"We've spent our entire working careers at loading docks, maintaining loading docks, and supporting the facilities that depend on them. One lesson has remained constant—no single safety device can prevent every accident. The safest loading docks rely on a process, not assumptions."
Bob Thiel & Dave McKenzie
Co-Founders, GladHanger
[
Caption: Loading dock doors equipped with GladHangers mounted at the point of use. Every dock position has a designated location for storing the glad hand lock, making it visible, accessible, and ready before every trailer is loaded or unloaded.
Every Trailer. Every Time.
Loading docks are among the busiest and highest-risk work environments in industry. Every day, forklift operators, warehouse employees, truck drivers, and receiving personnel work around equipment capable of causing serious injuries—or worse—if proper trailer securement procedures are not followed.
One simple question deserves serious consideration.
How does your facility actually verify that a trailer is secure before loading or unloading begins?
Many facilities assume the trailer brakes have been set because the driver says they are. Others rely on habit or visual observation.
The reality is much different.
No One can verify trailer brakes are set simply by looking at a trailer, that is impossible.
A trailer safety program should never depend on assumptions.
Safety Begins by Taking Control of the Trailer
The first and most important step is taking control of the trailer—not relying solely on the driver.
When the driver disconnects the emergency air line and a glad hand lock is installed, the facility has positive confirmation that this critical step has been completed. It establishes control of the trailer and helps prevent the trailer from being reconnected without deliberate action.
It is an important first step.
But it should never be the only layer of protection.
Caption: A glad hand lock installed on the trailer's emergency air connection as part of the facility's trailer securement process before loading begins.
The Five Layers of Trailer Securement
Experience teaches us that every safety device has limitations.
Drivers are professionals, but people become distracted.
Employees assume someone else completed a safety step.
Equipment occasionally fails.
The strongest loading dock safety programs recognize these realities by building multiple layers of protection.
Our recommended trailer securement process is simple and repeatable.
🔒 Lock It - Secure the trailer using a glad hand lock.
🛞 Chock It - Install wheel chocks to reduce the possibility of trailer movement.
🚧 Restrain It - Engage the vehicle restraint system whenever available.
👀 Inspect It - Verify trailer condition, dock alignment, communication, and loading readiness before anyone enters the trailer.
🦺 Jack Stand It - Install trailer support whenever additional stability is required, always if the tractor is not connected.
Each layer reduces risk. Each layer compensates for the possibility that another safeguard could fail.
The objective isn't simply to secure a trailer, the objective is to create a process that employees follow every trailer, every shift, every day.
Human Behavior Is Part of Every Safety Program
Most loading dock incidents are not caused by a single equipment failure.
Instead, several small failures occur at the same time, failures that indicate drift from policy, the procedure slowly erodes to failure.
· A driver believes loading is complete.
· A forklift operator assumes someone already secured the trailer.
· Communication breaks down during a busy shift.
· One forgotten step becomes another potential failure point.
· The team is behind and in a hurry to complete the load or unload.
· Bad weather drives a bad decision.
· Maintenance of the trailer is not performed.
That's why successful safety programs are designed around human behavior rather than assuming perfection.
Consistency—a standard of operation --
not memory—is what keeps people safe.
One Overlooked Question
Where Are Your Glad Hand Locks Stored?
Every facility has written procedures.
But where are the glad hand locks?
Are they hanging beside every dock door?
Or are they:
- In a desk drawer?
- Hanging on a nail?
- Lying under the dock?
- Riding around on a forklift?
- Mixed into a toolbox?
- Missing completely?
If employees have to search for safety equipment, compliance naturally declines.
Safety equipment should always be stored exactly where it is used. At the point of use.
Caption: A GladHanger mounted beside the loading dock with the glad hand lock secured in its designated storage location. Standardized storage improves visibility, accountability, and consistency while making compliance easier to verify.
Standardized storage removes uncertainty.
Employees immediately know where the lock belongs before loading begins—and where it belongs after loading is complete.
The safest facilities eliminate guesswork.
Safety Is a Process, Not a Product
Every workplace has safety equipment.
Fire extinguishers have designated mounting brackets.
Eye wash stations have permanent locations.
Emergency stop buttons are installed where employees expect to find them.
Loading dock safety equipment deserves the same level of organization.
The objective isn't simply owning safety equipment.
The objective is ensuring that equipment is available, visible, inspected, and consistently used.
When employees retrieve the glad hand lock, communicate with the driver, secure the trailer, complete the remaining safety steps, and return the lock to its designated storage location, safety becomes part of the workflow—not an afterthought.
The Cost of Inconsistent Safety
The financial impact of poor trailer securement extends far beyond replacing lost equipment.
Potential consequences include:
- Employee injury or fatality
- OSHA citations
- Operational downtime
- Equipment damage
- Insurance claims
- Legal liability
- Multi-million-dollar settlements
Most of these incidents are preventable when standardized safety procedures are consistently followed.
Compared to the financial and human cost of a serious incident, investing in training, organization, accountability, and standardized trailer securement procedures is remarkably small.
Every Trailer. Every Time.
The safest loading docks are not necessarily those with the newest equipment.
They are the facilities where every employee follows the same proven process every single time.
🔒 Lock It -à 🛞 Chock It à🚧 Restrain Ità👀 Inspect Ità🦺 Jack Stand It
Every missed step creates another potential failure point.
Every completed step strengthens the next.
Safety doesn't happen by accident.
It happens because organizations create a culture where the right equipment is available, the right procedures are followed, and every employee understands that protecting people is more important than saving a few minutes.
Because when safety depends on assumptions, mistakes happen.
When safety depends on a standardized process, everyone has a better chance of going home safely at the end of the day.
About the Authors
Bob Thiel and Dave McKenzie are the co-founders of GladHanger. Together they have more than 80 years of combined experience in industrial maintenance, loading dock operations, and facility safety. Their work focuses on helping organizations improve loading dock safety through standardized trailer securement processes, practical engineering solutions, and operational discipline. Their belief is simple: every employee deserves to go home safely at the end of every shift.
"Every missing step creates another potential failure point. Every completed step strengthens the next."