When Dane moved into our new facility back in 2021 it gave us room to grow for many years ahead. As demand for our contract manufacturing services have grown, portions of our campus have needed improvements for operational efficiency and for safety. The recently completed upgrade of our shipping docks improves the working conditions for our employees and provide safety measures to improve our shipping operation.
While our previous docks served the facility well for a long time, the manual dock system lacked modern safety features and also caused back and shoulder strain to employees. Additionally, when the previous 5 docks were built, semi-trailers were smaller, which created challenges accommodating the size of trailers today. For our team and our shipping partners to serve our customers with excellence, we needed an upgrade.
What commenced was a lengthy project to modernize and improve our shipping bays. The previously manual dock system now operates through a hydraulic system that only a requires a push of a button to be lowered or raised. They also include important safety measures. Trailer locks serve as a safety measure to prevent trailers from moving during loading and unloading and replace the traditional wheel chocks and sensors immediately stop operations when a person is detected within the area.
We also increased the size of each bay, adding width to accommodate today’s larger trailers. Each bay also extends deeper than before which allows employees to stay dry and protected from the weather, while the trucks remain secure. The new interior doors together with the newly installed dock lock systems and red-light/green-light signaling technology enhance security while also improving communication between drivers and loading/unloading personnel.
Dane’s dock upgrades provide important operational efficiencies while addressing important safety considerations as we continue to pursue long-term growth in support of our valued customers.
