Since our inception 20 years ago, ArcWest Architects has been providing architectural design services to a wide range of industrial and commercial clients. A common service we specialize in is dock design for the distribution industry.
In designing Regional Distribution Centers, the most important aspect is to understand the client’s distribution model and adapt to it. In the typical cross dock application this is different than the typical distribution center, where product comes in from a variety of vendors and suppliers, is stocked and shelved, and ultimately picked and delivered to the final location. The Cross Dock distribution model is one built to facilitate the gathering of shipped items at one central location, moving those items in bulk from one regional distribution center to another, and then disseminating to local deliveries. The process is then reversed to go back the other way.
The single most important aspect to the dock design is “Process Flow.” The movement of materials within the facility should flow as directly as possible, with the movement choreographed or scheduled to avoid the crossing of material handling equipment as much as possible. To be specific, it is typical to locate the incoming Over the Road (OTR) trucks or semis moving materials between distribution centers on one long side of the facility and regional distribution trucks, or Pups, on the other. When the OTR vehicle enters the overall facility, its trailer can be assigned a door in the best proximity to the Pups on the opposite long side of the facility, facilitating the most efficient unloading of materials to be transitioned to the Pups on the other side. The OTR trailer will remain at the dock while the Pups are loaded and make their deliveries. The Pups will generally make their deliveries then pick up items shipped in the opposite direction. They will return to the Pup side of the facility, and their load will be sorted and moved across the dock to the OTR trailers on the other side, and trucks then depart for another Regional Distribution Center.
The second most important aspect of this flow of material is understanding that a load may not be able to leave one truck and go directly onto another truck, creating a need for consolidation or load splitting. Ample space needs to be set aside between the two rows of dock doors to allow safe backing out of the truck, changing direction on both sides, lateral movement of loads, and ultimately staging in the center. The width of a facility from dock face to dock face is typically 100 feet allowing for a 10-foot safety zone immediately in front of the doors, a 20-foot lateral movement path inside of that, and a 40-foot staging area in the center.
One such example is R+L Carriers. ArcWest Architects has been working with R+L Carriers since July 2018 helping design distribution centers in and around medium to large metropolitan centers. Learn more about these projects at https://arcwestarchitects.com/architecture-projects/rl-carriers-distribution-centers/.
ArcWest partner, Todd Heirls, is an expert in distribution center and dock architectural design. Reach out to him at https://arcwestarchitects.com/staff/todd-l-heirls/.