AUGUST 6, 2019
I saw this picture and thought, “It’s about time!”
Orchestras have switched over to tablets. For years, loading dock operations has been handled by security personnel or logistics professionals on paper. By using mobile and cloud-based technology, logistics teams, security personnel, and facility operators are capable of orchestrating a symphony of well executed, efficient and secure operations; and keep score.
Loading dock operators for the most part are still using paper and pencil. There are security personnel waiving unknown vehicles into the critical infrastructure of facilities without vetting, without recourse, and without much reasonable care. There is no legible manifest of activities, no usable data to understand traffic patterns, no watch lists, and limited understanding of throughput issues. Daily challenges affecting safety or efficiency remain lost in stacks of illegible paper records. Some of these records could be on spreadsheets, but that does not create a true concept of operations with mobile services and notifications.
The lack of concern and the idea of doing things the way they have been done for the last thirty-years without consideration of insurance requirements, terrorism or public safety is counter-intuitive. Facility operators, corporations and supply-side vendors are responsible for the safety of their employees and the efficiency of the operation. Imagine an orchestra trying to make things work without a score.
Digitize the loading dock. Save time and money. Mitigate risk. It will be 2020 and maybe there will still be orchestras with paper sheet music, but eventually, the paper will go away, and the clip boards will be gone. Building value in data, the ability to analyze, improve and create a digital score card should align with business objectives. Technology is transforming operations and it will change the way we orchestrate the back of the house.
Jeff Friedman
CEO, Building Intelligence Inc.
