Daily vehicle totals alone cannot determine dock door needs. Measure when vehicles arrive, how long they occupy a door and where waiting occurs.
Record arrivals and service time
For each vehicle, log site entry, queue arrival, docking, and the start and finish of loading or unloading. Observe several busy periods; review the spread during peaks as well as the average.
Separate the bottleneck from the door. If a queue forms while a door is free, the cause may be manoeuvring space, paperwork or appointment flow. If doors remain occupied while vehicles wait, examine service duration and concurrent demand. Include whether inbound and outbound flows share doors.
First measure how process changes affect the recorded queue. Then compare peak concurrent need with available door hours and support any additional-door decision with actual site data.
