Dock leveler

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A dock leveler is a construction that is attached to ramps to enable loading and unloading of trucks or commercial vehicles. It is often used at loading locks or gates of warehousing buildings. Depending on the technical requirements, dock levellers are made of steel or aluminum.

function

Dock levellers on the loading ramps are manually operated or operated electro-hydraulically. After the vehicle (truck) has docked directly with the gate (ramp), when the dock leveler is put on or folded up, a swivel lip made of aluminum is usually folded down so that only this rests on the commercial vehicle. There are several names with which it is referred to by users, such as warehouse workers, drivers or truck drivers : as a docking plate, ramp plate, iron ramp, unloading plate, loading bridge, folding ramp or iron plate. In the transport industry ( freight forwarding ) or in everyday warehousing, this 3 × 2 m dock leveler is the most important part for all warehouses in order to be able to unload at a ramp gate.

  • Ramp with dock leveler

  • Level 1 when lifting

  • Level 2

  • placed on the trailer

The height difference between the floor level of the building (warehouse gate / ramp) and the loading platform of the utility vehicle is compensated for by a flexible lifting mechanism . B. can be better unloaded with a pallet truck and a forklift .

In detail, there are several variants of dock levellers, which can differ depending on the manufacturer or also according to how the front moving part is called. Noteworthy are e.g. B. the versions of the telescopic lip, the front end being pushed out electro-hydraulically as a lip. With the folding lip, as it can be seen in the pictures, the so-called lip is folded out when it is raised electro-hydraulically. The version with a telescopic lip (general dock leveler) is currently the standard in pallet and heavy load loading. Some manufacturers offer dock levellers with load capacities up to 350 kN . These are used in the paper industry or in loading construction machinery. Folding lip dock levellers are mainly installed in general cargo or furniture loading.

Differentiation according to the type of construction

  • Hydraulic dock levellers
    • Dock levellers with hinged lip
    • Dock levellers with feed
    • Dock levellers with insulating function
  • Manual dock levellers
    • Mobile dock levellers
      • Transfer plates
      • Mobile dock levellers
      • Loading stations
      • Container cranes
      • Railway bridges
    • Permanently installed dock levellers
      • Not laterally movable dock levellers
      • Laterally sliding dock levellers

The corresponding standard for dock levellers is DIN EN 1398. With regard to occupational safety when handling dock levellers, companies must take into account the technical requirements laid down in DGUV 108-006 (formerly BGR 233). The ordinance lays down rules for the marking, width, inclination and surefootedness as well as for the operation and testing of ramps .  

literature

  • Heinrich Martin: Transport and warehouse logistics. 4th edition, Friedrich Vieweg & Sohn Verlag, Wiesbaden 2002, ISBN 978-3-528-34941-7 .
  • Michael Hompel, Thorsten Schmidt, Lars Nagel: Material flow systems. Conveyor and storage technology, 3rd edition, Springer Verlag, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-540-73235-8 .
  • Heinrich Martin: Practical knowledge of material flow planning. Friedrich Vieweg & Sohn Verlagsgesellschaft, Wiesbaden 1999, ISBN 978-3-322-96886-9 .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Torsten Thiele: What are dock levellers? Retrieved January 5, 2020 .