Loading Dock Safety for Drivers and Dock Crews

Loading dock safety is a routine that two groups of people share: the driver who brings the trailer and the crew who load it. When both follow the same steps every time, the dock is a calm place. When one skips a step, a trailer can roll away, a forklift can fall off the edge, or someone can be crushed between the truck and the wall. This guide gives the full routine, from the yard gate to pulling out.

Your employer's rules and the safety law where you work come first. Where this page and your site rules differ, follow your site rules and ask your supervisor.

Why docks hurt people

A dock is a busy place with heavy things moving close to people. Several dangers meet at the same spot:

A trailer that moves when it should be still.
A forklift crossing a gap between the dock and the trailer.
A raised edge, a gap or a drop of more than a metre.
Drivers who cannot see behind them.
People walking through the work area.
Pressure to be fast.

Most dock injuries come from a few repeated events: a trailer leaves or creeps, a forklift drops off the edge, someone is hit while a truck backs, or a worker hurts their back lifting. Each one has a simple habit that prevents it. The rest of this page is those habits.

Yard rules: speed, routes and right of way

The yard is not a road. Drive slowly, with lights on, and watch for people on foot. Use the marked route. Many yards post a speed limit; follow it and, when in doubt, go slower than the sign.

Basic yard habits:

Check in at the gate or office and ask which door is yours.
Follow one way signs and painted lines.
Give way to people on foot and to forklifts. They are harder to see and to stop.
Do not park in a way that blocks a lane, a fire route or another trailer.
Switch off phones and distractions while you drive in the yard.
Keep your mirrors clean and check them before you move.

A yard with visitors, drivers and workers on foot needs clear rules. If you are a supervisor, put them on a sign near the gate in short plain words and in the languages your drivers use.

Backing into a door with a spotter and marked lines

Backing is the hardest move a driver does at a dock. You cannot see the door, the people or the edge from the cab. Use help.

Steps:

Stop and look at the whole area. Where are the people, the forklifts, the other trailers?
Set up your approach so the trailer ends in a straight line to the door. A good set up needs more room, not less.
Ask a spotter to stand where you can see them in your mirror, to the side, never behind the trailer.
Agree on hand signals before you move. Stop is a raised hand or two crossed arms. If you lose sight of the spotter, you stop.
Back slowly, using the marked lines or guide posts. Use short moves. Get out and look if you are unsure.
Stop when the trailer is close to the dock bumpers. Do not hit them.

Learn the full steps in how to back into a dock door with a spotter.

Say you are backing into door 7 and the spotter steps out of view. You stop, set the brakes and wait. You do not guess where they are. This one habit prevents the worst accident a dock can have.

Chocks, dock locks and trailer creep

When a trailer is at the door and being loaded, it must not move. There are two protections, and most good docks use both.

Wheel chocks: wedges that sit against the tyres of the trailer wheels, on the ground.
Dock locks (vehicle restraints): a hook that grips the trailer's rear bar, called the ICC bar. Many are linked to a light system.

Why both? A trailer can move in two ways. It can creep: the pressure of a forklift driving in and out, braking and accelerating, pushes the trailer slowly away from the dock. Or it can leave early: the driver, who has not been told the loading is not finished, drives off while a forklift is in the trailer.

The routine:

Driver sets the parking brake and shuts off the engine, as the site rules say.
Chock the wheels, or check the dock lock has engaged.
Keep the keys with the driver or in the place the site says, so no one else moves the truck.
Check the light signal or say the door is ready.
Only then open the trailer doors and start loading.

When the loading is done: remove the lock or chock only after the dock crew says the trailer is clear. See how to stop trailer creep at the dock for ways to catch a trailer that is moving.

Landing gear (the legs under a trailer that has no tractor) must be set and sound, as well, and a trailer that is not coupled should not sit on a soft surface that can sink.

Levelers, dock plates and the edge

The gap between the dock and the trailer floor is bridged by a dock leveler (built into the dock) or a dock plate (a loose steel or aluminium board). The leveler must sit flat on the trailer floor, with enough overlap at both ends. The plate must not slide when a forklift crosses.

Before the first pallet crosses, check:

The plate or leveler is clean and undamaged. No bent lips, no cracks.
It rests firmly on the trailer bed with the lip well on the floor, not on the edge of it.
The trailer floor can carry the forklift. Look for soft or broken boards and weak spots.
The trailer height matches the dock height closely. If the trailer sits much higher or lower, tell a supervisor.
Warning edges and floor markings are visible.

A forklift that falls off the side of the dock or a plate is a serious event, and almost always a case of a missed check. A driver who watched the trailer floor flex and said nothing would feel the same. Say something.

If the trailer is not at the door, nobody should cross the open edge. Use gates, chains or barriers to close open dock doors when there is no trailer.

Lights and signals between driver and dock

Many docks use a pair of lights, red and green. One set faces the yard (for the driver) and one faces the dock (for the crew).

