Developing A Food Processing Plant From The Ground Up

As a business owner, having industrial-style overhead doors in your place of work is conducive to receiving deliveries and sending shipments, all while providing a high degree of security for your warehouse facilities. Given the immense weight of these doors and their height while resting in the upper position, it's important that your staff members are properly trained in operating the doors safely and that you have the doors inspected and serviced regularly by a certified organization in your state. Furthermore, it's advantageous to take a series of steps to increase the safety factor of the doors. Here are three ideas that are important to adopt.

Ensure The Safety Sensors Are Working

Your overhead doors should always be equipped with safety sensors that are tested regularly to ensure that they're functional. Although these sensors can differ slightly in design, they typically are made up of a pair of optical sensors mounted close to where the rails of the door meet the ground. They're designed to stop the downward path of the door and send it back to the upper position if something breaks the "line of sight" between the two sensors. Occasionally lowering the door and then waving something between the sensors to confirm that they're working correctly is an important way to prevent someone from being injured by a closing door.

Install Soft Edges On The Doors

Many companies take the route of having soft edges installed on the bottom section of their overhead doors as an extra safety precaution. While the door will still form a solid seal with the ground, the softness of the bottom portion prevents someone from being injured in the event that the door accidentally closes on him or her -- especially if there's an unexpected malfunction of the safety sensors. A soft edge also has the benefit of protecting any of your business' goods that were inadvertently left in the path of the door as it closes; again, in the event that the sensors weren't functional.

Install Audible Signal

You can increase the safety factor around the door by having a contractor install an audible signal that clearly identifies that the door will be closing momentarily. A signal, such as a blast of a horn, will notify staff working around the door to ensure that they're clear of its path and that they've removed any objects that might impede the trajectory of the door.