Dock leveler is essential for companies that transport goods on pallets at their workplace. The heavier the load, the larger the dock leveler. Of course, the purpose of a dock leveler is to facilitate the quick and safe loading and unloading of the load, and a forklift is generally used to move the load. Some companies are concerned with lighter products, where the transfer is easier and the dock leveler can be light.
Hydraulic dock levelers typically weigh 15,000 to 35,000 lbs, so small forklifts can do the work to facilitate loading and unloading. Hydraulic levelers are usually mechanical, ie. That there are no hydraulic units required, but only springs and levers to easily adjust the level at the arrival of the truck.
Heavy duty dock levelers can typically support weights of 35 to 60 thousand pounds, where the integrity of the construction and the safety features of the lever become very important. Hydraulic dock levelers are generally more expensive and require scheduled maintenance for safety and reliability reasons, but they are easier to use during heavy duty operations. Some models offer corner adjustments to fit trailers at the same level as the dock. Side adjustments can be important for heavy loads to minimize the load on the dock leveler to maximize the life of the dock leveler.
Straightening machines are available in two basic types, pit levelers and edge levelers. Edge balancers are generally less expensive and easier to handle, but they are also limited to large differences in truck bed height without steep ramp angles. Although the length of the shipboard leveler ramp is short and generally less expensive to install on pitless platforms, they have limitations to accommodate extremely high or low truck beds while providing a safe ramp angle. If your company has a large gap in loading heights, the longest ramp length of a pit level would be recommended.
The key questions you must answer before deciding what type of dock leveler to use for each business application are:
- what is your activity?
- Do you expect your dock traffic to increase as your business evolves?
- What is the weight of the heaviest loads you load or unload?
- What are the bed height variations for your type of business?
For safety reasons, the use of a truck support is always recommended. It is a locking mechanism that fixes the loading surface to the lock of the building. Some call them dock hooks because they look like a hook that engages the back of the truck's bumper. These restraints minimize the likelihood of a truck accidentally landing before leaving safely. This usually occurs through misinterpretation of hand signals or verbal communication and can result in serious injury to dockers. In noisy environments, in bad weather, the risk of misinterpreting other people increases dramatically and accidents occur. Truck restraint systems are a good insurance to avoid misinterpretation that allows personnel to leave the truck only when it is safe. Some truck restraints have a red and green light signal, which is attached to the wall of the dock and is visible to the truck driver, indicating if it is certain to move away.
Although loading and unloading goods from the storage's can be a safe operation, choosing the right equipment specific for the business needs is key. Contact dock leveler manufacturer for an expert overview and free estimate of dock leveler installation based on your loading-unloading business needs.
