The Protective Guarding Manufacturers Association (ProGMA), a product group within trade association Material Handling Industry (MHI), is promoting the third in a series of educational videos about preventing accidents and injuries at loading docks. The videos can be seen at mhi.org/progma/videos.
Following 'Essential Safety Barriers for Automated / Robotic Workcells' and 'Proper Safeguarding for Elevated Work Platforms', the latest video titled, 'Prevent Accidents and Injuries Near Loading Docks / Doors', focuses on the busiest and most dangerous area of a facility. The 2:05min-long video provides a visual interpretation of a busy, working loading dock, highlighting the inherent hazards involved with the fast-moving environment.
Ray Niemeyer, chairman of ProGMA and director of business development at SpaceGuard Products, said: "The loading dock is the most active area of any facility; if a company isn't shipping and receiving product, it isn't making money. It is here where personnel either on foot or riding powered operated equipment can find themselves in dangerous situations, unless proper protective guarding and safety equipment are installed. Buildings and product can also be damaged."
The video starts with an alarming statistic that 42% of forklift accidents involve workers getting pinned by vehicles tipping over. It also states that a single forklift accident can lead to $100,000+ in related costs. The animation goes on to address the potential for employees, products, or moving equipment to fall off the dock at an unprotected door. ProGMA members offer safety gates, mesh door netting, bumpers, bollards, guardrails, truck wheel guides, truck driver cages, and other products that keep personnel and product safe, directly contributing to a company's bottom line.
ProGMA hopes floor managers, health and safety managers, upper management, and shift workers will gain knowledge through the visual content. In just over two minutes, the video successfully walks target audiences through the entire loading dock environment, from outside spaces where larger trucks maneuver in tight areas, to the bustling aisles and traffic ways of a typical high-traveled loading dock-and everything in between.
Niemeyer said: "The causes, severity, and types of potential accident are varied. Worker safety and protective guarding equipment should not be seen as a cost but an investment that not only ensures people go home to their families at night but also reduces cost in the yearly maintenance budget, particularly when it is designed into a facility from the outset. Be mindful that management and co-workers are left to deal with the immediate and long-term impact of a lost time accident, whilst hoping that the injured employee can return to health and their position of employment."
There are many different types of loading dock across the U.S., depending on the kind of business activity and a building's operational function. There may be 200 loading docks at a single site, for example. Warehousing and distribution sites will have a higher percentage of loading docks on multiple sides of a building, while a manufacturing facility might have fewer docks with a greater spread across a site to facilitate in and outbound shipments.
Niemeyer concluded: "The videos are being well received by industry employees, managers, health and safety personnel, and insurance companies. They provide a real life overview of the various areas of a company's operation, inside and out, where guarding and protective barriers should be considered for protecting employees and the building from costly accidents and facility damage."
About ProGMA
The Protective Guarding Manufacturers Association (ProGMA) members are the industry's leading suppliers of fixed protective guarding products designed to protect personnel, equipment, and inventory in industrial facilities. Member companies meet regularly to review, discuss, and revise the standards for design and performance of protective guarding products used in the material handling industry. ProGMA member companies are committed to the development, maintenance, and publishing of industry standard specifications for these systems. Visit the website at
mhi.org/progma.
About MHI
MHI is an international trade association that has represented the industry since 1945. MHI members include material handling, logistics and supply chain equipment and systems manufacturers, integrators, consultants, publishers, and third-party logistics providers. Much of the work of the industry is done within its product- and solution-specific groups. The association also sponsors trade events, such as ProMat and MODEX to showcase the products and services of its member companies and to education industry professionals on the productivity solutions provided through material handling and logistics.
For more information on the ProGMA Industry Group, please contact Anupam Berry Bose at abose@mhi.org or 704-676-1190.