Dock Levelers: Essential Things You Need to Know

If you are into the warehouse industry, you should not fall behind in investing in a dock leveler, given the remarkable technological advancements.

What is a Dock Leveler?

A dock leveler is a permanent fixture at the dock’s door and includes a metal plate known as the lip. During a dock leveler operation, the lip is lowered onto a truck’s body or trailer from a higher position.

A dock leveler forms a permanent part of your dock to bridge the truck’s gap and the dock or the warehouse floor.

In essence, dock levelers can be hinged or telescopic and serve multiple functions to make your loading dock safer, easier, and more efficient. They can be automatic or manual.

You can simplify your loading dock’s operations with the help of a dock leveler, which brings in efficiency in shipments and restricts damages to your inventory. 

If your business operations involve loading and unloading materials, you can install a dock leveler to make the processes more functional. At the same time, it also lowers the prospects of accidents that are susceptible to docks.

Why Should You Invest in a Dock Leveler?

When it comes to investing in a dock leveler, you need to understand that there is not one but multiple investment reasons. Here are the reasons:

• Carrying heavy loads
• Suitable for master conveyors and motorized forklifts
• Guarantees safety in warehouses as dock levelers have fixed and restricted ranges that can only be installed in standardized dock design and height, adhering to the safety regulations
• Allows easy and smooth movement between docks and trailers, preventing accidents
• Absorbs shocks and bumps during dock leveler operation
• Increases efficiency and effectiveness during loading and unloading operations
• Minimizes dock leveler maintenance costs

Types of Dock Levelers

Dock levelers are of three types:

Mechanical

Mechanical dock levelers are made of springs and levers that are operated manually to lift the loading platform and extend the lip assembly. Subsequently, mechanical levelers are manually positioned on the delivery truck bed. Although these dock levelers are the least expensive, mechanical dock leveler operations are slow. And these levelers call for substantial maintenance costs apart from frequent adjustments to hold the system down. 

Hydraulic

Hydraulic dock levelers are operated by hydraulic cylinders to lift the platform and extend the lip assembly. Structurally, they are similar to mechanical variants and faster and easier to maintain than the mechanical ones. However, the hydraulic dock leveler price is expensive, but the hydraulic dock leveler repair cost is less.

Air

Airdock levelers bear an airbag that raises and lowers the platform. The dock levelers are simple to operate and are advantageous in terms of easy maintenance and elimination of hydraulic fluids prone to leaks. Besides, they are compatible with all types of loading docks.

Factors to Consider While Choosing a Dock Leveler

If you tend to choose a dock leveler in haste, then it is not a good idea. So, avoid that and instead spend some in considering the right factors to end up choosing the right dock leveler for your business. It will help if you consider the following factors:

The Needs

While pondering what to consider in choosing the right dock leveler as part of your dock equipment, it will help determine what needs it will fulfill. In this context, you need to decide the types of loads the leveler will be handling. If the weight is light, say within 20,000-40,000 pounds, light forklifts are ideal; but if the load is heavy, then dock levelers will work.

Length and Width

You can figure out the warehouse dock leveler’s length and width by the vehicles’ size that will operate. It will help you consider a long dock leveler to enable a smooth transition for your vehicles without interfering steeply. You can consider a length of 8 feet, which is popular and the right size for most operations.

Safety

Safety is an essential factor to consider. It will help if you look at dock levelers with automatic barrier protection. The hydraulic variants are a good fit as those ensure safety.

Durability

Durability is an essential factor to consider as you need to shell out a fair amount of money in procuring a dock leveler. You need to make sure you choose a trusted brand that has been into business for some years.

Maintenance Cost

It will help if you choose a dock leveler that calls for less maintenance so that there will be less cash outgo. And, make sure that its spare parts are readily available.

Tips on Dock Loading Safety

While choosing the right dock level will ensure safety in your warehouse operations, you also need to run other processes safely. As such, maintain:

Alertness

Maintain strict vigil on the stuff that can cause harm, such as falling dock edges or a wet and oily floor, causing tripping.

Clean Floor

As a dirty floor with say oil spillage or debris can cause accidents, you need to clean the floor at least twice a day.

Safety Measures

It will help if you allow only the specialized personnel to control the forklift and never disturb whoever controls the machinery. You also need to ensure that the truck and trailer wheels are locked before loading them.

Correct Loading and Unloading

You need to make sure that the goods carrying personnel practice good posture during loading and unloading. It will help if you ask them to bend their knees and keep their back straight so that all the weight does not fall on their back.

Maintenance

You cannot escape maintaining your dock leveler to enable it to play a long inning so that you get the value of your investment. As such, implement the following steps:

• Apply a lubricant, to prevent rusting, wear and tear, on the hinges, joints, and other parts where signs of corrosion are visible
• Clean your dock levelers as the accumulation of dirt, debris and spillages will reduce the overall functionality
• Call a specialist to test its functionality when your dock leveler underperforms

Best Type to Choose

Although all three types of dock levelers have their respective merits, we recommend using the hydraulic type. With such a dock leveler, you can get smooth operations and low maintenance costs. The hydraulic variants are designed carefully to minimize warehouse and forklift injuries and maximize productivity.

Conclusion

The process of choosing the right dock leveler can be tedious. But you need not worry if you select a trusted brand, such as Sabtech, which has been in business for many years with multiple satisfied customers.

You can call us directly, drop a message, or write an email; we will promptly reciprocate to help you buy our best-in-class dock levelers.