Whether you run a manufacturing operation, retail outlet, or warehouse, a well-planned and designed loading dock (new or modified) can provide your business with several advantages.
Among your potential benefits are:
- Improved labor productivity and equipment performance
- Enhanced safety
- Improved environmental control and energy savings
- Lower construction costs
- Lower operational costs
The key to achieving these benefits is early planning in the dock design process. This is especially true for docks affected by any surrounding property restrictions, unusually shaped buildings or structures, as well as facilities in older urban areas where space for truck maneuverability is at a premium.
Following is a look at several dock design considerations that could potentially end up being serious pitfalls and why they’re so important to address early in your planning process.
The four most critical and universal considerations you must pay careful attention to — regardless if your facility is large or small — are centerlines, apron space, dock height, and severe declines.
Beyond just the dock itself, centerlines and apron space especially will impact the entire transportation pattern and maneuverability capability around your warehouse or DC facility.
Centerlines
Whether trucks are approaching your loading dock in a clockwise or counterclockwise manner, you need to take into consideration your centerlines between dock doors. Correctly spaced centerlines can make a dramatic difference in how efficiently your facility functions on a daily basis.
At a minimum, your door centerlines should be 12 feet apart, and no less.
If you try to squeeze more dock positions in with centerlines that are too close together, you’ll decrease your overall level of efficiency because it will take trucks longer to maneuver into space. As a result, whatever gains in efficiency that you may pick up with more docks, you’ll lessen with less maneuverability trying to squeeze trucks in.
Remember too that as centerlines increase, the amount of apron space required will decrease. For example:
- 13-foot centerlines require 131 feet of apron space
- 14-foot centerlines require 128 feet of apron space
- 16-foot centerlines require 125 feet of apron space
- 18-foot centerlines require 123 feet of apron space
Also, even though 12-foot centerlines are recommended (at a minimum), it’s better to have 14-foot centerlines if trailer doors will be opened at the dock. That ensures the doors will clear an adjacent trailer parked on either side.
Apron Space
Apron space is essentially the measured distance from your dock doors to the point where your trucks need to maneuver properly and safely. Maneuverability is your most important concern when it comes to apron space.
For instance, a short apron space that’s limited by a fence that’s less than 60 to 70 feet away from your dock doors is going to seriously hinder maneuverability.
Instead, with dock door centerlines at a 12-foot minimum, you’ll ideally need 135 feet of apron space to optimize truck maneuverability.
Of course, dock apron space can sometimes be at a premium, such as in older urban areas in the northeast U.S. where large amounts of space may not be available. You’ll obviously have to make do with the amount of space that you have. And too, for facilities that receive smaller trucks, the amount of required apron space won’t be as big of an issue and can be an advantage for some facilities.
For facilities with tight apron space availability, sawtooth dock design is an ideal alternative.
A sawtooth dock essentially stretches out the apron space with trailers each backed in at an angle (15, 30, 45, or 60 degrees) versus each trailer backed in at 90 degrees to a facility. And depending on the combination of door centerlines and sawtooth angles used, apron space requirements will vary. The farther apart the centerline and more extreme the angle, the less apron space is needed.
A sawtooth dock design is also beneficial when you’re confronted by the restrictions of the property around a facility.
Dock Heights and Severe Declines
Incorrect dock height, along with severe declines in front of dock doors, can cause serious issues. This is especially true for non-warehouse or DC applications or when novice design resources are involved that might not be aware of such ramifications,
Besides, designing too much of a decline into a building can also cause unforeseen problems that early dock planning can help to avoid.
Take, for example, a retail operation such as a supermarket that has a front entrance finished floor at grade for easy customer access. On the rear of the building at the loading dock, however, there are severe declines in front of the dock doors to ensure that trailers will meet the finished floor level of the building.
On a steep decline like that, the top of the trailer will be closer to the dock opening than the bottom. Trailers can then impact the building causing a whole new set of problems.
Keep in mind too, a severe decline at the dock might be a necessity from a building design standpoint. But many times, such declines are simply an oversight.
Getting the experts at Serco involved early in your dock planning process will help you address any critical issues like this from the start, especially if you find out that you really do need a severe decline built into your plan. As a result, Serco has a solution for that and can design a cantilevered pit that will bring the leveler out further from the wall of the building.
Reach out to Serco early in the process
If constructing a new loading dock is on your horizon, or if you need to modify an existing loading dock to increase efficiency and safety, we encourage you to reach out to Serco here first, email us at serco@4frontes.com or call us at 800-933-4834.
We’ll work with you on your loading dock planning and design to ensure that you avoid the most common pitfalls on such projects.
Always remember, it’s much better to identify any potential problems or issues now rather than later when construction is complete. That way you’ll avoid regretting not tapping into the right level of dock planning and design expertise early in the process.