Equipment Upgrades

27-Oct-2020

TIME TO UPGRADE YOUR DOCK OR DOOR EQUIPMENT? HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO CONSIDER . . . 

Time always has a way of dictating business decisions. The same holds true when faced with the decision to upgrade your facility dock and/or door equipment.

Any equipment that’s subject to ongoing wear will eventually need to be replaced. And while your equipment is enduring years of normal use and operation (and even some abuse at times), equipment suppliers are busy on their end improving equipment design and performance to better meet their customers’ needs.

So why should you consider upgrading your equipment in the first place? And when is the best time to undergo such an evaluation? Also, which warning signs, safety, or obsolescence issues should you be on the lookout for?

Safety and efficiency are always paramount

When considering upgrading dock or door equipment, your two most important considerations are safety and efficiency. All of APS Resource’s product upgrades are designed to improve on both of those issues at the lowest possible cost to the end-user.

Each piece of equipment in your warehouse or DC facility will show unique signs of wear over time. A well-trained eye will be able to spot those signs and know how to consider fixing any issues.

Unfortunately, in-house experts are hard to come by when looking for signs of wear and damage in your facility. APS Resource’s factory-trained distributors are experts at spotting areas of concern and offering the best solution for each unique challenge.

Understanding your goals and needs

The best way for APS Resource to provide offerings and solutions for your company is to clearly understand your goals and needs. Once those are understood, the next step is a site survey/inspection. APS Resource factory-trained distributors are also experts at matching the appropriate product with each of your company’s unique concerns and needs.

In every case, a product upgrade should improve your business concerns. Following are some key examples:

Doors

Doors are prone to damage from forklifts and pallets along the bottom panel. A FLEX-BACK™ Panel upgrade to the door will prevent costly repairs and downtime needed when a door panel is severely damaged.

LED lighting

With LED lighting, the increased brightness from the bulb allows employees to see more clearly and increases their safety when operating equipment such as a forklift. On the efficiency side, the longer lifespan of an LED bulb means you’ll have lower energy costs and fewer purchases for replacement bulbs. Overall, LED lighting upgrades pay for themselves rather quickly. The initial investment in a more expensive bulb is offset by the energy savings within three years.

Dock levelers

Upgrades to a dock leveler’s operating mechanism can greatly improve efficiency at the dock door allowing more materials to be loaded and unloaded. APS Resource offers HTC and ATC conversion kits for dock levelers. Both hydraulic and air-powered dock levelers can deploy more quickly into a truck and also provide reduced service costs over the leveler’s lifespan.

Also, Energy Guard® is another product that pays itself off through energy savings. By reducing the lost heating/cooling at dock levelers (and doors), you’ll see a return on your investment within five years.

Each season presents its own unique challenges

The ideal time to begin considering an upgrade to dock or door equipment depends on the season of the year, especially winter and summer when extreme weather conditions and temps are at their worst.

Each season presents its own set of unique challenges for warehouses and DCs, so there are different areas to examine for upgrades throughout the year:

Winter Concerns

For the winter season, you’ll want to carefully examine your dock levelers and doors for any opportunities to better seal the thermal envelope and mitigate lost revenue due to energy loss. APS Resource’s energy calculator can tell you how much money you’re losing at those gaps and how much you can save year over year with an important upgrade like Energy Guard®.

Summer Concerns

Even though this past summer is now long gone, it’s never too early to plan for next year. With summer comes high temperatures. Each spring is a good time to examine your ability to keep employees cool and ensure a comfortable working environment.

Using a high volume fan like the Turbo-ES™ Fan is effective at quickly and efficiently cooling a hot trailer (pulling in cooler air and pushing out hot air), as well as providing both comfort and safety for employees. Improving the type of fan at the dock door will also help employees work more quickly and effectively.

How to look at any cost-benefit concerns

Without a doubt, equipment upgrades are always an important capital investment. You want to spend your budget wisely to ensure that you’ll receive as much investment benefit as possible over the long term from your up-front costs.

Your initial investment in a higher quality product may seem daunting at first. But keep in mind that when you break down the cost analysis and look at the long-term cost year over year, you’ll find that APS Resource’s energy-saving products pay for themselves well within the lifetime of each product.

In addition, products like Impact-A-Track LED or FLEX-BACK™ Panel pay for themselves the first time they prevent an incident at a door panel or door track. Each time they absorb or deflect an impact that would have otherwise resulted in door panel or track damage requiring repair, you’re saving money.

Next steps? . . .

When you’re ready to discuss plans for your next equipment upgrade, the next step is to reach out to one of our APS Resource factory-trained distributors.

By contacting them directly, or via referral through APS Resource, you’ll be in touch with the right expert who can evaluate your facility and offer product solutions plus recommendations based on your own unique equipment upgrade needs.

Either call us at 262-518-1000, email us at info@apsresource.com or send us a message at www.apsresource.com/contact.