Loading bay doors - Selection matters

The HSE has documented that loading bay areas are among the most dangerous for workplace operations, with fork lift trucks, heavy goods vehicles and long goods vehicles all in use. Operating in a world that continually demands shorter delivery lead times takes its toll; accidents inevitably happen. But what can you do to safe guard against avoidable incidents and improve your loading bay efficiency?

Doors

There are a wide variety on offer to suit different applications and budgets: Roller shutter, folding, high-speed versions, but what advantages do modern designs offer over more traditional styles?

The cost of a high speed spiral door maybe initially more expensive, but once considered in the round, this capital investment can soon become an asset. Improved door opening speeds can significantly reduce energy costs since the desired temperature – whether purposefully warmed or chilled – is maintained as a result of the fast opening and closing door speeds. Speeds of up to 4m/sec ensure the loss stays low; you permanently save on energy costs. Examples of saving 4600L of heating oil per heating period are not uncommon. 

Couple opening and closing speeds with thermal insulation of the door’s laths for even greater energy efficiencies. Efaflex provides thermally insulated laths for its spiral range, the EFA-SST. The laths achieve outstanding heat insulation between 0.66 and 1.52W/m²K making them suitable for closing off large halls and loading bays.

Where high volumes of people, plant and machinery meet, incidents can occur but a well-designed loading bay can help mitigate these risks. Improving visibility and line of sight for the vehicle operative is a consideration. High-speed doors manufactured with crystal clear acrylic glass can be 70% transparent. This not only provides the vehicle operative with improved visibility, a clear line of sight either side of the loading bay door, but also enables natural daylight to enter the immediate area for improved staff well-being and reduced lighting costs. 

The door design itself is worthy of scrutiny. Traditional roller shutters when drawn up in the door open position, roll onto themselves with contact and wear. This is not so in the Efaflex EFA-STT where the door blade is held apart in the patented contactless spiral design, ensuring next to no wear. As a result, the entire door retains its appearance even in harshest working conditions.

Maintenance and service costs of the door should also be taken into account when considering the whole life costs of the investment. The quality, engineering and longevity of high speed doors do differ. At the research stage of your planning it’s key to study load cycles, that’s the opening and closing of the door blades that is achievable between service intervals. Some of the highest quality doors are capable of up to 250,000 cycles per year. Clearly that lowers the overall annual operational cost of the high- speed door and reduces the number of service and maintenance visits required which in turn minimises down time. 

The above are just some of the advances in loading bay door technology designed to help drive energy efficiencies, reduce operational cost and improve safety. Every application is unique with its own set of considerations. The purchasing choice is important but look beyond the initial installation cost and consider the investment a long term asset to the business.