Loading docks are the gateway to your food facility’s supply chain, but they’re also a hotspot for potential food and safety violations. In Alberta, where food safety is tightly regulated by federal and provincial laws, making sure your loading dock is audit-ready is not just good practice, it’s essential.
Why Loading Docks Matter in Food Safety
Loading docks are the first and last point of contact for food products entering or leaving your facility. This makes them critical control points for:
Contamination Risks
Pest & Rodent Entry
Cilmate Control Lost
Physical Safety Hazards
Key Regulations to Know
In Calgary, food safety audits are guided by:
These regulations require that food be protected from contamination at all stages, including during loading and unloading.
Integrating HACCP at the Loading Dock
HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) is a globally recognized system for managing food safety risks. Loading docks are often identified as Critical Control Points (CCPs) in HACCP plans due to their exposure to environmental and operational hazards.
How to Apply HACCP at the Loading Dock:
- Conduct a Hazard Analysis: Identify biological, chemical, and physical hazards during loading/unloading.
- Determine CCPs: For example, temperature control for refrigerated goods or pest prevention at open dock doors.
- Establish Critical Limits: Set acceptable temperature ranges or cleanliness standards.
- Monitor Procedures: Use temperature logs, pest control records, and visual inspections.
- Corrective Actions: Define steps to take if a critical limit is breached (e.g., reject shipment, re-clean area).
- Verification: Regular audits and equipment calibration.
- Record-Keeping: Maintain logs for inspections, training, and corrective actions.
Audit-Ready Loading Dock Checklist
Here’s what inspectors look for during a food and safety audit:
1. Drafts & White Light
- Create tight seals with the right dock seal or shelter. The HingeMaster Extreme Dock Shelter offers the best seal against white light for the food industry, while also stopping rain and snow.
- Stop drafts and white light with weather stripping around the bottom and sides of doors and docks.
- Draft pads, corner dock seals and cone stuffers are a great way to fill in large gaps in the bottom corners of your door opening caused by dock bumpers.
2. Pest Control
- Install air curtains or plastic strip curtains to deter flying insects.
- Seal all doors and docks around the bottom and sides with rodent-proof weather stripping to stop white light.
- Keep the area clean and free of food and debris with regular dock pit cleanings during preventive maintenance visits.
3. Physical Safety
- Install toe guards and safety rails on elevated platforms. All our dock levelers come with toe guards, while all our dock lifts come with toe guards and safety rails.
- Stop slips and falls with a rain shroud canopy by blocking out snow and rain.
- Conduct annual fire door drop inspections and maintain clear egress routes.
- Get regular preventive maintenance inspections done on equipment to keep everything up to safety codes.
- Catch equipment failures before they happen, such as frayed door cables and broken welds, with regular preventive maintenance inspections.
4. Documentation
- Maintain cleaning schedules and pest control logs.
- Ensure staff training records are up to date, especially for food handlers.
- Keep a record of your preventive maintenance inspection reports from Northern Dock Systems, which include before and after photos along with multi-point inspection checklists of the work completed.
Top Five Food & Safety Solutions for Loading Docks
Protect your food products from contamination and spoilage while identifying potential safety hazards that could cause accidents around your loading dock with these five effective solutions.
Preventive Maintenance Program
Maintain compliance and minimize risks with preventive maintenance inspections. Regular inspections and servicing help identify and correct safety issues, such as broken welds, frayed cables or debris-filled dock pits, before they escalate or are flagged during audits. Detailed reports with photos show you did your due diligence to keep everything safe and compliant.
Weather Stripping & Seals
Weather stripping is essential for sealing gaps around doors and docks, where visible white light shows potential entry points for pests and contaminants. Auditors often check for light leaks as signs of poor sealing and food safety risks. Proper weather stripping not only helps block white light but also supports temperature control and regulatory compliance.
Air Curtains
Weather stripping is essential for sealing gaps around doors and docks, where visible white light indicates potential entry points for pests and contaminants. Auditors often check for light leaks as signs of poor sealing and food safety risks. Proper weather stripping not only helps block white light but also supports temperature control and regulatory compliance.
About Northern Dock Systems
Since 2002, Northern Dock Systems has been an industry leader in the sales, installation of overhead doors, high-speed doors, loading docks and industrial equipment across Canada. With a focus on honesty, experience and communication, they can complete a project from concept to completion to their customers’ satisfaction across Canada.
In addition, they offer 24/7 repair services, preventive maintenance, new equipment installation, equipment construction and design for doors, loading dock and food safe equipment. For more information, visit northerndocksystems.com or call 1 (866) 601-1758.
