Hello all, thanks for joining us here at Warehouse and Operations as a Career, I\u2019m Marty and I thought we\u2019d talk about a few things today that are sometimes overlooked, or maybe its just things we don\u2019t realize are so important. First up I want to mention wheel chocks. If you\u2019re not familiar with a wheel chock, or a big block of, how do I describe it, I guess most of them are shaped like a wedge, usually made of a hard rubber that\u2019s placed in front of the real wheels of a trailer that\u2019s backed up against our loading docks. Their purpose is to keep the trailer from creeping, or rolling forward when we\u2019re working inside it or driving equipment in and out of it. Their important and required to be in place! Wheel chocks are actually mentioned within the OSHA standard 29CFR1910.178.
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\n1910.178(k)(1) reads
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\nThe brakes of highway trucks shall be set and wheel chocks placed under the rear wheels to prevent the trucks from rolling while they are boarded with powered industrial trucks.
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\nLast week I was talking with a young gentleman, an unloader for a third party company that was telling me how his facility utilized a trailer dock locking system and he didn\u2019t understand why they had wheel chocks outside. He explained that someone was supposed to check the yard every so often and make sure the drivers we\u2019re using them.
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\nI\u2019ve worked around 3 or 4 different types of dock locks, some of them being really cool and pretty high tech. I\u2019ve used one system that before the dock plate could even be raised, the dock door had to be open to a particular height that actually had a laser sensor to confirm it was clear. Once that was confirmed the system would check that the lock had been engaged and had secured the ICC bar on the trailer. If your not familiar with a ICC bar or DOT bar, I\u2019ve also seen them referred to as a rabbit bar. They go by many names, I guess. Anyway in 1953 the Interstate Commerce Commission mandated their use on trailers to prevent under riding or a car being able to run up under the rear of a trailer. They make perfect latch points for dock locking systems. So yes, dock locking systems are great tools. They can also help prevent a driver mistakenly pulling away from the dock before everyone and our equipment have cleared the trailer. Their flaw, in my experience, is that they can be over road or disabled. Sometimes for legitimate reasons but sometimes because they can be a nuisance to us. If our light system is malfunctioning or the locking mechanism is not working properly anyone with a key can disable them. I\u2019m straying off topic a little but the short answer is yes, our dock locks are great. But I always rely on wheel chocks as well, and you should too. It's an inexpensive tool that just adds to our safety and in many instances it\u2019s the standard, rule or law, whatever you want to call it. If your facility\u2019s written program states that they are being used, use them. Always. And for every load. I always confirm a trailer is chocked before I\u2019ll even open its door. If our facility does not have a dock locking system, well, the question is mute, you must use them. As an employee don\u2019t rely on someone else to confirm it for you, check it out before you raise the door. And if you\u2019re a supervisor you need to have a written procedure for their use, documentation that everyone knows the process and some sort of a check point in place to protect you associates. If you\u2019ve ever dropped a pallet jack or forklift to the ground or seen a trailer pull away from the dock with a piece of equipment or an employee inside it you know what I\u2019m talking about. It\u2019s not a good gut feeling when it happens.
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\nAnother tool that more and more buildings are using are glad hand locks or air brake locks. Their actual purpose is to help prevent a driver, or the wrong driver, from pulling a trailer out before we\u2019re finished working it.