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Inspection template in the LeanSuite app

Last reviewed

Dock and loading bay safety inspection checklist

A weekly inspection of each loading dock door: the door and seals, the dock plate or leveller, trailer restraints and signals, and how forklifts and people share the space. Its 12 questions include landing gear support for uncoupled trailers and checking a trailer before anyone drives into it. Run one record per dock door so a fault stays tied to its door.

The shipping or warehouse lead runs it weekly per door, ideally with a trailer on the dock. What a failure looks like: a leveler lip that does not fully extend, a vehicle restraint light showing green while the hook is not engaged, a wheel chock missing from its hook, a door seal torn so rain blows in, or a pedestrian route running straight across the forklift path.

What it is for, as built: Weekly inspection of loading docks, dock plates and trailer restraints.

Use this template in LeanSuite

The full question list

The 12 questions in the inspection

Every question is answered Yes, No or N/A. Each No is flagged and asks for a photo and a comment, so the finding arrives with its evidence.

Dock and doors

  1. 1The dock door and seals are in good condition
  2. 2The dock plate or leveller works and has no damage
  3. 3Edge protection and bollards are in place
  4. 4The floor is clear and not slippery

Trailer control

  1. 5Wheel chocks or vehicle restraints are used and work
  2. 6Dock lights or signals show the trailer status
  3. 7Trailers are inspected before loading
  4. 8Landing gear support is used for uncoupled trailers

People and equipment

  1. 9Forklift traffic and pedestrians are kept apart
  2. 10Lighting is enough for the work
  3. 11Pedestrian routes are marked
  4. 12Spill kit and housekeeping are in place

Worked example, illustrative

A filled-in example

One section as it might be filled in on the floor, with every other section of the inspection answered Yes. The place and finding are made up to show how the inspection reads and scores.

Result: pass, 90.9% against a pass mark of 90

  • 12 questions, 1 answered N/A, so 11 count.
  • 1 answered No, so 10 of 11 are Yes: 10 ÷ 11 = 90.9%.
  • 90.9% is at or above 90, so the inspection passes. The No still needs its fix.

What happened next: Shipping lead closed door 6 to trailers until maintenance repaired the restraint, two days. Spare chock issued at once.

Scored here as one point per question with N/A left out. In the app each answer carries the points set on the template, so change them after you clone it if your plant weighs some checks more.

Dock and Loading Bay Safety Inspection

Inspection, weekly

Dock or door number
Dock door 6

Trailer control

  1. Wheel chocks or vehicle restraints are used and workNo

    Comment: Vehicle restraint hook does not engage the trailer bar but the light still shows green. Wheel chock missing from its hook.

    Photo attached to the No

  2. Dock lights or signals show the trailer statusYes
  3. Trailers are inspected before loadingYes
  4. Landing gear support is used for uncoupled trailersN/A
Drawn from this template's own questions, not a screenshot of the app. Illustrative answers.

When to use it

  • Once a week.
  • The person responsible for the area or equipment answers each question on the spot.
  • Each record starts with: Dock or door number.

How it is scored

The template is built with points per answer and a pass mark of 90. In this library every audit is set to pass at 80 and every inspection at 90. Each submitted inspection shows its score and pass or fail, and every No is flagged with its photo and comment.

Change the points or the pass mark after you clone it. How rules and scoring work.

Read and print

More in safety inspections and audits

All safety inspections and audits templates

FAQ

Dock and loading bay safety inspection checklist: common questions

  1. Weekly per dock door, ideally with a trailer on it, is the built interval. Inspect again after a trailer strike on the door or leveller, after a restraint or leveller repair, when a new carrier or trailer type starts using the door, after a near miss between a forklift and a pedestrian, and after icy or wet weather that leaves the dock plate slick.

  2. The shipping or warehouse lead does it, with a forklift operator who uses that door daily. They need to know how the leveller and restraint are meant to behave, how to read the signal lights and what the chock routine is. A failed door goes to the maintenance lead for the repair and to the warehouse manager, who decides whether the door stays in use.

  3. A fail means a trailer can creep or a forklift can drop between the dock and the trailer: a restraint that does not hold, a leveller that does not seat, a torn seal or no chocks. Close that door to trailers until it is fixed. Mark it so the yard knows, and keep forklifts off a faulty leveller. In this template every No is flagged and asks for a photo and a comment, and an inspection that scores under its pass mark of 90 is a fail.

  4. Keep the dock door number, date, who inspected it, whether a trailer was on the dock, each No with a photo and the repair that closed it. Door by door, the record shows which leveller keeps failing and which door the pedestrians cut across, which decides where the next barrier or replacement goes. In LeanSuite each submitted inspection is stored with its score, its pass or fail, and the photo and comment on every No.

  5. 12 questions in 3 sections: dock and doors, trailer control, and people and equipment. Every question is answered Yes, No or N/A.

Use this template in LeanSuite

It is ready in the Template Marketplace inside Lean Creator as “Dock and Loading Bay Safety Inspection”. Clone it into your plant, change any question, then schedule it to a person, role or asset with reminders. Auditors complete it on a phone or tablet, with photo evidence where required.

Not on LeanSuite yet? On a 90-day pilot our team sets up your account and digitizes the forms and checklists you use today, this one included.

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