In the loading dock, one problem to overcome is the problem of bridging the gap between the truck and the dock or the warehouse floor. Not all trucks have the same height, and the floor height of the trailer in the truck may vary depending on how heavy the truck is being loaded. So there is not only a gap to bridge but a height difference to overcome. Various devices are used to achieve this: hollow plates, dock counters, dock boards, and various lifting forms. These devices vary in construction, suitability for dock conditions, installation costs, and loading capacity.
Levelers and elevators docks are usually permanent fixtures at every door of the pier. Dock plates and dock boards are generally, on the contrary, portable, and not repaired either for docks or trucks.
Dock plates and dock boards are just metal ramps, which bridge the gap between the dock and the truck. The dock plates are generally made of aluminum while the dock boards are generally made of steel. The aluminum dock plates are more suitable for lighter loads, such as handcarts and dollies, while steel dock boards are more suitable for heavier engine equipment such as forklift trucks and electric pallet trucks. Another difference between the dock plates and the dock board, in addition to their load-bearing ability, is their construction. The dock plates are simple flat plates, while the dock board has curbs, bolts or welded to the edge of the board. The run-off is prevented by a simple painted yellow strip along the edge of the dock plate, while it is a curbs (also generally painted yellow) that prevents runoff on the dock board; This restriction is also where the heavy capacity of the higher dock boards comes from. Run-off is a significant risk on the dock plates, because the yellow strip is not a very effective mechanism to prevent it.
Both the dock plates and the dock board have diamond patterns that arise on the top surface, to prevent wheel slippage when the carts and vehicles run up and down the slopes. Likewise, they both locked the foot t-bar that extends into the gap between the truck and the dock, to secure them. Both are portable. But the dock board is heavier than the dock plate. The latter can be carried by hand, and generally equipped with a handle to do so. The first usually requires a fork lift to locate and remove it, and is usually equipped with a loop or chain, used to mount the dock board to fork lift fork.
The Levelers Dock, as mentioned, is installed on the dock. They consist of simple metal plates, called lips, which are lifted from the stored position and then lowered to the rear of the truck. The lips can be hinged or telescopic. They are operated manually, via a simple pull chain, or hydraulically, (most commonly) with an electric pump that drives the piston to lift the plate and another to move the lips.
Levelers Dock is a device that is more expensive than the dock plates and dock boards are relatively light. The most common form of the dock leveler is the dock, hidden, or pit leveler. As the name implies, this type of leveling is contained in a recess, or a hole, under a dock door and floor surface. Levelers Docks are stronger than dock plates and have the same range of dock boards, making them suitable not only for motor-driven forklift trucks but also for master conveyors (where no dock plate or dock board is suitable). Safety, too, is very high for this type of product: Safety regulations such as EN1398 (European Standards) establish safety requirements for the design, construction, installation, maintenance and testing of levelers docks and for safety components at levelers dock. NOTE: edge dock levelers have fixed positions that have limited ranges that are not suitable for non-standard dock altitudes.
Since they carry heavy motorized equipment, the slope level should be shallow. The higher the height difference between the truck and the dock that can be offset by the dock leveler, the longer the leveler level itself. In addition, the level of slope should not be too large so the vehicle can not climb it. An altitude difference between 7 and 8 inches generally requires a 6 foot (1.8 m) leveler for an electric pallet carrier. The height difference between 17 and 18 inches generally requires a 12 ft (3.7 m) adjustment for a gasoline-powered lift truck. However, the lips should be considered in the length of the leveler, because that is part of it. Telescopic lips (20 or 40 inches) can help reduce gauge length to 10 feet.
Levelers Docks (and indeed dock plates and dock boards) are used where the building has truck-level doors, ie doors with floor levels approximately at the same height as the truck trailer floor. Some buildings only have a drive-in door, which is a door on the same level as the ground outside the building, perfect for driving directly into the building.
To load the dock with a drive-in door, and also (albeit rare) to load docks with truck-level doors, lifts are sometimes used.
Another device that is less commonly used when bridging the distance between the truck and dock is the truck leveler. This is a hydraulic lift positioned under the rear wheel of the truck, which is used to raise and lower the truck so that it is parallel to the edge of the loading dock. The problem with truck levelers, which makes them rarely work, there are two. First: They cause the truck's interior to be on a hill, which leads to loading and unloading difficulties. Second: They are expensive to care for, because they require (under ground and open for air) proper drainage and weather protection.
The hidden dock levelers also have weather exposure problems. However, as they are hidden on the dock, which is above ground level, they have no major problems with drainage. Equally, since they are hidden on the dock, they extend partially back from the edge of the dock. The dock buffer can be mounted so that it extends inside the loading and unloading doors, and thus inside the building, protecting it from the weather.
Video Dock plate
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Source of the article : Wikipedia
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