A common meaning, which your site may set differently:

Red outside: do not move. The trailer is locked or being loaded.
Green outside: the trailer is released. The driver may go.
Red inside: do not enter the trailer, it is not locked.
Green inside: the trailer is locked, you can load.

Because the meaning can change from site to site, learn the system at every new dock. Ask. If a light does not work or you are unsure, do not guess: use a radio, a phone, a hand signal or walk to the office. Never move because "it looks quiet".

Never override a restraint system to save time. If it faults, call a supervisor and use the site's backup method, such as chocks and a stop sign at the cab.

Forklifts and pedestrians

Forklifts are heavy, they turn on the back wheels and the driver's view can be blocked by the load. People walking near them are at risk.

For pedestrians, including drivers:

Use marked walkways, and stay out of the forklift lanes.
Make eye contact with the operator before you cross. A wave or nod is a clear sign that they have seen you.
Do not walk behind a reversing forklift.
Wear the high visibility clothing and shoes the site asks for.
Never stand under a raised load.

For forklift operators:

Travel with forks low.
Slow down at corners, doors and trailers.
Sound the horn at blind corners.
Do not carry passengers.
Stop and check if a person is in your way.

There is more detail in working safely around forklifts on the dock. Forklift operators need training and authorisation to drive. The authority that sets the rule depends on the country.

Pallet jacks, liftgates and lifting without injury

Not all loading is done by a forklift. Hand pallet jacks and liftgates cause many strains and crush injuries.

Hand pallet jack habits:

Check the load is stable and balanced before you move.
Pull when you go forward on a flat surface and push only when it is safer. Keep your feet clear of the wheels.
Do not use a jack on a steep slope.
Park it with the handle upright and out of the walkway.

Liftgate habits:

Keep hands and feet away from the edge when it moves.
Do not stand on a liftgate while it goes up or down unless the design allows it.
Keep the load centred on the platform.
Check the area below before lowering.

Lifting by hand:

Keep the load close to the body.
Bend your knees, not just your back.
Do not twist while carrying.
Ask for help or use a device when something is heavy or awkward.

What counts as too heavy is set by your employer or the law where you work.

Staging, scanning and discrepancies

Safety also depends on order. A dock full of freight left in the walkway is a dock where someone trips.

Stage freight in marked areas, not in the aisles or near the door edge.
Keep pallets squarely stacked, and do not stack beyond what the rack or the load allows.
Scan or check each pallet against the paperwork as you load or unload.
If the count does not match the paper, stop and tell the supervisor. Do not "fix" it by moving pieces around.
Report damaged pallets, leaking packages and anything that looks wrong. Write it on the paperwork. See our bill of lading guide for how that helps in a claim.

A driver who checks the count and the condition at the door protects the crew and the company at the same time.

Near misses and visitors

A near miss is an event that did not hurt anyone but could have. The forklift that stopped a metre from a worker. The trailer that moved a little. These are the cheapest lessons you will get. Report them, even if nothing was damaged. A report that leads to a new mirror or a fixed light can prevent a real injury.

Visitors, such as drivers who have never been to the site, need extra care:

Give them a short briefing: where to walk, where to wait, what the lights mean.
Do not let them wander through the work area.
Make them wear high visibility clothing.
Keep the driver waiting room away from the dock floor.

Common mistakes

Skipping the chocks because the dock has a lock. Locks fail, and chocks are cheap.
Releasing a trailer before the forklift has left it. Check, then release.
Backing without a spotter, or without seeing them.
Crossing with a forklift over a plate you did not look at.
Standing behind a reversing forklift or truck.
Not reporting a near miss.
Leaving freight in the walkway.
Guessing what a light means.

Questions people ask

Do I need chocks if the dock has a vehicle restraint?

Follow your site rule. Many sites use both because a restraint can fail, may not suit every trailer, or may not be working. If the restraint is faulty, use chocks and tell a supervisor.

Who is responsible for placing the chocks, the driver or the dock?

It depends on the site. Some require the driver, others the dock crew. Whoever does it, you can check it before you start. Ask at each new site.

What should I do if a trailer moves while a forklift is inside?

Stop the forklift, move away from the edge and call a supervisor. Do not run onto a moving trailer. Follow the site emergency plan.

Keep the load close, bend your knees, avoid twisting and use a device or a helper for heavy items. Your employer may have limits for what one person lifts.

Who sets the rules for dock safety?

Safety law and workplace rules differ by country and site. Your employer and the workplace safety authority where you work set them. Your supervisor can tell you which rules apply.

Learn this in five minutes

The track "Chocks, Locks and Levelers" teaches you to use wheel chocks and dock locks every time, check dock plates and levelers before the first pallet crosses, prevent trailer creep and early departure, signal clearly between driver and dock, and keep edges, doors and floors clear. Each lesson takes five minutes, so a whole crew can go through one in a break.