How important is sealing up your loading dock? When warehouse managers talk about the challenges they face in keeping the products they ship and receive in excellent condition, there are four problems that regularly come up in conversion. These are:
- Heat/Cold loss
- Pests
- Moisture
- Dirt
Sealing up Your Loading Dock against Threats
Insects and the elements will eventually invade any building with doors or windows, but a building where large doors are opening and closing all day long and trucks back up to those doors spewing exhaust and offloading product will have a bigger problem than most. At Beuschel Sales we understand that. Many of our customers are companies in the food industry, so we are well aware of the importance of maintaining a clean, dry, temperature stable, and pest-free environment in your warehouse or facility. Here are a few tips on how to seal up your loading dock.
Choosing the Right Dock Doors
The most important thing is to have the right kind of doors for your facility installed and in good working condition. If your doors aren’t ideal or, worse, if they’re broken or in poor repair, it doesn’t matter what you do about the dock door seals because the doors themselves will let in the outdoors.
If you have already invested in quality dock doors, then you need to be concerned about the seals around those doors. Beuschel Sales sells equipment that protects workers and product while it’s being loaded or unloaded from trucks, but any warehouse will have open doors at some point while the building is in use. It’s when these doors are closed that is the concern, specifically what can get in through the leaks or small holes in the dock. For this you will need to seal the gaps around your dock leveling equipment and underneath it.
The Energy Guard dock sealing and rodent prevention system Beuschel sells effectively provides a superior perimeter seal along the sides and rear of the dock level and prevents dirt and grime from collecting and pests from entering the area. This system’s innovative design closes off the gaps between the leveler and the concrete pit walls that traditional weather seals or under-leveler seals miss. And perhaps most importantly, the Energy Guard keeps heat or cold air from escaping your facility or from entering from outside. Heating or cooling a large facility is an enormous expense, so investing in efficiency measures will save your business money in the long term.
If you would like to discuss energy saving measures you could implement to save energy and product in your warehouse, please contact Beuschel Sales today. We would be happy to discuss solutions with you anytime.