Softly does it
October 1st 2009 Hörmann says safety and productivity in the
loading bay go hand in hand – and can
deliver bottom line benefits too...
According to the Health and Safety Executive, 61% of fatal
injuries to workers and 58% of major injuries in recent
years have been caused by workers either falling from a
height; being struck by a moving vehicle or being struck by a
moving or falling object, in fact these were the most common
reasons for all workplace injuries and fatalities.
"These are quite staggering statistics and, of course, very
worrying for the warehouse and loading bay environment where
heavy loads are being transported and moved from vehicles and
by definition are potentially dangerous places," says Alan Jenkins,
commercial director of Hörmann UK's Industrial Division.
"Much has been done in recent years to develop the safest
possible technology to minimise incidents and accidents and
Hormann has been at the forefront of that technology."
For example, Hörmann claims its High Speed SoftEdge door is
both extremely safe and cost effective: As well as having a soft
edge the roller door has also has an integral anti-crash system –
increasing personnel protection and reducing the potential for
damage and therefore downtime and repair costs. Additionally,
the soft edge enables rapid opening and closing speeds meaning
that heat loss and drafts in the working environment are
noticeably reduced. In the horizontal direction the multichamber,
rib-reinforced profile ensures a high degree of stability.
Wind pressures of up to 30 km/h pose no problem.
Wheelblocker,marking and collaboration
Hormann's latest safety feature is its new Wheelblocker which
lock the vehicle to the loading bay whileloading is taking place.
This helps avoid truck drive-aways trailer creep, and the resulting
forklift accidents that can occur. The Wheelblocker only releases
the trailer when the loading/unloading process is complete.
Other types of accidents involving loading bays can be avoided
by the use of markings or wheel guides being in place to aid the
vehicle driver when parking.
"In the past dock levelers have been known to collapse and the
cause has usually been due to the loading medium being in
excess of the rated capacity of the dock leveler," adds Jenkins.
"This is why it is important for users to work closely with the
manufacturers to ensure that the dock leveler requirement is
specified to suit the client's specific operation."
ASDA la vista, heat loss
Charged with helping ASDA produce a low
energy solution to storage and distribution,
Hörmann has installed 14 High Speed
Insulated Spiral Doors at ASDA's newly built
30,000 square metre warehouse and
distribution centre in Didcot
The new spiral doors will compliment the
57 Hörmann loading bays with 1000mm long
telescopic lip dock levelers, full panoramic
vision panels in the loading bay doors,
Hörmann's self adjusting dock buffers and
another new product to Hörmann, the wheellock
system which locks a vehicle to the bay
whilst loading is taking place.
The High Speed Spiral door – HSS, is a relatively new product and is now offered with
insulated panels and colour coated. It operates as a high speed door with up to 3m/s opening
but has the advantages of being insulated and offering security when closed. Hörmann says it
therefore provides all the benefits that would normally require two traditional doors; a curtain
fabric door fast acting in the day, insulated sectional for
night security into one. More articles from Hormann UK Ltd: | 
