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10 Steps to Loading Dock Security

Companies in all industries struggle to secure the loading dock, that sensitive spot where goods come in and go out. Follow these best practices and sleep better tonight.

Get the timing right. Spartan Stores, a chain of grocery stores based in Grand Rapids, Mich., restricts the hours during which it receives truckloads. "We have policies on what time loads can come in," says Tim Bartkowiak, Spartan's director of security and loss prevention. "We don't want them there too early," when the contents might be more vulnerable. During the appointed hours, a vendor-receiver checks in each truckload as it arrives, opening the doors only as necessary and only to those with express clearance.

Build in security from the get-go. As a large enterprise, Air Products has manufacturing operations, warehouses and distribution centers worldwide—building new facilities is just part of doing business. Along with the rest of the security team, Murphy has learned that it is a lot easier and more cost-effective to build in loading dock security from a facility's inception as opposed to retrofitting it later. "Our operations had some trouble where they would build a facility, get it up and running and then realize they didn't have the gates, alarms and cameras. Then they would have to go back and install them," he says. Now, these things are built into the design. "Everything is already in place and ready to go for when they're needed, even if that is sometime down the road," says Murphy. The company's engineering and business teams are pleased with the savings they realize by incorporating these security measures early on, he reports.

Make sure security and safety work together. Safety is paramount in the chemical industry, which has collectively spent more than $3 billion to shore up security at its facilities since 9/11. Air Products maintains an excellent safety record. "As an engineering and manufacturing company, we focus on safety. We have consistent practices and training that we use worldwide," says Murphy. Both security and safety operate across all businesses and organizations at the corporate level with clear senior executive support, which makes it sustain consistency, he adds. (See Safety and Security: The Intersection for an in-depth look at how security and safety interrelate.)

Protect against other types of potential losses. Much of loading dock security concerns loss prevention. Much, but not all. For Geoff Craighead, who specializes in high-rise building security, the threat of workplace violence arising from a lapse in security is real. "You might have a problem with a former employee or a domestic partner who is disgruntled," says Craighead, VP of high-rise and real estate services for Securitas in Los Angeles. "If they can gain access to a tenant floor through the loading dock area, that is a potential problem. It's not only a property issue. It's a people issue." This type of threat, unlike loss of goods generally, can be very opportunistic. "They're up in the building, and security doesn't even know they're there. Guards should always be present at the loading dock to restrict access to the building when the doors are open," he advises. Anyone entering should have a legitimate purpose and be monitored to ensure that he or she goes to the right floor.