Ensuring safety, longevity, and efficiency at your facility
If you run a logistics facility, transport depot, or loading bay, there’s no doubt that installing an industrial boom gate can offer you big improvements in efficiency and safety. But what should you look for when choosing a boom gate? Here are five pointers to keep in mind.
1) Ensure the boom gate is robust enough for daily wear and tear
Naturally, the life of an industrial boom gate is a hard one. Trucks can easily hit them when they’re reversing or manoeuvring. Plus, if the boom gate isn’t specifically set up for a logistics facility, it can easily drop on a longer truck and damage both vehicle and boom.
When the boom gate is damaged, your facility will have unrestricted access – and they are costly to repair.
With all that in mind, it pays to look for an industrial boom gate that offers:
- Aluminium arms rather than fibreglass, which can easily crack and break when impacted
- Carbon fibre arms for longer (8 to 10 metre) boom gates
- Stainless steel housings rather than plastic, to ensure longevity for boom gates installed outdoors
And of course, in most industrial settings it’s not just trucks to consider. You’ll also be dealing with vans and forklifts too – so look for boom gate features like LED lights to increase visibility and safety.
2) Look for the right sensors for industrial settings
If the boom gate isn’t correctly installed – with the right type of sensors that are correctly placed – then the boom can easily descend between a truck and its trailer. This is because one loop detector isn’t sufficient to handle the metres of distance between an industrial vehicle’s axles. The boom gate may register the truck as having entered when it is still passing through. That’s why selecting a boom gate specifically made for industrial purposes is key.
And in terms of access, make sure the boom gate suits your particular setting – whether that’s swipe card access, pin pad, long range RFID, or other means.
3) Remember the safety factor
Without boom gates to keep the different types of traffic at your facility separated, serious safety issues can occur. You don’t want heavy trucks or forklifts mixing with customers and potentially causing serious WH&S problems.
Boom gates can be used to create pedestrian crossing zones across a forklift thoroughfare at your facility. The pedestrian triggers a gate on their approach, and the boom gates activate automatically to create a safe crossing point.
4) Check whether the boom gate can be integrated with your existing setup
Of course, a key reason for installing an industrial boom gate is to manage the trucks that move in and out of your facility every day. Your yard might be able to deal with six or even eight trucks at once – but what if ten trucks arrive simultaneously?
That’s why it pays to choose an industrial boom gate that can also an integrate with a dock management system to regulate the flow of vehicles at your business.
5) Choose the right boom gate supplier
Lastly, when choosing an industrial boom gate, take the time to investigate the potential supplier. If there’s ever an issue, you don’t want your facility to be out of action while you wait… and wait… for an unreliable supplier to address the problem.
Look for a boom gate supplier that offers rapid response to issues, to help keep your industrial business rolling.
Get more information about industrial boom gates
If you’d like to know more about the right boom gate or other system for your carpark, call the team today on 1300 987 645 or contact us online.
