Loading Bays can become more hostile environments in the winter:
“When you think about it, each Loading Bay door opening (typically ranging from 8’x8’ to 10’x12’ or larger) represents a giant hole in the wall of your facility. Strung together, these dock openings present an enormous opportunity for bad things to enter your facility during the loading or unloading of goods – like wind, rain, snow and rodents – and good things, like expensive heating and cooling energy, to escape.
“Anything a company can do, therefore, to ensure a complete and tight seal at every dock door, can have an immediate positive effect.”
Weather-related product damage and contamination, employee comfort and safety, facility hygiene and cleanliness, air quality, maintenance of product quality characteristics and passing inspections are all concerns related to protecting and controlling the environment at the Loading Bay.
Even small unsealed gaps, like hinge gaps of swing-open trailer doors, for example, can add up to significant costs: “Fortunately, highly effective dock sealing products from Rite-Hite exist that can be designed and installed quickly to make sure docks are sealed up tight and your people, products, processes and profits are protected,” Thorsten adds.
The initiative also highlights the additional challenges that winter weather can bring from both a health and safety perspective. Industrial HVLS Fans, for example, which keep a facility cool in the summer also have the opposite role in winter to keep a facility warm, and automated wheel locking systems – such as the Global Wheel-Lok – can help prevent serious accidents associated with snow and ice.
“Traditional wheel chocks tend to be unreliable, especially in poor weather conditions, and are often not strong enough to prevent a vehicle from pulling away unexpectedly,” Thorsten continues. “They also require someone to physically manhandle them into position and remove them after use, and that can be incredibly dangerous when the ground is icy.
“Our initiative aims to highlight these and other challenges associated with winter, and the positive benefits that addressing these challenges can bring.”
