Monitoring Arrival and Departure of Trucks at a Loading Dock

The loading dock doors are monitored for safety purposes as well as pilfering. There is a need for positive confirmation of a truck’s arrival and ensuring it is in the correct position before the door is opened. A solution that is not affected by weather or ambient light conditions is needed for outdoor vehicle presence/absence to ensure a safe, efficient unloading/loading process and to prevent pilfering.

Banner’s R-Gage QT50R senses vehicles as they approach a loading dock, sending a signal to workers inside the facility of a truck’s arrival/departure. Monitoring the arrival of trucks at loading docks is simple with the R-Gage radar sensor coupled with Banner’s quality lighting and indication solutions.

The radar sensor reliably detects trucks pulling up to the loading/unloading dock from 15 meters away. When the R-Gage radar sensor detects a vehicle, it sends an output signal to an indicator inside the building to signify a truck is present. The sensor detects objects up to a specified distance, ignoring objects and backgrounds beyond the set point.

Since the detection is occurring outdoors, it is important for the sensor to withstand weather conditions and ambient light. Unlike photoelectric sensors, which may be impacted by sunlight, and ultrasonic sensors, which may be impacted by wind and temperature changes, the radar sensor is reliable for detection of moving and stationary vehicles regardless of wind, rain, fog, light, humidity and air temperature.