Loading ramp
A loading dock is used for material handling in to and out of a building and in particular for loading and unloading of transport vehicles of all kinds. Conveniently, often loading docks to warehouses or halls to find, industrial buildings and commercial buildings and facilities in all sectors.
In the case of warehouses and uncovered loading ramps, the storage area is usually not at ground level, but rather elevated at the ramp height . As a rule, this height is between 1.2 and 1.3 m, as this corresponds roughly to the height of the loading area on most trucks . This adaptation of the design to the delivery vehicles has become established where material and goods logistics become a dominant factor or the actual purpose is. The other transport between the floor and the building or ramp level is carried out by simpler inclined ramps , lifting ramps as permanently installed equipment in the sense of a freight elevator, or mobile devices such as forklifts (forklifts) or others.
The simplest form of a loading ramp consists of a rigid concrete ramp on which the vehicles approach from the side (side ramp) or backwards (head ramp) .
In the case of loading ramps on railroad tracks , the ramp height, analogous to that of road vehicles, is at the level of the floor of the freight wagons , and ultimately corresponds to the platform as a general level adjustment. A track on a loading ramp is called a ramp track , but the term loading track is less common (which is also used for the track on a loading street ).
In order to close the gap between the ramp and the vehicle, a transfer plate is created. A charger (such as a forklift, lift truck , sack truck ) can now be used to drive from the ramp onto the vehicle via this sheet . In addition, you can even load vehicles onto trucks or freight cars. Slight differences in height can be compensated for in both variants by means of the loading plate, with air-sprung trucks it is possible to adjust the height of the loading area for loading and unloading by several centimeters using the air suspension. Otherwise, small trucks in particular also have loading ramps mounted on the vehicle that can be lowered from the loading area to floor level and also easily tilted.
In smaller warehouses where the storage area is at ground level, you will also find loading ramps with a lowered approach area. Instead of building the entire storage area at truck height, the truck is brought to the level of the hall floor. To do this, the truck drives into a recess excavated in front of the ramp area. This type of loading ramp is often found in the incoming goods area of wholesale markets and discounters , as it is useful here to have the local warehouse or only small local warehouse visited by the customer with handcart at ground level on the same level as the sales area in order to enable quick and easy transfer of the To enable goods from the warehouse to the sales room inside the building and removal by the buyer.
Most modern warehouses are equipped with loading gates with loading bridges , which also leveler called. With this form of loading ramp, the truck reverses up to the loading door that can be locked with a roller shutter . A hinged loading bridge is attached to the loading sill, which is powered or manually operated on the loading area of the docked truck. Since significantly greater height differences can be bridged with such loading bridges than with a simple loading plate, this form of loading ramp is suitable for a large number of different trucks, from jumbo trucks (loading area approx. 70 to 100 cm above the ground) to standard Trucks with a fixed body (approx. 1.2–1.4 m), through to refrigerated vehicles and trucks with swap bodies (up to 1.6 m). In the case of railway vehicles, on the other hand, the height of the wagon floor of freight wagons is approximately the same internationally, which is why height-adjustable dock levellers are not common on railroad tracks.
Companies with many loading bays for loading and unloading often have long waiting times. That is why many companies use IT-supported loading dock or time slot management to coordinate loading and unloading.
See also
Web links
- zeno.org Definition of a loading ramp in the railway encyclopedia
Individual evidence
- ↑ www.bge.de: loading bridges , call August 13, 2009