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The Top 10 Loading Dock Mistakes We See Every Year
Is your loading dock the biggest liability in your facility and do you even know it?
In this episode of Clocking In, host Mike Smith sits down with Pat Feeney, Territory Sales Representative at Robert Dietrick Company, who brings 21 years of hands-on experience as a service technician, installer, service manager, and quality assurance manager.
Pat has seen the full life cycle of loading dock equipment, from installation to failure, and now helps facilities avoid the mistakes he watched play out for two decades. You'll walk away from this episode knowing exactly what equipment mistakes are costing facilities the most, why high turnover has changed the nature of errors at the loading dock, and what practical steps you can take to find out where your operation stands.
Key Takeaways:
- Moving into a leased space means inheriting equipment that may be dangerously undersized for your operation. Know what you're getting before you sign.
- Skipping PM doesn't save money; it multiplies costs. Equipment with proper PM lasts 10–20 years. Without it, about five.
- Interlocks force every operator through the correct sequence, whether they were trained on it or not. They're the best tool for handling high turnover.
- Forklift and pedestrian separation, fall protection, and knowing what to do when the dock lock fails are all solvable problems. Most facilities just haven't solved them yet.
Highlights:
(0:00) 25% of facility accidents happen here, and most leaders underinvest in it
(1:06) What 21 years at the loading dock actually teaches you
(2:35) How turnover changed the nature of dock mistakes
(4:25) The two things facilities are most embarrassed to admit
(5:22) Mike and Pat share their most embarrassing on-the-job mistakes
(8:14) Why the dock is one of the biggest liabilities in your building
(10:00) Mistake #1: Underrated equipment and the leased-building trap
(13:02) Mistake #2: The PM math that always catches up
(14:46) Mistake #3: Wrong restraint for the wrong trailer
(16:38) Mistake #4: No interlocks, and how they people-proof your dock
(21:14) Mistake #5: Going cheap and what it really costs you
(22:52) Mistake #6: Open dock doors without fall protection
(25:20) Mistake #7: Forklift and pedestrian separation in legacy buildings
(29:58) Mistake #8: What to do when the dock lock fails
(32:40) Mistake #9: Production too close to the docks
(34:51) Mistake #10: Non-standardized equipment and the chaos it creates
(36:30) Two things you can do immediately to assess your loading dock
Resources:
Robert Dietrick Company’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/robert-dietrick-co./
Mike’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-smith-92728864/
Download RDC's free 10-category, 50-point facility assessment checklist
https://rd-co.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/facility_checklist.html
View all episodes
By Robert Dietrick CompanyIs your loading dock the biggest liability in your facility and do you even know it?
In this episode of Clocking In, host Mike Smith sits down with Pat Feeney, Territory Sales Representative at Robert Dietrick Company, who brings 21 years of hands-on experience as a service technician, installer, service manager, and quality assurance manager.
Pat has seen the full life cycle of loading dock equipment, from installation to failure, and now helps facilities avoid the mistakes he watched play out for two decades. You'll walk away from this episode knowing exactly what equipment mistakes are costing facilities the most, why high turnover has changed the nature of errors at the loading dock, and what practical steps you can take to find out where your operation stands.
Key Takeaways:
- Moving into a leased space means inheriting equipment that may be dangerously undersized for your operation. Know what you're getting before you sign.
- Skipping PM doesn't save money; it multiplies costs. Equipment with proper PM lasts 10–20 years. Without it, about five.
- Interlocks force every operator through the correct sequence, whether they were trained on it or not. They're the best tool for handling high turnover.
- Forklift and pedestrian separation, fall protection, and knowing what to do when the dock lock fails are all solvable problems. Most facilities just haven't solved them yet.
Highlights:
(0:00) 25% of facility accidents happen here, and most leaders underinvest in it
(1:06) What 21 years at the loading dock actually teaches you
(2:35) How turnover changed the nature of dock mistakes
(4:25) The two things facilities are most embarrassed to admit
(5:22) Mike and Pat share their most embarrassing on-the-job mistakes
(8:14) Why the dock is one of the biggest liabilities in your building
(10:00) Mistake #1: Underrated equipment and the leased-building trap
(13:02) Mistake #2: The PM math that always catches up
(14:46) Mistake #3: Wrong restraint for the wrong trailer
(16:38) Mistake #4: No interlocks, and how they people-proof your dock
(21:14) Mistake #5: Going cheap and what it really costs you
(22:52) Mistake #6: Open dock doors without fall protection
(25:20) Mistake #7: Forklift and pedestrian separation in legacy buildings
(29:58) Mistake #8: What to do when the dock lock fails
(32:40) Mistake #9: Production too close to the docks
(34:51) Mistake #10: Non-standardized equipment and the chaos it creates
(36:30) Two things you can do immediately to assess your loading dock
Resources:
Robert Dietrick Company’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/robert-dietrick-co./
Mike’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-smith-92728864/
Download RDC's free 10-category, 50-point facility assessment checklist
https://rd-co.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/facility_checklist.html