5 Tips To Keep Your Loading Dock System Operational in Metairie, LA

If you happen to be living in Metairie, LA and witnessing a gigantic truck backing into a warehouse, are you puzzled what goes on at the back of the scenes? The garage door-like enclosure beneath the warehouse is known as a loading dock, and it’s an adequate way to ensure that large freight trucks get loaded and unloaded efficiently. A loading dock is a recessed bay in a freight terminal or warehouse that permits for protected and competent loading and unloading of trucks.

Successful businesses established a strong prestige with their clients by delivering products on location, and on time. So that to inevitably happen, you need an efficient shipping system with regularly maintained equipment. Here are five tips to keep your loading dock system operational:

Tip No.1: Grease the Components

The same thing with all engines, dock equipment, and components need oil to maintain them running smoothly. Their specific parts are continually in motion throughout the day and by lubricating the pivot joints and hinge tubes, it prohibits them from corrosion.

Tip No.2: Let Everything in Organized Manner

Dock levelers are situated in a high-traffic area, notably if your business waits on shipping and receiving products. Such a busy place simply means that your dock leveler is more likely to gather dirt, debris, and rubbish. A dirty dock leveler pit hampers working parts decelerates its movement and corrodes its joints.

Tip No.3: Assess Performance

Rather than observing how the dock leveler functions while workers are utilizing it, it’s imperative to test the functionality without such an aberration. 

Tip No.4: Find out Fluid Levels on Hydraulic Dock Levelers

Hydraulic dock leveler runs on hydraulic fluid, which in turn is the medium of power transferred in hydraulic machinery. Low fluid levels cause it to decelerate and breakdown to maintain its maximum weight capacity. It’s strenuous to observe unless explicitly verifying its level. A well-trained and experienced professional should perform dock leveler repair, dock leveler maintenance, clean, flush, and change the hydraulic oil annually.

Tip No.5: Monitor Productivity Movements & Missed Delivery Dates

An inefficient loading area leads to a decline in productivity and a hike in billable hours. Target dates are inflexible or missed with an erratic workflow, and even more, money is wasted by potentially paying overtime hours to meet them. Reading between the lines of your delivery trends and itinerary, instead of the typical number-crunching, can improve your company’s productivity and keep an equilibrium labor cost.

It is also important to note that during maintenance, establishing safety precautions is a must. The most effective safety measure to observe during this time is the lockout/tag-out procedure to ensure safety at all times. 

To further ease your worry, loading ramp and dock leveler repair Metairie LA, and dock leveler Metairie LA here in Overhead Door Company of New Orleans has factory-trained service technicians that are very well-versed with loading docks and all its different parts especially the dock levelers and how to maintain them. 

Give us a call at 504-822-0345, or through our contact us page, Overhead Door Company of NOLA’s commercial division has the products and services to create the safest and most efficient dock and warehouse possible whether you are retrofitting a replacement door or starting from scratch in a new building. 

Being your One-Stop-Shop for commercial door and loading dock equipment includes 24/7 parts and service:  

·         Full fleet of service and installation trucks

·         Fully stocked warehouse/OEM Parts and Accessories

·         Planned Maintenance Program

·         Team of factory trained /fully qualified service technicians - some with over 25 years of experience

·         Team of knowledgeable coordinators to take your call

·         Turnkey system installations/dock remodeling for New Construction, Turnkey Solutions, and 

·         Remodeling

Dock Design

·         Maximizing productivity, safety, and value starts with intelligent loading dock design 

·         Critical design details

·         Taking time to plan pays dividends

You can make service request, or visit us personally at our service areas: New Orleans, Metairie, Slidell, Belle Chasse, Kenner, Northshore, Hammond, Covington, Mandeville, Laplace, Houma, Thibodaux, River Region, Ponchatoula, Harvey, Marrero, Gretna, Destrehan, St. Rose, Reserve, and Abita.