Don't Overlook Loading Dock Ramp Design

Why is loading dock ramp design so important? Because mistakes in dock design and equipment choices have costly consequences that ripple throughout the supply chain, says Walt Swietlik of the Rite-Hite Corporation. Swietlik calls a loading dock the Material Transfer Zone (MTZ), where critical exchanges of raw materials and finished goods take place. MTZ productivity stems largely from intelligent facility design and proper loading dock equipment selection, he says. This includes choosing the right loading dock ramp design for your company. Here is what business logistics managers need to consider when it comes to MTZ, according to Swietlik:

• Dock positioning and design issues
• The interaction between material handling vehicles and loads
• Safety initiatives
• How these decisions can significantly reduce the potential for product damage within the MTZ
• Factor in the MTZ when making decisions about building layout, transportation, storage, material flow schemes, and trailer, pallet, or load configurations
• Consider the time it takes to load and unload trailers at the dock. It’s an area that many companies have historically overlooked. But successful companies recognize that load/unload time as a key measurement of productivity. The bottom line is that better load/unload times translate into better overall productivity at virtually any facility.

Loading dock ramp design can help with the MTZ, especially in Swietlik's last example of time-saving during the loading and unloading at a dock for better productivity.