W.E. Carlson—Loading Dock Design & Planning: 35 Years of Dock Designing Expertise

Loading Dock Design

Don't depend on yesterday's design to meet tomorrow's needs.

Bring a dock expert into your planning and building process.

Effective dock planning requires an eye to the future. Your docks must meet today's needs, but be flexible enough to accommodate changes in the trucking and material handling industry. Industry developments—such as air-ride suspensions, high cube trailers and Just-In-Time manufacturing and warehousing—have made previous "cookie-cutter" dock designs obsolete. W.E. Carlson has been working with architects, contractors and end users for more than 38 years, staying on top of evolving trends to assure the best dock design solutions for our customers.

What does a W.E. Carlson-designed dock take into consideration?

Dock Safety: The trucking and warehousing industry has the second-highest accident rate among all industries. Many accidents can be avoided with proper dock safety planning, including recycling vehicle restraints and leveler safety stops.

Truck Access: Well-planned access roads can handle the weight of loaded trailers, minimize the chance of accidents and reduce conflict between pedestrian and employee vehicle traffic.

Rail Access: Will your dock be flush, platform or inside rail? What state or local codes should you consider first?

Dock Location: If your facility practices just-in-time manufacturing, dock location is critical. Regardless, location depends on trailer capacity, the slope of the dock approach, facility efficiency, tractor/trailer maneuverability, heating & cooling issues and more.

Dock Type & Height: Whether your building is placed “on grade,” where the driveway is depressed to create the proper dock height, or your dock will have a level approach, we can identify how to avoid damage to your building wall due to trailer impact.

Dock Leveler Size & Capacity: Problems arise when dock levelers are too short, or not wide enough to service a variety of different sized trucks. Dock leveler capacity should be based on greatest impact force to which the leveler will be subjected.

Door Size: What size door will service the largest variety of trucks? How does a decline approach affect door size?

Total Dock Environment: Seals and shelters reduce energy loss and protect employees and product from the elements, door guards keep potential forklift damage to a minimum. A good, comprehensive dock design can extend the life of your equipment, increase productivity, reduce accidents and ultimately increase profitability.

Common mistakes are costly mistakes. Docks designed by the experts at W.E. Carlson Corporation are in it for the long haul. For more information, contact Dan Dumelle at 847.640.0011 or via e-mail at ddumelle@wecarlson.com.

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